IIHW Chair

Professor
Anesthesiology, Pediatrics, and Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences
Children’s Hospital Los Angeles/ Keck School of Medicine

Jeffrey I. Gold, PhD, is a Professor in the Departments of Anesthesiology, Pediatrics, and Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences at the Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California. Dr. Gold, a licensed clinical psychologist, Director Emeritus and Founder of the Pediatric Pain Management Clinic within the comprehensive interdisciplinary Pain Medicine Division in the Department of Anesthesiology Critical Care Medicine. He is the director of the Biobehavioral Pain Lab, Director and co-founder of the USC Institute for Integrative Health & Wellness, Chair for the Institutional Review Board (IRB) at the Saban Research Institute at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, and faculty within the Pediatric Psychology specialization at Children's Hospital Los Angeles. 

Dr. Gold has specialized in the assessment, treatment, and clinical investigation of acute and chronic pain and other health outcomes (e.g., health-related quality of life, PTSD) in children, adolescents, and adults with various chronic medical illnesses and chronic pain conditions. After graduating with his doctoral degree in clinical psychology (1999), Dr. Gold completed a research fellowship at the National Center for Posttraumatic Stress in Boston and later a clinical post-doctoral fellowship in the Departments of Hematology/Oncology and Psychiatry at the UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland.

Dr. Gold is actively engaged in the evaluation and utility of digital therapeutics (i.e., virtual reality, digital mobile applications, virtual care) focused on patients and their families and healthcare providers targeting health and mental health outcomes (i.e., reducing stress, pain, anxiety, psychological distress), while increasing comfort, satisfaction, and overall positive health outcomes and wellness.

Steering Committee Member

Clinical Assistant Professor of Neurology
USC Neurology

Ms. Ingersoll's interests are in education, clinical informatics, and exercise. Prior to joining the Department of Neurology she was a clinical educator for the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, a corporate manager for Lockheed Martin IT, and a consultant for BearingPoint. She is a past Treasurer of the American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA) and the current Treasurer of the Academic Consortium for Integrative Medicine. She was the Medical Student Educator for the Department of Neurology from 2004 through January 2015, and continues her involvement with students as the Co-director for the elective in clinical informatics for the School of Medicine. Since 2010 she has led a seasonal 5K Training Team for individuals with Parkinson Disease, which has grown in popularity and visibility. The Parkinson's Foundation has recently funded an additional season for this group, a new resource for our patients.

Research Chair

AssoSCIATE PROFESSOR
USC Division of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy

George J. Salem is the director of the Institute for Senior Golf Science. He is also co-director of the Musculoskeletal Biomechanics Research Laboratory within the Division of Biokinesiology & Physical Therapy, and oversees its exercise and aging research program. This program recognizes the growing importance of exercise and activity interventions to improve health and quality of life across the lifespan. Investigations are designed to quantify the musculoskeletal loading and neuromuscular recruitment patterns associated with functional activities and exercise; examine the influence of exercise on muscle dynamics, tissue adaptation, neural control, physical performance, brain function and quality of life; and determine the feasibility, efficacy and mechanisms of action associated with the integration of complementary and alternative modalities, such as yoga and golf. 

Steering Committee Member

Assistant Professor
USC Division of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy

Marisa Perdomo, PT, DPT, Board Certified Oncology Physical Therapy Specialist is an Assistant Professor in Clinical Physical Therapy at the University of Southern California. She has over 35 years of clinical practice focusing on orthopedic, oncologic, lymphatic dysfunctions and integrated health. She received her Master’s and Clinical Doctorate degrees at the University of Southern California where she developed a physical therapy practice for cancer survivors at the USC Faculty Practice. She received her lymphedema training and certification from the Foldi Clinic in Hinterzarten Germany in 1997. Other specialized certifications obtained include certification as a cancer exercise specialist in 2003, certification as a Reiki master practitioner in 2009 and certification as a kundalini yoga instructor in 2013.

Dr. Perdomo integrates integrative practices such as mediation, guided imagery and yoga with her physical therapy manual therapy skills, manual lymphatic mobilization techniques, and therapeutic exercises to achieve healing of the mind, body and spirit. Her own experience with recovery from Hodgkin’s lymphoma and breast cancer, allows for a special understanding of the physical and emotional complexities across the healing journey for individuals diagnosed with cancer. 

At USC Dr. Perdomo developed the clinical and curricular content regarding the comprehensive management of oncological related impairments. Her teaching responsibilities include Differential Diagnosis, Cardiopulmonary and Medical Conditions, and Pharmacology. She serves on the steering committee for the USC Institute of Integrated Health and Wellness. She had developed curriculum for integrating yoga based physical therapy interventions for individuals with low back pain.  

Her scholarly interests include oncology rehabilitation, management of peripheral edema and yoga as a therapeutic intervention. Publications include clinical practice guidelines for diagnosing and treating Upper Quadrant Secondary Lymphedema Related to Cancer and systematic reviews of outcome measures for survivors of breast cancer.

Steering Committee Member

AssoCIATE PROFESSOR
USC chan Division of occupational science and occupational Therapy

Camille Dieterle is an occupational therapist specializing in health promotion, wellness and addressing chronic health conditions. She teaches courses to graduate and undergraduate students in the areas Lifestyle Redesign®, an occupational therapy intervention for prevention and better self-management of chronic conditions; health promotion, therapeutic group treatment, community based program development, environmental sustainability and crafts and creativity.

Prior to teaching full time Dr. Dieterle previously was a clinician and Director of the USC OT Faculty Practice where she utilized Lifestyle Redesign® with clients with obesity, chronic pain, behavioral health difficulties and a variety of medical diagnoses and conditions. Additionally, Dr. Dieterle is a certified yoga instructor.

Click here for her USC Bio.

Steering Committee Member

AssoCIATE PROFESSOR
USC Keck School of Medicine Department of Psychiatry and the behavioral sciences

Dr. Semple is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and the Behavioral Sciences at the Keck School of Medicine of USC; Director of Psychological and Behavioral Health Services at LAC+USC Medical Center; and Program Director for the USC Adolescent Trauma Training Center. 

Dr. Semple’s research and clinical interests are in the applications of mindfulness to psychological health and well-being, with focus on the development and evaluation of mindfulness-based interventions for children and adolescents in clinic and school settings. She serves on the steering committee of Mindful USC, the research committee of the American Mindfulness Research Association, and is Co-Principal Investigator of the USC Center for Mindfulness Science. 

A licensed clinical psychologist, Dr. Semple is lead developer of the evidence-based clinical intervention, Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Children (MBCT-C) and a mindfulness curriculum adapted for K-12 classrooms, The Mindfulness Matters Program (MMP). She has authored or co-authored over 50 scientific publications and two books for clinicians and K-12 teachers: Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Anxious Children (2011, New Harbinger) and The Mindfulness Matters Program for Children and Adolescents: Strategies, Activities, and Techniques for Therapists and Teachers (2019, Guilford). More information about these programs is available on Dr. Semple’s website at www.randyesemple.com.

Steering Committee Member

Professor of Psychology
Director of the USC Twins Study

Laura A. Baker, PhD, is a Professor of Psychology at the University of Southern California. Dr. Baker is the Director of the Southern California Twin Project at USC, where she oversees a longitudinal study of over 750 sets of twins and their families in an NIMH-funded study of the gene-environment interplay in externalizing behavior problems from childhood to young adulthood.  She teaches courses in Behavioral Genetics, Human Sexuality and the Science of Yoga and Meditation in Psychology and General Education at USC.

Dr. Baker is also a Certified Iyengar Yoga Teacher (CIYT), and teaches yoga and meditation classes to faculty, staff and students through the USC Office of Religious Life (ORL) and www.Yoga.USC.edu .  Iyengar Yoga is well known for its emphasis on precise instructions, sequencing, and the use of props to support the practice of yoga for every body.  It has also been used in numerous research studies to demonstrate the effects of yoga on both physical and mental health, including anxiety and depression.

As a member of the steering committees for the USC Center for Mindfulness Science and Mindful-USC, Dr. Baker helps promote an integrative approach to health, wellness and resilience in our community.

Steering Committee Member

breast cancer survivor and advocate
USC Norris Cancer Survivorship Advisory Council CHAIR

Mary Aalto is a breast cancer survivor and advocate who collaborates with USC researchers to provide the patient perspective during the development and implementation of breast cancer research projects. She has served as a Consumer Reviewer for the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program (CDMRP) and the California Breast Cancer Research Program (CBCRP). Mary chairs the USC Norris Cancer Survivorship Advisory Council (CSAC), a volunteer organization comprised of cancer survivors committed to improving the quality of patient care through advocacy, education, and support for the advancement of cancer research. She also manages the Jennifer Diamond Cancer Resource Library (the patient education center at the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center) as the Volunteer Library Coordinator and is the creator/organizer of the Patient Perspective Series for USC Norris and Keck Medicine of USC, an ongoing series of more than fifty live, one-hour lunchtime events showcasing health care topics from the vantage point of the patient.

Steering Committee Member

aSSOCIATE PRofessor AT USC KECK SCHOOL OF MEDICINE DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHIATRY AND THE BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES

Michelle Dexter, Ph.D. is a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Keck School of Medicine at USC. Dr. Dexter is the Director of Curriculum and Academic Programs in the Department of Psychiatry and the Behavioral Sciences. She obtained a master’s in Physiology and Biophysics and doctorate in Clinical Psychology. Dr. Dexter is a Diplomate of the Academy of Cognitive and Behavioral Therapies, Fellow of USC’s Center for Excellence in Teaching, and trained Mindful Self-Compassion teacher. Dr. Dexter has extensive training and expertise in the areas of clinical interventions, teaching, supervision, and research. Her clinical interests are in the areas of mindfulness-based, empirically-supported treatments for OCD and anxiety disorders. Her teaching has focused in the areas of research, clinical competencies, and the cultivation of resiliency skills for adolescents and young adults. Her research focuses on decreasing mental health disparities and treatment outcomes within college populations. Dr. Dexter is also engaged in faculty development and serves as a co-chair of the department’s Mentoring Program.

Steering Committee Member

Associate dean of research at usc SUZAN DWORAK-peck School of Social Work

Dr. Charles D. Kaplan is a retired Research Professor and Associate Dean of Research at the University of Southern California Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work. He continues his research on healthy lifestyles, human service implementation and social and clinical epidemiology focusing on clinical and community samples. His training as a medical sociologist began with doctoral studies at UCLA supported by a National Institute of General Medical traineeship. He conducted early research in neurosociology studying the effects of language and visual imagery on hemispheric interaction and the experience of pain and alexthymia. He has a long career in Europe in Germany and the Netherlands. He is an early developer of the German Biographical Method and Maastricht Social Network Analysis, two widely used social work practices in drug counseling and mental health treatment planning in the European Union. He was the Founding Director of Addiction Research Institute at the Department of Social and Preventative Psychiatry, Erasmus University Rotterdam and later of the Drug Research Division of the Institute for Psychosocial and Socioecological Research, Department of Psychiatric Epidemiology at Maastricht University, The Netherlands.  He has conducted studies of the effect of lifestyle and social networks on persons with substance use disorders and on the metamemory and cognitive decline of primary care patients. He is a developer of the evidence-based Moti-4 prevention program for the social integration of problematic cannabis users. His continuing research has been on patient-centered outcomes and the role of policy and practice advocacy in the community. This research includes the therapeutic, spiritual, and recreational use of cannabis and the current revival of psychedelic drugs. His recent contributions to neurosociology have been in the methodology of hyperscanning for the collection and analysis of EEG data, the role of healthy lifestyle in the treatment and prevention of cognitive decline in diverse ageing populations and the assessment of PTSD, intergenerational transfer and isolation and liberation of the collective memory of extreme trauma in genocide survivors.

Steering Committee Member

Associate professor of medicine at usc and gu clinical program chair

Dr. Pinski is a tenured Associate Professor of Medicine and the GU Clinical Program Chair in the Division of Medical Oncology at the Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center of the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, where he combines clinical care with basic, translational and clinical research on prostate cancer.  He completed medical school and earned his PhD in Frankfurt, Germany before coming to the U.S. in 1990, to work at the Tulane University in New Orleans, with Nobel laureate Andrew Schally, MD, one of the pioneers of hormonal therapy in oncology.   

 From 1998 until his move to California in 2001, Dr. Pinski received continued clinical training in Medical Oncology at the Baltimore Johns Hopkins Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center, where he collaborated with John Isaacs, PhD, another respected figure in prostate cancer research. His publications comprise more than 120 articles in the field of prostate cancer research, and he has been the recipient of multiple awards and grants from the NCI, DOD and ACS. Dr. Pinski current areas of research are prognostic biomarkers in prostate cancer, drug development related to immunotherapy, dietary interventions and art therapy in cancer patients.  

More recently, Dr. Pinski co-founded the Institute for Arts in Medicine (I_AM) at USC which seeks to design, deploy and assess creative therapies in patient care, converging different forms of art with science and medicine.

Steering Committee Member

Assistant Professor of Clinical Occupational Therapy at USC

Marilyn Thompson, OTD, OTR/L, is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Occupational Therapy at the University of Southern California (USC), where she specializes in health promotion, wellness, and the management of chronic health conditions. Dr. Thompson’s work focuses on advancing integrative health approaches that enhance both prevention and self-management for individuals with chronic illnesses. She teaches graduate-level courses on Lifestyle Redesign®, an innovative occupational therapy intervention aimed at improving health outcomes through sustainable lifestyle changes, as well as a course focused on the role of occupational therapy practitioners in health promotion and primary care.

A passionate advocate for health equity, Dr. Thompson is committed to reducing health disparities in underserved communities by delivering high-quality, culturally sensitive care. In her clinical role at the USC OT Faculty Practice outpatient clinic, she applies Lifestyle Redesign® to support clients dealing with chronic conditions, behavioral health challenges, and a range of other medical diagnoses, empowering them to improve their overall well-being and quality of life. Dr. Thompson’s work reflects her dedication to promoting holistic health practices, bridging the gap in healthcare access, and advocating for the transformative potential of occupational therapy in both clinical and community settings.