The Spectrum (Electronic book text)

About Dean Ornish, M.D.
Dean Ornish, M.D., is the founder and president of the non-profit Preventive Medicine Research Institute in Sausalito, California, where he holds the Safeway Chair. He is Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. Dr. Ornish received his medical training in internal medicine from the Baylor College of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, and the Massachusetts General Hospital. He received a B.A. in Humanities "summa cum laude" from the University of Texas in Austin, where he gave the baccalaureate address.
For the past 30 years, Dr. Ornish has directed clinical research demonstrating, for the first time, that comprehensive lifestyle changes may begin to reverse even severe coronary heart disease, without drugs or surgery. Recently, Medicare agreed to provide coverage for this program, the first time that Medicare has covered a program of comprehensive lifestyle changes. He recently directed the first randomized controlled trial demonstrating that comprehensive lifestyle changes may stop or reverse the progression of prostate cancer. His current research is showing that comprehensive lifestyle changes may affect gene expression.
He is the author of five best-selling books, including "New York Times "bestsellers "Dr. Dean Ornish's Program for Reversing Heart Disease," "Eat More, Weigh Less," and "Love & Survival."" "He writes a monthly column for both "Newsweek" and "Reader's Digest" magazines.
The research that he and his colleagues conducted has been published in the "Journal of the American Medical Association," "The Lancet," "Circulation," "The" "New England Journal of Medicine," the "American Journal of Cardiology, "and elsewhere. A one-hour documentary of their work was broadcast on "NOVA," the PBS science series, and was featured on Bill Moyers' PBS series, "Healing & The Mind. "Their work has been featured in all major media, including cover stories in "Newsweek," "Time, "and "U.S. News & World Report."
Dr. Ornish is a member of the boards of directors of the U.S. United Nations High Commission on Refugees, the Quincy Jones Foundation, and the San Francisco Food Bank. He was appointed to the White House Commission on Complementary and Alternative Medicine Policy and elected to the California Academy of Medicine. He is Chair of the Google Health Advisory Council, Chair of the PepsiCo Blue Ribbon Advisory Board, and Chair of the Safeway Advisory Council on Health and Nutrition and consults with the CEO of McDonald's to make more healthful foods and to provide health education to their customers in this country and worldwide.
He has received several awards, including the 1994 Outstanding Young Alumnus Award from the University of Texas, Austin, the University of California, Berkeley, "National Public Health Hero" award, the Jan J. Kellermann Memorial Award for distinguished contribution in the field of cardiovascular disease prevention from the International Academy of Cardiology, a Presidential Citation from the American Psychological Association, the Beckmann Medal from the German Society for Prevention and Rehabilitation of