Saturday, April 10, 2027

9:00 - 10:30 AM	"TBD"	TBA
10:30 - 11:00 AM	BREAK
11:00 - 12:30 PM	"Osteoporosis Pharmaceutical Management: Benefits, Risks, and Real-World Results"	John Neustadt, ND
12:30 - 1:30 PM	LUNCH
1:30 - 3:00 PM	"Use of Circulating Tumor DNA Testing to Guide Breast Cancer Treatment"	Leanna Standish, ND, PhD, LAc, FABNO
3:00 - 3:30 PM	BREAK
3:30 - 5:00 PM	"TBD"	TBA

Sunday, April 11, 2027

9:00 - 10:30 AM	"The Evolving Pharmacology of Incretin Receptor Agonists"	Brice Thompson, ND, MS
10:30 - 11:00 AM	BREAK
11:00 - 12:30 PM	"C-Reactive Protein as a Predictive Biomarker in Reproductive Endocrinology & How to Treat"	Haylee Nye, ND, MScN
12:30 - 1:30 PM	LUNCH
1:30 - 3:00 PM	"Personalized Thyroid Pharmacology: Navigating T4, T3, Combination Therapy, and Desiccated Thyroid in Clinical Practice"	Shawn Soszka, ND, LAc, FABNE
3:00 - 3:30 PM	BREAK
3:30 - 5:00 PM	"TBD"	TBA

John Neustadt, ND

"Osteoporosis Pharmaceutical Management: Benefits, Risks, and Real-World Results"

1.5 Pharmacology (Total 1.5 CE)

The FDA has approved over a dozen osteoporosis medications. Understanding their potential benefits and risks is essential for advising patients and answering their questions. In this talk, Dr. Neustadt reviews these medications, teaches clinicians which are best for primary and secondary fracture prevention, discusses the current research on using these drugs for primary versus secondary osteoporosis, and examines prescribing practices considering medication possession rates, compliance, and the number needed to treat stratified by age.  He also reviews the impact of HRT on the bone health and fracture risk of women and men. This talk helps clinicians learn how to discuss these drugs with patients to support informed decision-making.

Bio: John Neustadt, ND, is the Founder and President of the dietary supplement company Nutritional Biochemistry, Inc. (NBI, nbihealth.com) and NBI Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Neustadt founded NBI in 2006 when he couldn’t find products with doses of nutrients shown in clinical trials to work that he needed for his patients. He received multiple US FDA Orphan Drug Designations for potential treatments of rare diseases using natural products through his company, NBI Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Neustadt hosts the Delivering Health podcast and is a member of the Bone Health and Osteoporosis Foundation's Corporate Advisory Roundtable. He has authored four books and over 100 research reviews, earning recognition from Elsevier as a Top Ten Cited Author worldwide for his work. His latest book is Fracture-Proof Your Bones: Expanded and Updated Edition.

 

Leanna Standish, ND, PhD, LAc, FABNO

“Use of Circulating Tumor DNA Testing to Guide Breast Cancer Treatment”

1.5 Pharmacology (Total 1.5 CE)

The use of DNA sequencing of tumor cells has revolutionized cancer treatment. New breast cancer treatments target specific mutations of each patient for 'personalized care'. Tumors shed tumor cells into the bloodstream, and blood tests, or 'liquid biopsies,' are now commonly used to detect minimal residual disease after primary cancer treatment as well as to detect early cancer recurrence well before a scan can identify a mass. This technology is now in widespread use in treating breast cancer. The gene mutations that drive breast cancer have been identified. Bioflavonoids used in naturopathic oncology can modulate some of the mutated malignant pathways that produce breast tumors. This lecture will describe how to use tumor and circulating DNA tests to help your breast cancer patient select the best targeted therapy, monitor for early microscopic recurrence, and serve as an important new biomarker for clinical research. Using circulating tumor DNA blood testing as a baseline and post-treatment biomarker, we can conduct a 6-week protocol of experimental natural medicine therapy and evaluate its anti-cancer efficacy with a blood test. Several breast cancer IV therapy cases will be discussed.

Bio: Dr. Standish is a neuroscientist and naturopathic physician living and working in Seattle WA. She holds faculty appointments at the University of Washington School of Medicine in the Radiology Department as well as at Bastyr University. She specializes in integrative oncology and neurology. She leads cancer research teams and holds an FDA IND for a phase I clinical trial of ayahuasca, a psychoactive Amazonian tea.

Dr. Standish is board certified in naturopathic oncology. Her research is focused on the Asian medicinal mushroom Trametes versicolor in the treatment of breast and prostate cancer; functional brain imaging in the treatment of brain cancer; and the development of integrative oncology outcomes studies. New projects using IV Resveratrol and IV Curcumin to treat cancer are being developed.

She has provided adjunctive naturopathic medical care to hundreds of cancer patients and has worked collaboratively with Seattle area oncologists to provide integrated conventional/CAM care. A founding board member of the Oncology Association of Naturopathic Physicians, Dr. Standish was board certified in naturopathic oncology in 2006. Her recognition by the oncology community as an expert in naturopathic medicine is evidenced by her being voted one of Seattle’s Best Physicians in the Seattle Metropolitan Magazine in 2002, 2004 and 2008. She has been a member of both the NIH and the Department of Defense study sections for scientific review of CAM research in cancer. Dr. Standish has served as a CAM oncology advisor to MD Anderson Cancer Center.

Brice Thompson, ND, MS

"The Evolving Pharmacology of Incretin Receptor Agonists"

1.5 Pharmacology (Total 1.5 CE)

More to come!

Bio: I am an Associate Professor and Clinical Research Investigator at NUNM, where I serve as the Dean of Biomedical Sciences within the School of Naturopathic Medicine. My teaching spans the across the University and includes pharmacology, biochemistry, evidence-informed practice, immunology, genetics, and minor surgery. I am also the Co-Lead of our institution’s Ed Tech & AI Committee.

I completed my ND and MS in integrative medical research at NUNM in 2018, followed by a postdoctoral fellowship in pharmaceutics at the University of Washington under Yvonne Lin, PhD, supported by an NIH/NCCIH T90 BRIDG training grant.

Before moving to full-time academic work, I spent several years balancing industry, clinical practice, and academic responsibilities. I served as Chief Scientific Officer and Director of Manufacturing at Thaena, Inc., a Portland-based, female-owned, microbiome therapeutics company, from 2022 to 2024. I also practiced in an integrative gastroenterology clinic called Flora Medicine which specialized in fecal microbiota transplantation for recurrent, treatment-resistant Clostridioides difficile infections.

My published research spans microbial metabolomics, pharmacokinetics and natural product-drug interactions, the microbiome, nutrition and immunosenescence, and psychedelic-assisted therapy. The connective thread is a stubborn preference for quantitative evidence, no matter the topic area.

 

Haylee Nye, ND, MScN

“C-Reactive Protein as a Predictive Biomarker in Reproductive Endocrinology & How to Treat”

1.5 General (Total 1.5 CE)

More to come!

Bio: More to come!

 

 

 

 

Shawn Soszka, ND, LAc, FABNE

"Personalized Thyroid Pharmacology: Navigating T4, T3, Combination Therapy, and Desiccated Thyroid in Clinical Practice"

1.5 Pharmacology (Total 1.5 CE)

Thyroid hormone prescribing is often thought of as a simple process of replacing deficient hormone, yet for many patients, symptoms such as fatigue, brain fog, weight concerns, mood changes, and temperature dysregulation continue even with in-range thyroid labs. This 90-minute pharmacology-focused presentation will review the clinical use of levothyroxine, liothyronine, combination T4/T3 therapy, and desiccated thyroid extract in the management of hypothyroidism and Hashimoto’s thyroiditis.

Thyroid medication decisions often look straightforward on paper. In real practice, they are more nuanced. This presentation will examine how to choose and adjust thyroid medications based on the patient’s lab pattern, symptom picture, medication tolerance, absorption factors, drug-nutrient interactions, and safety risks. Special attention will be given to patients who do not respond as expected, in which the issue may be the dose, the formulation, the timing, the conversion pattern, or the broader clinical context.

Bio: Dr. Shawn Soszka is a naturopathic physician and founder of NW Functional Thyroid Clinic in Portland, Oregon. His practice focuses on thyroid disorders, including Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, hypothyroidism, Graves’ disease, and complex endocrine presentations where symptoms, lab patterns, and medication response do not always line up neatly.

He earned his Doctorate from the National University of Natural Medicine in 2000 and a Master of Oriental Medicine in 2001. He has previously taught gastroenterology at NUNM and brings more than 25 years of clinical experience to his work. He is also the award-winning author of The Thyroid Fix.

His clinical approach emphasizes individualized, evidence-informed thyroid care that connects physiology, laboratory interpretation, medication management, immune activity, and the larger endocrine network.