Department of Integrative Medicine

He has also provided leadership in shaping and implementing policy related to management of chiropractic, acupuncture, naturopathy, and other complementary medicine benefits. Dr. Elder held a Senior Investigator appointment at the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research, where he served as principal or co- investigator on a range of federally funded studies evaluating mind-body and other complementary medicine interventions in the setting of chronic disease management.

He held a clinical faculty appointment at Oregon Health and Science University, and for over 2 decades has mentored and taught residents and students in both internal and integrative medicine settings. He co-authored the book Picture of Health: Transform your self-care and health care through ayurvedic and integrative medicine and has published numerous articles in the integrative medicine literature.

Dr. Prasad is nationally recognized for advancing innovative, integrative and prevention-focused, whole-person strategies that improve population health outcomes, expand care access, and strengthen organizational mission and performance. Her immediate past position were the Chief Strategic Development Officer and Chair of Medicine at Hennepin Healthcare, where she led strategic clinical innovation initiatives focused on population health, chronic disease prevention, community engagement, and interdisciplinary care transformation within a major academic safety-net health system, and the state of Minnesota.

Across these roles, she has built clinical and educational programs integrating nutrition science, Ayurveda, lifestyle medicine, behavioral health, and whole-person care into mainstream healthcare delivery. She has secured and led multi-million-dollar funding initiatives supporting clinical innovation, workforce education, community health partnerships, and telehealth expansion, including leadership of statewide Project ECHO programs designed to improve clinician capacity and access to specialty care.

Her experience in governance includes serving on the Hennepin Health System (HHS) Board as a trustee for 5 years, serving as a founding board member of the American Board of Integrative Medicine (ABOIM) for 9 years, serving on the American Board of Physician Specialties (ABPS) and chairing the strategic planning committee for 2 years, and serving on several community non-profit boards in Minnesota and New Mexico.

For her overall contribution to the field of integrative medicine and the board service, she was honored with the 2025 Physician of the Year award by ABOIM.

Dr. Amit Shah has obtained his medical degree from Municipal medical college in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India and was trained at Yale University affiliated residency program at St. Vincent Medical Center in Bridgeport, Connecticut. He also has obtained special certification by American Board of Integrative Medicine. His passion is in a truly integrative model of care which is being provided by Integra Wellness Center and his medical practice. He balances the application of Ancient wisdom of Ayurveda with modern medical science.

Currently, he is practicing as an Independent Integrative physician at Palmetto Medical Group, located Indian Land, SC which is part of greater Charlotte area. He is also affiliated to MUSC-Lancaster as a consulting medical staff in Palliative Care. He is currently serving as a Medical Director of a community hospice.

His interests include visual arts, creativity, yoga, travel, and community outreach locally as well as internationally. He also is nominated as a Chair of Ayurveda Consortium by incoming president of AAPI.

Vaidya Sangeeta is a dedicated Professional Practicing Ayurveda since 2007 and had done 5years of teaching during her PG and PhD in Ayurveda and now teaching in MIU since 2021. She specialized in Panchakarma and successfully treated patients with a variety of ailments, including metabolic and lifestyle disorders. She is also certified in nutrition and health education and astromedicine and uses a holistic approach, including all the modalities of Maharishi AyurVeda. She is an avid learner and has attended many workshops and conferences to update herself on new developments and different approaches to treating disorders.

In her endeavor to share knowledge with others, she co-authored the first book exclusively on Vamana Karma (therapeutic emesis) in 2018 and has presented many papers and published many articles. She is passionate about giving back to society and has done a lot of work with NGOs and community development. She has conducted many camps and awareness programs to educate people on the Ayurveda way of living.

She has done her BAMS (Graduation) from Dr. BRKR Govt. Ayurveda College, Hyderabad, India, and was at the top of her class. Later she pursued her MD (Ayurveda) and PhD from National Institute of Ayurveda, Jaipur, India. She was All-India 4th Rank in post-graduate studies and All-India 2nd Rank in PhD entrance. She has done research on dyslipidemia in her MD (Ayurveda) and Hypothyroidism in her PhD. She is a Guinness Book of World Records holder for being the trainer and key participant in the “Largest number of people receiving Nasya therapy” during RAYM held at the National Institute of Ayurveda, Jaipur, on September 15, 2017.

Before joining Maharishi International University, she worked as Research Head for Vaishnavi Welfare and Charitable trust, an NGO in India, working on the management of malnutrition through Ayurveda, and as a Panchakarma Consultant in Guna Ayurveda, Hyderabad. She has a number of articles published both in India and International Journals and has presented many papers and talks on health to corporations.

At present, she is Director of Clinical Training for the MS in Ayurveda & Integrative Medicine and Assistant Professor in the Department of Physiology and Health at Maharishi International University and Consultant Vaidya at MIU's Integrative Health Center. Curriculum Vitae >

She is a youth yoga teacher for the St. Louis Hindu Temple Youth Group. She is a physician advocate for global health policies with Results, an international advocacy organization, and is the point person for Missouri senators, currently advocating for policies that aim to eradicate HIV, malaria, and tuberculosis. She is also a board member for Bright Life Foundation, which provides free residence and K-12 education to orphaned children in India.

Motivated by her passion for mind-body healing, Dr. Bhatia pursued a Master of Science in Integrative Health and Ayurveda and now guides women leaders, patients, and communities in applying ancient practices to modern lifestyles. She serves on the boards of American Heart Association, Pratham NYC and Blend, and speaks globally on the intersection of health, leadership, and conscious living.

Through her work, Dr. Bhatia helps others activate their inner healing power and thrive with balance in today’s complex world.

She has the distinguished honor of being named “Outstanding Student” in her cohort and she looks forward to being able to work with current and future fellows as a guest lecturer.

• Residency Training: Mercy Medical Center, Merced, CA (UC Davis Affiliated Family Medicine Residency, June 2012 to June 2015)
• Medical School: University of Kansas School of Medicine (July 2008 to May 2012)
• Undergraduate: St. Louis University and Washburn University

Personal statement: I was born in Kenya and moved to the United States when I was 12 years old. Middle school through Medical school was spent in the Midwest (primarily in Topeka, Kansas). I now call San Jose, CA home and live with my husband, my mother-in-law and my 7 year old daughter. We enjoy traveling when we get a chance especially since we have family spread across the United States and across the globe!