Keynote Speakers
Michael Kowalski, A.P., Dipl. Ac., NCCAOM
Lead Acupuncture Physician and DirectorThe Acupuncture & Holistic Health Center and The 5 Element Institute
Jacksonville, Florida
Michael Kowalski A.P., Dipl. Ac. is a Florida licensed Acupuncture Physician and Founder of the Acupuncture & Holistic Health Center, the 5 Element Institute, and Integrative Acupuncture Specialists in Jacksonville, Florida. After earning his B.A. at Yale University, Michael earned two post-graduate degrees in Five Element Acupuncture with Professor J. R. Worsley at the College of Traditional Acupuncture in England. Michael moved his family to Jacksonville, Florida in 1988, where his private practice continues to flourish. After Michael provided acupuncture in Mayo Clinic Jacksonville’s Pilot Integrative Medicine program, he founded Integrative Acupuncture Specialists to develop partnerships with hospitals and physician-owned practices who wish to integrate acupuncture into their conventional medicine programs.
Michael Kowalski’s teaching experience includes serving on the acupuncture faculty of the College of Traditional Chinese Acupuncture in England, and Worsley Institute of Classical Acupuncture in Miami, FL. He established the Florida Board of Acupuncture-certified Preceptor program in Jacksonville. Michael served as Dean of Acupuncture and principal instructor of the Mandarin School of Chinese Medicine, and later as President of the Classical Acupuncture Institute in Jacksonville, FL. Meanwhile he has continuously served as Senior Faculty at the Academy for Five Element Acupuncture in Gainesville since its founding in 1995, where he also serves on their Board of Governors.
Michael Kowalski is Director of the 5 Element Institute, a Florida Board of Acupuncture licensed provider of continuing education courses. Michael trains licensed acupuncturists and healthcare providers in Five Element acupuncture, and how to integrate specialized evidence-based acupuncture protocols. Michael seeks to direct credentialed Institute graduates in providing integrative acupuncture treatment and research support in conventional medical settings. The mission of the 5 Element Institute is to build an inter-professional bridge between the acupuncture profession and conventional medical communities, through research, treatment, and educational programs, with the object of encouraging collaborative and integrative clinical practices that can enhance the patient experience, improve health outcomes, and lower healthcare costs.
C. Pierce Salguero, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Asian History & Religious StudiesProgram Chair for Interdisciplinary Studies
The Abington College of Penn State University
Dr. Salguero is an interdisciplinary humanities scholar fascinated by the intersections between Buddhism, medicine, and cross-cultural exchange. He earned his Ph.D. in the History of Medicine from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, and teaches Asian history, religion, and culture at Penn State University’s Abington College, located near Philadelphia. The major theme of his scholarship is the interplay between the global transmission and local reception of Buddhist knowledge about health, disease, and the body. Dr. Salguero approaches this topic using methodologies from history, religious studies, translation studies, and anthropology, among other fields.
Dr. Salguero is the author of several monographs and edited volumes including a three-volume series Buddhism and Medicine (Columbia University Press, 2017–2020) and Buddhist Healing in Medieval China and Japan (Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press, in press) plus more than a dozen articles on various aspects of Buddhism and medicine. He continually seeks opportunities to cross disciplinary lines in publishing and presenting his work. Dr. Salguero regularly publishes writing for non-scholarly audiences, as he believes that it is important to create opportunities for dialogue with practitioners of Buddhism and Asian medicine. He currently serves as the Editor-in-Chief of the journal Asian Medicine, journal of the International Association for the Study of Traditional Asian Medicine.