What Healing Looks Like: Osher Center Hosts Integrative Health Benefit
From left to right: Suzanne Le Mignot, William Li, MD, and Melinda Ring, MD, FACP, ABOIM. (Photo by Geraldine Teotico.)
By Andrew Nellis
September 30, 2025
Advocates, allies, and scientific leaders gathered at Northwestern University’s Simpson Querrey Biomedical Research Center on September 18 for the 2025 Osher Center for Integrative Health Benefit.
More than 240 guests attended the event, raising over $350,000 benefiting high-impact initiatives aimed at increasing access to healthy food and addressing mental well-being.
The evening featured a dinner, remarks by Osher Center leadership, comments from event chair and Osher patient Diane Meagher, and a keynote address from William W. Li, MD, bestselling author and president and medical director of the Angiogenesis Foundation.
“Thanks to the generous support of the people in this room tonight, we have an opportunity,” said Melinda R Ring, MD, FACP, ABOIM, director of the Osher Center, welcoming guests and opening the evening’s events. “With your help, we now have the ability to shift the landscape of whole-person care and spread recognition that food is more than fuel, it is medicine.”
We now have the ability to shift the landscape of whole-person care and spread recognition that food is more than fuel, it is medicine.”
Ring, who is also the Tina Trott Professor of Integrative Health, underscored the importance of the center’s mission, given the growing incidence of chronic conditions.
“Nearly half of the US adults have a chronic disease that is related to poor nutrition,” Ring said. “Every year, we are spending over a trillion dollars on things like diabetes, heart disease and other diet-driven diseases. Osher aims to change that.”
Integrative medicine combines safe, evidence-based complementary approaches with conventional care to support whole-person health. The Osher Center, housed within the Institute for Public Health and Medicine, advances this mission through innovative clinical care, education, and research that bring the best of integrative medicine to patients, trainees, and the broader community.
Honoring partners and amplifying research
This year’s event honored ALAS-Wings with the inaugural Community Catalyst Award. ALAS-WINGS is dedicated to supporting Hispanic/Latina breast cancer survivors and their families through free, Spanish-language education, mental well-being programs like yoga, and support groups. The group is partnering with the Lurie Cancer Center to develop a Spanish-language mindfulness pilot using Wakeful, an app designed by Osher Center researchers through the generous support of the Malkin Family.
In addition, proceeds from the benefit will support several academic-community partnerships focused on mental health and nutrition insecurity, including:
- New food as medicine projects on Chicago’s southside / Shakira Sanchez-Collins, MD
- Community Cares and Roots & Wings Fund, providing Osher clinic services for those in financial need
- Cooking Up Health / Common Threads
Scott Clawson, chairman and chief executive officer of Culligan International, generously served as the event’s lead sponsor. Several allies of the Osher Center joined Clawson in supporting Osher Center’s mission, including the Bluhm Family Foundation, Citadel Securities, Karen and Steve Malkin, Cari and Michael Sacks, and Tina and Byron Trott.
Food as medicine
Building on the night’s theme. William Li, MD, discussed the latest in clinical nutrition research during his keynote address, “Eat to Beat Disease.”
“Food as medicine is not just a slogan but something that is already here and changing lives right now,” Li said. “I hope to convince you this evening that the science is delivering on that promise. It is not just an idea — it is a practice that we can all do.”
Food as medicine is not just a slogan but something that is already here and changing lives right now.”
Food as medicine is a concept that prioritizes evidence-based dietary practices that may help prevent, manage, or treat certain conditions. The practice has garnered significant attention in recent years, including from the American Heart Association.
Li elaborated on the strides clinical nutrition research has made over the past twenty years, highlighting discoveries into how diet can impact the microbiome, cancer immune response, regenerative therapy, DNA protection, and protection against chronic disease.
Central to Li’s lecture was a focus on the biochemical mechanisms of a diverse diet, breaking down multiple studies that have demonstrated the value food can provide in helping treat and prevent disease.
“This isn't food versus medicine,” Li said. “This is food and medicine. They can work together. This is a partnership, a tool in your toolbox. The Osher Center has the opportunity to train the next generation of physicians to take the kind of information that I've just shown you and put it into action.”
In addition to leading integrative health research, the Osher Center at Northwestern provides innovative educational programming for medical students. Through courses and seminars, students are introduced to the evidence base for holistic approaches such as acupuncture, chiropractic care, and mind body medicine, helping to broaden their understanding of whole person care.
Following the keynote address, guests were invited to a closing reception and a live performance by jazz ensemble The Abram Collier Trio.
Suzanne Le Mignot, anchor and reporter for CBS 2 Chicago, served as the master of ceremonies.
To learn more about the Osher Center for Integrative Health, including how to support their mission, visit their website.
To learn more about Dr. William Li and his work, listen to the Next Level Health podcast episode featuring his discussion with Dr. Melinda Ring.