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Alexander Moreira-Almeida, MD, PhD was trained in psychiatry and cognitive-behavioral therapy at the Institute of Psychiatry of the University of São Paulo, Brazil, where he also obtained his PhD in Health Sciences.

Formerly a postdoctoral fellow in religion and health at Duke University, he is currently a Professor of Psychiatry at the Federal University of Juiz de Fora School of Medicine and Founder and Director of the Research Center in Spirituality and Health in Brazil. He is Chair of the World Psychiatric Association Section on Religion, Spirituality and Psychiatry and Coordinator of the Section on Spirituality of the Brazilian Psychiatric Association. His main research interest involves the mind-brain relationship and empirical studies of spiritual experiences as well as the methodology and epistemology of this research field.

Most of his publications are available at the Electronic Library in Spirituality and Health (ELSH). Dr. Moreira-Almeida is the editor of the book Exploring Frontiers of the Mind-Brain Relationship (Springer, 2012).

David G. Mercier, M.S., L.Ac., is an acupuncturist, seminar leader, and adjunct faculty member at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD, where his award-winning book, A Beautiful Medicine, is the textbook used in the two courses he teaches.

He earned his M.S. in positive organization development at Case Western Reserve University, his master’s degree in acupuncture at the Maryland University of Integrative Health, and a certificate in transpersonal psychology under psychiatrist Stanislav Grof, M.D. During the 1970’s, Dr. Mercier was a Buddhist monk in Sri Lanka for two years.

Dr. David J. Schleich, a nationally recognized expert in the professional formation of natural medicine, has been the president of National University of Natural Medicine (NUNM) since 2007.

NUNM increasingly lends its reputation to help advance the natural medicine professions toward a remarkable renaissance of awareness and acceptance through education, research and advocacy. NUNM has five active professional institutes: Food As Medicine Institute, Traditional Roots (botanical medicine), Age-Wise (naturopathic gerontology), Spirituality and Medicine, and Women In Balance (women’s health), along with one of the nation’s pre-eminent research divisions, the Helfgott Research Institute.

He earned degrees from the University of Toronto (PhD); the University of Alberta (MA); Queen’s University (BEd); and the University of Western Ontario (BA). His doctoral studies focused on higher education, with a special interest in the regulatory and public policy frameworks that affect medical education. Dr. Schleich has published extensively and has lecture internationally.

Dr. Elaine Drysdale has a BA in Psychology, an MD degree, and a certified Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (FRCPC) in Psychiatry. She is a Clinical Professor of Psychiatry in the Faculty of Medicine at University of British Columbia. She has worked as a psychiatrist for over 30 years in various medical settings, including over 25 years as Psychiatrist in the Leukemia/Bone Marrow Transplant Program of British Columbia (BC), in the BC Cancer Agency, and in palliative care programs.

She has spoken nationally and internationally regarding topics of psychiatric issues in cancer care, bone marrow transplantation, and "Near Death Experiences".

In a multi-center clinical research study later published in the New England Journal of Medicine, she co-led a weekly group for 6 years for metastatic patients, helping women live fully while coping with dying. She has promoted spirituality and clinical hypnosis in medical practice.

Dr. Drysdale has had an interest for over 30 years in "Near Death Experiences", and has taught about NDEs to patients, grieving families, physicians, and other health care providers.

Dr. Koenig completed his undergraduate education at Stanford University, his medical school training at the University of California in San Francisco, and his geriatric medicine, psychiatry, and biostatistics training at Duke University.

He is board certified in general psychiatry, and formerly in family medicine, geriatric medicine, and geriatric psychiatry. He is a Professor of Psychiatry and Associate Professor of Medicine at Duke University Medical Center.

Dr. Koenig is the director of Duke’s Center for Spirituality, Theology and Health, and has published extensively in the fields of religion, spirituality and health, with over 550 scientific peer-reviewed publications and book chapters, and more than 50 books in print or in preparation for publication.

His research on religion and health has been featured on many national and international TV news programs (including ABC’s World News Tonight, The Today Show, two episodes of Good Morning America, Dr. Oz Show, and NBC Nightly News) and hundreds of national and international radio programs and newspapers/magazines (including Reader's Digest, Parade Magazine, Newsweek, Time, and Guidepost).

Dr. Koenig has given testimony before the U.S. Senate (1998) and U.S. House of Representatives (2008) concerning the benefits of religion and spirituality on public health. He is the recipient of the 2012 Oskar Pfister Award from the American Psychiatric Association and the 2013 Gary Collins Award from the American Association of Christian Counselors.

Jeffrey Rediger, MD, MDiv, is on the faculty of Harvard Medical School. He is the Medical Director of McLean and Community Affairs at McLean Hospital, and the Chief of Behavioral Medicine at Caritas SE Good Samaritan Medical Center.

A licensed physician and board-certified psychiatrist, he also has a Master of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary. His research with remarkable individuals who have recovered from illnesses considered incurable has been featured on the Oprah Winfrey and Dr. Oz Shows, among others.

Dr. Rediger has been nominated for the National Bravewell Leadership Award, and has received numerous awards related to leadership and patient care.

Jennifer McCormick is a mixed media artist based in North Carolina working in encaustic, wood, X-rays, and electronics.

She is a graduate of The Department of Art as Applied to Medicine at The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. She is the 1994 recipient of the Alan Cole Award for medical research and the owner of Art for Law & Medicine, Inc. a company dedicated to visualizing topics in medicine for 18 years. She is also a certified medical illustrator.

In 2006, Ms. McCormick began showing artistic work in both individual and collective shows around the United States. Ms. McCormick is the recipient of the 2018 Marianne Oberg Grant Award for Spiritual Art.

Dr. Sergio Lopes is a psychiatrist and a psychotherapist with specialization in Psychoanalytical and Transpersonal Therapy.

A former Clinical Director of the Spiritist Hospital in Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, he is also the founder and President of the Medical Spiritist Association in Pelotas.

He is the author of the book “Leis Morais e Saude Mental” (Moral Laws and Mental Health), and is also an active worker at the “Spiritist Relief Home Brother Fabiano de Cristo” in Pelotas.

Dr. Lopes has lectured all over Brazil and abroad in countries such as Uruguay, Portugal, Germany, Holland, Switzerland, Belgium, England, Luxembourg and Spain.