Meet Our Scientific Board
World-leading experts serving as Honorary Scientific Board Members of FMC Ireland.
Our Honorary Scientific Board comprises internationally recognised researchers, clinicians and educators at the forefront of functional and lifestyle medicine. Our board members review and provide guidance on lecture content and speaker slides for the annual FMC Ireland conference, ensuring all content delivered to practitioners reflects the highest standards of evidence-based practice.
Dr. Datis Kharrazian is a Harvard Medical School-trained, award-winning clinical research scientist, academic professor, and world-renowned functional medicine healthcare provider. He develops evidence-based models to treat autoimmune, neurological, and unidentified chronic diseases using non-pharmaceutical applications including diet, nutrition, and lifestyle medicine.
His clinical models of evidence-based medicine are used by several academic institutions and thousands of healthcare providers throughout the world. He completed his post-doctoral research fellowship at the Department of Neurology at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, where his primary research focused on neuroimmunology and autoimmunity.
Academic & Professional Credentials
Areas of Expertise
Dr. Kharrazian's clinical expertise centres on personalised lifestyle medicine approaches to autoimmunity and neurological disorders — including thyroid autoimmunity, functional neurology, gut-brain axis, and environmentally induced immune reactivity. His research into autoimmune molecular mimicry continues to shape clinical practice internationally.
Awards & Recognition
- Alexander and Mildred Seelig Award — American College of Nutrition, for outstanding contributions to nutritional science
- Two-time Researcher of the Year — International Association of Functional Neurology, for breakthrough research on neurological autoimmunity
- Clinical Trailblazer Award — International Association of Functional Neurology and Rehabilitation
- Award of Recognition — Institute for Clinical Ergonomics and Applied Neuroscience
Dr. Joel M. Evans is a board-certified OB/GYN and international lecturer, currently serving as the Director of The Centre for Functional Medicine in Ridgefield, CT. He previously served as the Chief of Medical Affairs at The Institute for Functional Medicine (IFM).
Since its inception in 2011, Dr. Evans has served as the external lead of IFM's Advanced Practice Module — Hormone. He was also a Co-Creator of the IFM course Resistance, Resilience, and Recovery: Patient Care in a Pandemic, and led IFM's Post-COVID Initiative. He has co-authored three published papers on the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mind/Body Medicine
Dr. Evans has been deeply engaged in mind/body medicine since his initial training in 1997 with Dr. James Gordon and the Centre for Mind/Body Medicine (CMBM). His humanitarian work in this field includes service in Macedonia following the Kosovo bombings in 1999, with the FDNY after 9/11, and with mental health professionals in New Orleans post-Hurricane Katrina. He continues to teach healthcare practitioners worldwide, including remote instruction in Ukraine, as a member of CMBM's Senior Faculty. In July 2023, he joined the CMBM Board of Directors.
Academic & Professional Credentials
Areas of Expertise
Dr. Evans specialises in functional medicine approaches to hormone health, genetic risk assessment for chronic disease, mind/body medicine, and cancer risk prevention. His integration of spirituality, metaphysics and personal transformation into clinical practice reflects a truly whole-person approach to medicine.
Dr. Joseph E. Pizzorno is one of the world's foremost authorities on science-based natural medicine. As founding president of Bastyr University in 1978, he coined the term "science-based natural medicine" and led Bastyr to become the first accredited institution in the field anywhere in the world. Through nearly half a century of work, he has helped establish and advance the academic, scientific and clinical protocols for natural, functional, integrative and environmental medicine.
A founding board member of the Institute for Functional Medicine, Dr. Pizzorno served two consecutive terms as Chair of the IFM Board of Directors, guiding the organisation through the COVID-19 pandemic and expanding collaborations globally. He received the Linus Pauling Award from IFM for his lifetime contributions to functional medicine.
Academic & Professional Credentials
Areas of Expertise
Dr. Pizzorno specialises in science-based natural medicine, environmental medicine and the connection between environmental toxin exposure and chronic disease. His book The Toxin Solution highlights this groundbreaking research. He has developed AI tools to help clinicians and patients unravel complex individual health needs, and continues to advance the concept of Health Medicine — promoting health and resilience alongside disease treatment.
Dr. P. Michael Stone is a board-certified family physician and one of the founding architects of the Functional Medicine model as we know it today. He attended the inaugural IFM Applying Functional Medicine in Clinical Practice (AFMCP) programme in 1998 — and it was there, on the back of a napkin, that he sketched out the original concept that grew into the now-famous Functional Medicine Matrix Model.
A cornerstone of IFM education for over two decades, Dr. Stone has been one of the most valued educators at IFM's AFMCP and Advanced Practice Modules in Cardiometabolic, Immune and Hormone health. He lectures internationally, having spoken in China, Great Britain, South Africa, Hong Kong and the Philippines.
Academic & Professional Credentials
Areas of Expertise
Dr. Stone's clinical and research focus includes the developmental programming of health across generations, the ABCDs of Functional Nutrition Evaluation, methylation pathways, the mouth-body-health connection, and the use of genetics and epigenetics in personalised care. He has delivered care from preconception through hospice in an insurance-based practice for over 20 years, demonstrating that functional medicine can be successfully and sustainably applied in primary care settings.
