Presenter: Pam Smith, MD, MPH, MS

Pam Smith explores the gut-brain-hormone connection in three sessions. In the first seminar, she looks at the relationship between common skin disorders (acne, atopic dermatitis, and rosacea) and the health of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract from a conventional and personalized medicine approach. We will also examine the role sex hormones and GI inflammation play, and discuss signs, symptoms, and conventional therapies for these common skin disorders. In the second seminar, she reviews major GI disorders, the role of estrogen and its receptors from a personalized/functional medicine perspective, and how they contribute to the progression of some GI diseases. In the third seminar, she addresses communication between gut microbiota and host systems involved in the pathophysiology of anxiety and depression, as well as hormone and neurotransmitter dysregulation, the signaling pathways between the gut microbiota and behavior, and interactions between the gut microbiota and critical parts of the central nervous and immune systems, among other topics.