Our Team
Please allow us to introduce ourselves to you and share how we became passionate about LIFEstyle Medicine and Flourishing.
 | Dr. Carole Anderson
My family has been interested in health for generations. I was raised as a vegetarian from birth, and I am now the 4th generation to choose this lifestyle. I became inspired for even greater health when my mother, given just 2 years to live, lived for an additional 20 years by following LIFEstyle Medicine and Flourishing principles. After completing my internship and working at Simon Fraser University, I started my own Wellness Clinic in the Vancouver area that has included up to 25 Allied Health Professionals working in a shared setting. My current psychology counselling practices focuses on working with adults who have mental health issues, traumatic experiences or relational problems. More recently, I have expanded my interests from helping individuals recover from trauma and difficulty to promoting human flourishing. I currently work as an Assistant Professor in the Psychology Department at Burman University, where I am also the Director of Psychology Program Development. I love combining my interests in health, education, spirituality, relationships, trauma, attachment and flourishing, business and organizational development. I have been passionate about truly listening to my clients and allowing them to teach me what it means to be human. Now, working in a university environment, I am excited to pass on what I have learned in lifestyle medicine and human flourishing. |
 | Dr. Lloyd Douglas
Healthy living is medicine! Embracing lifestyle medicine helped me lose 50 pounds, reverse pre-hypertension and pre-diabetes, and regain vitality. This transformation strengthened my commitment to helping others thrive and flourish through lifestyle medicine. I am a certified Lifestyle Medicine physician with experience working as a Family Medicine physician and a Public Health and Preventive Medicine specialist for remote First Nations communities in northwestern Ontario, Canada. A highlight of my professional journey was completing a six-month observership at an Intensive Therapeutic Lifestyle Medicine center, which deepened my practical knowledge and skills in this field. The need for these centres worldwide is immense, and I am deeply passionate about establishing them. I am working to establish a Lifestyle Medicine retreat and an interest group in Jamaica. Super excited! I would be thrilled to see Burman University establish an Intensive Therapeutic Lifestyle Medicine center as well. I am thrilled to be a part of the Lifestyle Medicine and Flourishing Centre at Burman University. My mission is to help “make lives whole.” Come and join us! |
 | Dr. Heather Gretton
Through life experiences and as a life learner, I am continually curious and in awe of the body and mind’s capacity to renew and transform and the human drive toward vitality, healing, and flourishing. My educational and professional career spans over 30 years and includes research and practice working with a range of populations. Over the past decade, my interests have focused on understanding human transformational processes from a psychological perspective, incorporating positive neuroplasticity, affective neuroscience, attachment theory, and flourishing moments. These are integrated into the model of Accelerated Experiential Dynamic Psychotherapy (AEDP; Fosha, 200;2021b). I am also interested in how these principles, related to flourishing, apply to the broader context of being human, inside and outside the therapeutic context. I am co-author of the Moments of Flourishing Experience Scale (MFES, Fosha et al., 2024) and the Present Moment of Flourishing Scale (PMFES, Fosha et al., 2024). My mission in the LIFEstyle Medicine and Flourishing Center team is to use my knowledge and skills in a holistic, interdisciplinary, and team endeavour that includes principles of lifestyle medicine and flourishing to contribute to positive transformation, well-being, and the cultivation of flourishing. |
 | Dr. Klaus Irrgang
Hello! I am Klaus Irrgang, and I am delighted to be part of LIFEstyle Medicine and Flourishing at Burman University. I have been interested in health and wellness since I was a teenager, and my parents gave me positive examples. I apply my knowledge in my personal life to a large degree and practice what I preach. I adopted a plant-based diet in my early twenties and have been physically active all my life. I ran my last marathon with my dad when he was 80. I am originally from Germany, but I have worked in several countries: Germany, the United States, the Philippines, and now for the last 16 years in Canada. My doctorate from Loma Linda University is in Public Health, emphasizing Preventive Care. I directed a residential Wellness program in the US, where my team essentially used a Lifestyle Medicine approach even though the name did not exist then. One of my recent publications was on the perception of plant-based diets among university students. I have given presentations on the intersection of Public Health and Lifestyle Medicine, including a keynote at the Eighth International Conference on Global Public Health in Manila, Philippines. I am thrilled to help design our new Pre-Allied Health track in Lifestyle Medicine and Flourishing (a first for a Bachelor’s level program in Canada). I enjoy teaching at Burman University, where I work as an Associate Professor of Wellness. |
 | Pekka Määttänen
I have grown up on a nutrient-dense whole-foods plant-based diet, an active lifestyle including commuting by bike from elementary to postdoctoral “school,” playing volleyball on my university team, and now getting out with my golden retriever for morning runs or skis depending on the season. My first significant application of lifestyle medicine in a community setting was in 2009 when, as a volunteer, I directed an 8-week Nedley Depression and Anxiety Recovery Program in a suburb of Montreal. Since then, I have directed over 10 programs and served on the Lifestyle Canada Education Services board. My biochemical research has focused on protein folding quality control and the endoplasmic reticulum stress response related to protein overload. My nutrition research has focused on soluble fibre (inulin, short-chain fructo-oligosaccharides, human milk oligosaccharides) and plant-based n-3 polyunsaturated fat impacts on intestinal inflammation and the microbiome. More recently, I have turned my attention to anthocyanin-rich haskap berries and whole-ground flaxseed impacts on cardiometabolic disease and the impacts of lifestyle medicine intensives on the microbiome. My mission is to promote the application of evidence-based, safe, and cost-effective prevention, treatment, and reversal strategies for chronic diseases and to uncover their mechanisms of action. |
 | Dr. Daniel D. Saugh
I have had an interest in health since high school and have always believed in staying active and healthy. I pursued the health sciences for my first degree and then worked for a nutraceutical company following graduation. I have served in the Pastoral ministry for 20 years and as a Military and Police Chaplain for over 10 years, where I have integrated health and wholeness into my work. I have conducted many community-based health programs, from depression recovery to lifestyle-based interventions. I had the privilege of working as a public health intern in preventative medicine at the Loma Linda Veterans Affairs Hospital under Dr Linda Ferry, MD, MPH. As the exercise coordinator and health educator, I worked at the Loma Linda Coronary Health Improvement Project (CHIP), a lifestyle program founded by Dr Hans Diehl. It is now called the Complete Health Improvement Program. I am a registered psychotherapist in Ontario and have been the Director for A1 Counselling Services in Toronto, integrating whole-person care with psychotherapeutic interventions. This includes being a lifestyle consultant with Paradise Health, a wholistic treatment centre. Currently, I am serving as an Assistant Professor in the department of Psychology at Burman University. My research background includes trauma-based research, lifestyle interventions, recovery and resilience. I believe in empowering people to take back their health and embrace health as a journey. I believe in an integrative approach to health and wellness in mind, body and spirit, leading people to experience wholeness where we help nourish to flourish! |
 | Dr. Ivonne Szamko
My journey with lifestyle medicine began twenty years ago when I embraced its principles in my own life. The positive transformation I experienced ignited my passion for this evidence-based approach and inspired me to explore its potential to improve not only my health but also the lives of others. Professionally, lifestyle medicine has been profoundly rewarding, reshaping my approach to patient care and counseling. It allows me to address the root causes of chronic diseases, leading to meaningful, lasting improvements in health and quality of life. With over a decade of international experience in general practice across Peru, Cambodia, and Timor-Leste, I have witnessed its powerful impact on individuals, helping them achieve sustainable well-being. As a member of the Lifestyle Medicine and Flourishing Centre team at Burman University, I collaborate with dedicated professionals to advance this vital field. My mission is to empower individuals to embrace sustainable lifestyle changes, fostering healthier lives and thriving communities. |