How a Doctor Cured Her Autoimmune Disease with Functional Medicine

Cynthia Li, MD, is a doctor and author whose personal journey through a disabling autoimmune condition took her from public health in underserved populations, to integrative and functional medicine.

After graduating from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, she practiced internal medicine in settings as diverse as Kaiser Permanente Medical Center, San Francisco General Hospital, St. Anthony’s Medical Clinic for the homeless, and Doctors Without Borders in rural China.

She has studied and practiced with functional medicine experts, environmental health scientists, acupuncturists, qigong masters, and alternative healers, weaving together cutting-edge science and ancient healing arts. Currently, she has a private practice in Berkeley, CA, and serves as faculty for the Healer’s Art program at the University of California San Francisco Medical School.

After becoming an anchor for Awakin Calls, a podcast of the global, all-volunteer-run ServiceSpace community of 2M+, she modeled her clinical services on the gift economy, where patients contribute into a community fund according to their abilities, giving and receiving from each other based on trust.

She is a member of the American Board of Internal Medicine, the Institute for Functional Medicine, and Integrative Medicine for the Underserved. Her writing has been published in The New York Times, Thrive Global, and Psychology Today. She is the author of Brave New Medicine: A Doctor’s Unconventional Path to Healing Her Autoimmune Illness and a free e-booklet How to Strengthen Your Inner Shield: Science-Based, Integrative Strategies for a Healthy Immune System During a Pandemic.

Outside of work, she enjoys gardening, urban farming, traditional cooking, playing the piano and ukulele, reading, hiking, and camping. She lives in Berkeley, CA, with her husband, 2 daughters, their dog, a hamster, a fish, and 50,000 honeybees. To stay grounded, balanced, and continually growing, she practices Zhineng/Wisdom Healing Qigong every day.