DR NIna FULLER-SHAVEL

PRECISION HEALth and integrative Medicine doctor

Special interest in integrative oncology (integrative cancer care)

BANT Registered NUTRITIONIST AND nutritional therapist, herbalist, TCM Practitioner, acupuncturist and yoga teacher

I am an award-winning Oxbridge-trained integrative medicine doctor, scientist and educator with over a decade’s experience in integrative healthcare. I am a Fellow the College of Medicine, the British Association for Nutrition and Lifestyle Medicine (BANT) and the Royal Society of Arts (RSA). Alongside my scientific and medical training, including an MSc in Precision Cancer Medicine from the University of Oxford, I hold multiple qualifications in nutrition, integrative medicine, functional medicine (IFMCP), health coaching (FMCA), herbal medicine, Traditional Chinese Medicine (including Chinese herbal medicine and acupuncture), yoga, mindfulness and other therapeutic approaches. I integrate and draw upon this extensive knowledge and clinical toolkit every day in my practice. As the clinic Director, I am hugely passionate about the role of Integrative Medicine and Precision Health in regaining and maintaining our health and wellbeing.

In 2022 I was delighted to receive a prestigious Innovation Leader of the Year UKBIA award for our inspirational vision for healthcare and practice leadership. Alongside my clinical work, I speak at national and international conferences and educate medical and nutrition professionals, as well as participating in research in integrative medicine and precision health and contributing to journal editorial boards (IJIO and NMJ) and guideline development panels nationally and internationally. Finally, I am the Co-Founder and Director of Oncio CIC, an innovative non-profit aimed at providing high quality app-based resources for people with cancer and supporting best clinical practice and research in integrative oncology (see the Oncio app information here).

My passion lies in combining my extensive scientific and medical understanding and precision health testing with a whole person approach to create a precisely tailored health plan drawing on a broad range of therapeutic interventions that are aimed at tackling root causes, not just plastering over symptoms. I believe that our current healthcare system, while often life-saving, is not life-optimising, and is rarely able to deliver whole person care for prevention and management of complex, chronic disease, including cancer. As a doctor providing integrative, personalised care to support people with cancer and other complex illness, I see the transformative impact of this approach on personal resilience, quality of life and clinical outcomes every day.

Areas of special interest:

• Integrative oncology support for solid tumours and stable haematological cancer patients - I have a particular interest in marrying precision oncology approaches with integrative medicine to rationally design comprehensive collaborative care plans

  • Please note that I am an integrative medicine doctor, not an oncologist, and I would always aim to work with your extended medical team to provide supportive care.

I use a broad range of modalities in integrative cancer care, including nutrition and lifestyle approaches, psycho-emotional support, complementary modalities (including herbal medicine and acupuncture) and specialist approaches, including IV support, mistletoe therapy and oncothermia, delivered at our clinic in Hampshire.

Please note that I am not currently taking on any new cases, and my waiting list is closed due to high demand. I would recommend working with our cancer nutrition team and/or Dr Emma Davies, another integrative cancer care doctor at Synthesis Clinic.

For women’s health enquiries, please see Dr Amy Shacaluga’s profile. We work closely together as a team, marrying my extensive experience in integrative medicine with her deep working knowledge of obstetrics and gynaecology and qualifications in lifestyle and functional medicine.

Professional positions and international engagement

I am the outgoing Co-Chair of BSIO (British Society for Integrative Oncology, 2021-2023), now co-chairing the BSIO Education Committee with Dr Penny Kechagioglou. I am a member of the Editorial Board for the Nutritional Medicine Journal (NMJ) and the new International Journal of Integrative Oncology (IJIO), as well as being a member of several SIO (Society for Integrative Oncology) SIGs (special interest groups), including yoga, acupuncture, education and global integrative oncology.

I was delighted to be a co-author on the recent SIO-ASCO guidelines on integrative oncology care for anxiety and depression symptoms for people with cancer (publication link here).

Recent blogs, Podcasts and online lectures

Please see more information on this page.

Menopause and Cancer Podcast

The Doctor’s Kitchen Podcast

Functional Health Podcast

My Professional Background

EDUCATION AND TRAINING

• MA Hons (Cantab) Natural Sciences - University of Cambridge

• MB BChir Cambridge Graduate Course in Medicine - University of Cambridge

• MSc Precision Cancer Medicine with Distinction - University of Oxford

• PG Dip Integrative Medicine - National Centre for Integrative Medicine

• PG Cert Personalised Nutrition - Middlesex University

• Diploma in Nutritional Therapy - Institute for Optimum Nutrition

• Functional Medicine Certified Practitioner - The Institute for Functional Medicine

• Functional Medicine Certified Health Coach - Functional Medicine Coaching Academy

• Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT200) - Yoga Alliance

• Chinese Herbal Medicine Diploma - Phoenix Academy/FTCMP (Federation of Traditional Chinese Medicine)

• Diploma in TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) Acupuncture - MATCM (Manchester Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine)

ONGOING TRAINING

• PG Dip Health Research - University of Oxford

• Yoga therapy - Yoga Therapy Institute

AWARDS AND ACCOLADES

• Co-Chair 2021-2023, British Society for Integrative Oncology

• Fellow of the College of Medicine

• Fellow of the British Association for Nutrition and Lifestyle Medicine (BANT)

• Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (RSA)

• Henry Roy Dean Prize for Pathology, University of Cambridge

• Graystone Scholar, University of Cambridge

• Editorial Board Member - Nutritional Medicine Journal

• UKBIA (Business & Innovation Awards) 2022 Innovation Leader of the Year

ADDITIONAL TRAINING

• Women’s Integrative and Functional Medicine Professional Training Program with Dr Aviva Romm

• Heartwood Herbal Medicine, Functional Herbal Therapy and Aviva Romm Herbal Medicine for Women

• Integrative approach to Breast Cancer — University of Arizona

• Functional Herbal Therapy in Cancer with Prof Kerry Bone

• Mentorship programme in integrative oncology with Dr Nasha Winters

• Basic and Advanced Courses in Mistletoe and Integrative Oncology with PAAM (Physicians' Association for Anthroposophic Medicine)

• SIBO Pro course with Dr Allison Siebecker

• Gastrointestinal Health, Neuroinflammation and Autoimmunity — Kharrazian Institute

• Introduction to Theory and Practice of CFT (Compassion Focused Therapy) — Compassionate Mind Foundation

• Training in polyvagal theory and SSP (Safe & Sound Protocol)

• Yin Yoga and Mindfulness — Level 1 and Level 2

• Yoga Therapy Skills for PTSD, Therapeutic Yoga in Cancer Treatment and Yoga Nidra for Mental Health — The Minded Institute

• The Transformative Power of Conscious Breath with Lauren Toolin through Pranamaya

PROFESSIONAL ORGANISATIONS AND REGISTRATIONS

• Registered with the General Medical Council (GMC) and Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council (CNHC)

• Fellow of the College of Medicine and the British Association for Nutrition and Lifestyle Medicine

• Member of the British Medical Association, the Royal College of Physicians, the Royal Society of Medicine and the Independent Doctor’s Federation

• Co-Chair, Director and Member of BSIO (British Society for Integrative Oncology), member of SIO (Society for Integrative Oncology)

• Member of the British Society of Lifestyle Medicine

• Member of the Institute of Functional Medicine and the American Nutrition Association

• Member of OncANP, ANP (Association of Naturopathic Practitioners) and GNC (General Naturopathic Council)

• Member of US Yoga Alliance and UK Yoga Alliance Professionals, student member of IAYT (International Association of Yoga Therapists), member of SIO Yoga SIG (Special Interest Group)

• Member of ATCM (Association of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture UK) and FTCMP (Federation of Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioners)

CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS, POSTERS AND CHAIRED SESSIONS

• BOPA (British Oncology Pharmacy Association) Conference Oct 2022 – ‘Non-pharmacological interventions [in cancer care]’

• Integrative and Personalised Medicine Congress 2022

  • Presentation - ‘A Systems Approach to autoimmune thyroid disease’

  • Workshops - BSIO workshop ‘Integrative oncology in the UK - expanding collaboration and improving access’, industry workshop on mistletoe therapy

• BANT Annual Conference 2022 - ‘Mental Health, Precision Nutrition, and Lifestyle Medicine: Translating Evidence to Clinical Practice’:

  • Presentation - ‘Precision Health and Integrative Medicine Approaches to Supporting Trauma Recovery’

• Integrative Oncology UK 2022:

  • Presentation - ‘Case studies in precision integrative oncology’ with Dr Penny Kechagioglou and Dr Jonathan Krell

  • Chair of ‘Mistletoe – mechanisms, evidence and clinical practice’ session

• ECIM 2021 Virtual Congress, 19th European Congress of Integrative Medicine (ESIM/ISCMR) - Chair of ‘Yoga for Health’ session

• 18th International Society for Integrative Oncology (SIO) Conference 2021 - poster presentation ‘Breast cancer patients’ experience within a UK integrative cancer support clinic and wider perspectives on the need for integrative oncology input within the public healthcare service’

• ISNPR (International Society for Nutritional Psychiatry), Oct 2019 - poster presentation ‘Vitamin D in old age psychiatry inpatients’

• Integrative Health Convention, Oct 2019 - ‘Functional and Integrative Medicine as the future of chronic disease care’

TALKS AND LECTURES

• BANT Oct 2022 - ‘Optimising Women’s Health in Menopause and Beyond’

• ATCM lecture Sept 2022 ‘Integrative medicine in breast cancer: the role of TCM’

• Verve Festival Sept 2022 - ‘Integrative approaches to menopause support’

• Your Life and Cancer Feb 2022 - ‘Supporting balanced immunity’

• Penny Brohn UK Resilience Room webinar - ‘An introduction to Systems Approach to Cancer’

• Genostics webinar Nov 2021 - ‘Systems Approach in practice: bringing data to life’

• Datar Cancer Genetics webinar Jul 2021 - ‘Precision Oncology and Integrative Medicine – contradiction or synergy?’

• Open Clinical Day at the National Centre for Integrative Medicine, Feb 2020 - ‘The Functional Medicine approach to chronic inflammation and autoimmunity’

• Genova Diagnostics Clinical Training Day, Feb 2020 - ‘GI testing in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome’

• Your Life and Cancer, Sept 2020 - ‘Laboratory tests: what is available and what to prioritise’