The Institute for Human Individuality 2007 Conference and Bi-Annual Certification and Symposia will be held on May 18th and 19th. Over the next few weeks we will profile each individual who will be speaking at the conference.

Dr. Peter D’Adamo is one of the founders of the Institute for Human Individuality, a Naturopathic physician and scientist. He authored the New York Times best-seller Eat Right 4 Your Type, which has sold over 4 million copies in 50 languages world-wide. Dr. D’Adamo was AANP’s Physician of the Year in 1990 and is currently working on his next book, The Genotype Diet, which is due out in 2008.

1. Dr. D’Adamo, as one of the founders of the Institute for Human Individuality, tell me how the foundation has grown from your initial vision?

IfHI initially was just the vision of four friends; myself, Martha D'Adamo and Paul and Laura Mittman. Several years ago I gave a lecture to the students at Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine (SCNM). Afterwards, we had dinner together, and collectively wondered if the time was indeed right for an entity that combined the best of Naturopathic therapy and outlook with the fast-developing revolution in molecular genomics. That became IfHI (The Institute for Human Individuality). In 2003 we had our first conference, really what we all thought would be a rather simple affair, but there were over 250 attendees! This conference also began our accreditation program as well, since it was becoming increasingly clear that the public wanted education and advice in the area, yet there were no avenues of quality assurance.

In 2005 IfHI presented 'The Four Masters' conference. We never set out to get 'four masters', it was just Paul's offhanded response ("Well, we have four masters of natural medicine here, what should we call this thing?") to the collected talent (Walter Crinnion, Jeffrey Bland and Joseph Pizzorno) that we had managed to collect for our main conference speakers

2. You have had exceptional speakers at the past two conferences, but the diversity and experience of the presenters at the upcoming conference in May is extraordinary. Please tell us about them and why you chose these “masters” in particular.

Walter Crinnion just blew everyone out of their seats in 2005; standing ovation and everything. He is doing some of the most profound work in Naturopathic medicine and detoxification to be found these days. I'd have had a revolt on my hands if we did not get him back for 2007. Emily Kane was my senior editor on the old Journal of Naturopathic Medicine and I just think that it is time for this audience to discover her wisdom and genius. Tom Greenfield is one of the co-editors on the genomic wikipedia that I've created (The Individualist) and a brilliant clinician. Many of my readers will remember Greg Kelly, one of the preeminent thinkers in the profession. Greg was an invaluable research assistant when I was writing Live Right 4Your Type. Greg is picking up the teaching slot unfortunately created by the untimely death of my friend Bill Mitchell. Gerhard Uhlenbruck is simply one of the greatest living immunologists of our times. He's pioneered work in lectinology, polysaccharides and tumor markers. Read any basic textbook in those areas and you will not fail to come across his work. We also have a crew of IfHI Masters who are teaching breakout sessions for certification and lifestyle enhancement: David Bove, Erika Klus and Dina Khader.

3. I understand that you will be presenting some ground-breaking research that you have been doing on Epigenetics and Archeogenetics – can you explain these topics briefly?

Archeogenetics is just a broad term for the use of molecular markers to determine DNA and ancestry. Epigenetics is the newly emerging area of genetics that is focusing on 'post-genomic' gene silencing and activation; literally where nature meets nurture.

4. There will also be an opportunity to become certified as an IfHI Fellow or IfHI Master Instructor – how does this benefit practitioners and non-practitioners alike?

I’ve finished the IfHI Fellow Qualifying Exam Study Guide and I suspect that the Master Qualifying Exam Study Guide will be completed soon. Each of these study guides is over 90 pages long, chock full of great information. The Qualifying Exams themselves are open book, taken over the course of the weekend and handed in at the end of the conference. IfHI Conferences are layperson friendly, with a very nice ‘Enrichment Tract’ for those folks who just want to learn about cutting edge nutrition that they can use to enhance their lives and the lives of their families. This year’s Enrichment Track is being taught by Dina Khader, who is one of the best at educating the public about the nuances of personalized nutrition. If you like sun, good food and fun (in addition to some great science) come down to IfHI in May!

For more information about the conference and registration call toll free 1-877-226-8973 or visit www.dadamo.com/ifhi/2007.