Critics of new UC Irvine school worry it seeks to legitimize debunked therapies
The University of California, Irvine recently received a $200 million donation to found a new health sciences college focused on “complementary and alternative medicines and evidence-based self-care.” That definition has some concerned it will aim to incorporate unproven therapies into mainstream medical practices.
The donation came from philanthropists Henry and Susan Samueli, who has a long history with alternative therapies. She holds a degree from an unaccredited school called the American Holistic College of Nutrition, and she and her husband had her previously founded an institute which controversially studied homeopathy as a way to protect soldiers from biological attack.
UC Irvine CEO Howard Federoff, MD, PhD, argued the new school’s work into alternative therapies will be grounded in science.
“We take patient safety as our highest calling and we will never deploy any approach—integrative or not—that put patients at risk,” he told STAT News. “Any non-proven or non-evidence based approach? We will not deploy it.”
Critics of these therapies aren’t convinced, arguing the school will legitimize practices which aren’t supported by evidence or could be deemed “medical fraud.”
“You have true believers with a lot of money trying to put their thumb on the scale to influence medicine,” said Yale University neurologist Steven Novella. “No university is going to turn away $200 million.”
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John joined TriMed in 2016, focusing on healthcare policy and regulation. After graduating from Columbia College Chicago, he worked at FM News Chicago and Rivet News Radio, and worked on the state government and politics beat for the Illinois Radio Network. Outside of work, you may find him adding to his never-ending graphic novel collection.