About

History

The first Lifestyle Medicine Interest Group (LMIG) was started at Harvard Medical School in 2008. During a poster session a first year medical student, Timothy McGlaston, expressed interest in an exercise prescription poster that Dr. Beth Frates co-authored. After discussing Lifestyle Medicine with Dr. Frates, Timothy suggested that Dr. Frates give lectures to the first year students. They decided to hold lunch time meetings where students could eat and learn. This was the birth of the first LMIG. Dr. Frates lectured on exercise prescription, nutrition, stress resiliency, sleep and behavior change. 


Since that time, the LMIG at Harvard has been going strong with about 25 members each year and an executive team in charge of steering the activities and encouraging participation.

Harvard LMIG Leadership 2023

Colin Harper

Hi, I'm Colin Harper, a first-year student at HMS. I'm from New Orleans where I graduated from Tulane in 2021, after which I spent a year in a lab studying the effects of different diets on dementia risk and another year studying Therapeutic Sciences at the Cambridge in the UK. Outside of medicine, I'm big into calisthenics, weightlifting, and meditation. I am more generally into optimizing individuals' health through any and all modalities, particularly lifestyle-based ones, and I am excited to work towards that end with LMIG!

Ellie Enichen

Hi everyone! I’m a first year-medical student passionate about increasing the role of lifestyle medicine in traditional medical practice. At HMS, I’m involved in co-leading the emergency medicine interest group, teaching mindful movement classes, volunteering with Boston Healthcare for the Homeless and participating in AI-focused research! Outside of school, I am training for the Austin Marathon and I love reading and trying new restaurants : )

Franny Bray

My name is Franny Bray and I am a second year dental student at HSDM. I graduated from the Univeristy of Michigan with a double major in Biology, Health and Society and French. I spent a gap year working at a dental practice and I started to see the overlap between lifestyle and dentistry.  I am passionate about finding a positive way to incorporate lifestyle medicine into my dental practice. 

Cameron Young

Hi everyone! My name is Cam, and I am a first-year student at Harvard Medical School. I grew up outside Boston in Medfield, MA and did my undergraduate degree in chemical engineering and biochemistry from Northeastern University. I then completed a Masters in cancer genomics from the University of Cambridge in the UK before beginning medical school. I am super passionate about all things health, fitness, and nutrition! Outside of school, I enjoy doing CrossFit, running, hiking, cooking, and traveling.

Alexis Giff

Hi! I’m Alexis Giff, a first year at HMS. Originally from Chicago, I graduated from Brown in 2021 with a bachelor’s in neuroscience. While at Brown, I worked in a psychiatric neurosurgery lab studying treatment-resistant OCD. I then spent a year in Switzerland doing a Fulbright in a lab studying consciousness and another year at UCSF studying Parkinson’s disease. I have a strong interest in nutritional neuroscience and longevity research and am hoping to further explore these areas and ultimately help others improve their health through LMIG!

Colin Harper

Hi, I'm Colin Harper, a first-year student at HMS. I'm from New Orleans where I graduated from Tulane in 2021, after which I spent a year in a lab studying the effects of different diets on dementia risk and another year studying Therapeutic Sciences at the Cambridge in the UK. Outside of medicine, I'm big into calisthenics, weightlifting, and meditation. I am more generally into optimizing individuals' health through any and all modalities, particularly lifestyle-based ones, and I am excited to work towards that end with LMIG!

Ellie Enichen

Hi everyone! I’m a first year-medical student passionate about increasing the role of lifestyle medicine in traditional medical practice. At HMS, I’m involved in co-leading the emergency medicine interest group, teaching mindful movement classes, volunteering with Boston Healthcare for the Homeless and participating in AI-focused research! Outside of school, I am training for the Austin Marathon and I love reading and trying new restaurants : )

Franny Bray

My name is Franny Bray and I am a second year dental student at HSDM. I graduated from the Univeristy of Michigan with a double major in Biology, Health and Society and French. I spent a gap year working at a dental practice and I started to see the overlap between lifestyle and dentistry.  I am passionate about finding a positive way to incorporate lifestyle medicine into my dental practice. 

Cameron Young

Hi everyone! My name is Cam, and I am a first-year student at Harvard Medical School. I grew up outside Boston in Medfield, MA and did my undergraduate degree in chemical engineering and biochemistry from Northeastern University. I then completed a Masters in cancer genomics from the University of Cambridge in the UK before beginning medical school. I am super passionate about all things health, fitness, and nutrition! Outside of school, I enjoy doing CrossFit, running, hiking, cooking, and traveling.

Alexis Giff

Hi! I’m Alexis Giff, a first year at HMS. Originally from Chicago, I graduated from Brown in 2021 with a bachelor’s in neuroscience. While at Brown, I worked in a psychiatric neurosurgery lab studying treatment-resistant OCD. I then spent a year in Switzerland doing a Fulbright in a lab studying consciousness and another year at UCSF studying Parkinson’s disease. I have a strong interest in nutritional neuroscience and longevity research and am hoping to further explore these areas and ultimately help others improve their health through LMIG!
Past Team Members

Faculty Advisor

Beth Frates, MD, FACLM, DipABLM

Advisor

Beth Frates, MD, FACLM, DipABLM, is a physiatrist and a health and wellness coach, with expertise in Lifestyle Medicine. At Harvard Medical School, she created the first Lifestyle Medicine Interest Group in 2008, which is still thriving today. To learn more about Dr. Frates, click here.

A few words about LMIGs

from Dr. Beth Frates

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