Prof. Avni Sali, MD
- Founding director of National Institute of Integrative Medicine (NIIM) / Australia
- President of the International Council of Integrative Medicine (ICIM)
- Several other positions on medical boards and associations
- Involved with a number of Educational Medical & Teaching Research Facilities
- Contributions to a wide variety of publications, including editorials and articles in Australian and International Medical Journals
- St. Michael’s Award for Outstanding Community Service and the Australian Humanitarian Award for Contributions to Health
In 1996 Professor Avni Sali was Founding Head of the Graduate School of Integrative Medicine at the Swinburne University in Melbourne. In 2009 he established the not-for-profit, charitable National Institute of Integrative Medicine (NIIM) and became its founding Director. In the past he was also Head of the University of Melbourne Department of Surgery at Heidelberg Hospital.
Professor Sali donates his time to several positions on medical boards and associations. He is the current President of the International Council of Integrative Medicine (ICIM); past President of the Australasian Integrative Medicine Association (AIMA) and sits on numerous medical and other boards. He is a member of the Joint Working Party of the AIMA & Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) establishing the Integrative Medicine (IM) Network which oversees GP training, continuing professional development, and standards for safe ethical practice in the field of integrative medicine.
Professor Sali’s previous appointments include: Australian and New Zealand Representative of the International Society of Surgery, and Director of Victorian Health Research and Education Committee (VPHREC). Professor Sali was a part of the Federal Government Complementary Health Care Consultative Forum and the National Scientific Advisory Committee in Complementary Medicine.
Professor Sali is also involved with a number of Educational Medical & Teaching Research Facilities. Professor Sali was instrumental in establishing the first post-graduate medical school in Integrative Medicine at a University: The Graduate School of Integrative Medicine, Swinburne University Melbourne, as well as the first Integrative Hospital in Melbourne.
Professor Sali regularly contributes to a wide variety of publications, including editorials and articles in Australian and International Medical Journals. He has authored and co-authored numerous publications, including chapters in two of the world’s leading surgical texts. He is on the editorial board of several medical journals and reviewer of articles for other health related publications. Recently he co-authored the highly awaited definitive text of integrative medicine ‘A guide to Evidence-Based Integrative and Complementary Medicine’ published in 2011: Elsevier Australia. He is a regular contributor of health articles to publications such as The Melbourne Review.
For his contribution to the community, in 2002 he was awarded the St. Michael’s Award for Outstanding Community Service and the Australian Humanitarian Award for Contributions to Health in 2004. In November 2012 he was honoured to receive an integrative medicine award in recognition of more than 20 years of service, at the Australian College of Nutritional & Environmental Medicine (ACNEM) 30th Anniversary Gala Dinner and Awards. In March 2013 Prof Sali received an appointment as Adjunct Professor with the Cairnmillar Institute in Melbourne.
Memberships
- Australian Medical Association (AMA)
- Clinical Oncology Society of Australia (COSA)
- Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS)
- Royal Society of Medicine UK
- Australasian Integrative Medicine Association (AIMA)
- Australasian College of Nutritional and Environmental Medicine (ACNEM)
- The Gawler Foundation
- Australian Association of Musculoskeletal Medicine (AAMM)
- Australian Association of Yoga Therapists (AAYT)
- Life Extension Foundation (LEF)
