Dr Lui, PhD., is Associate Professor in the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Western Ontario, Canada. He received his education and research training in Pharmacy, Pharmacology, and Toxicology from Dalhousie University and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. He is the President of the Canadian Institute of Chinese Medicinal Research (a non-profit national organization that promotes collaborative research at the national and international level: www.bepress.com/jcim), and the Founding Editor of the Journal of Complementary and Integrative Medicine (Berkeley Electronic Press; www.bepress.com/jcim). He served on the Expert Advisory Committee on Complementary Medicine of the Therapeutic Product Programme of Health Canada (1997-2000). He has provided consultation to the Natural Health Products Directorate of Health Canada concerning research in Traditional Chinese Medicines in Canada. Currently, he is a member ad hoc of the Scientific Advisory Committee on Respiratory and Allergy Therapies, TPD of Health Canada.
Dr. Lui’s research focuses on elucidating the mechanisms of action of herbal products to provide the pharmacological plausibility for their medicinal use. Research is targeted at herbal medicines for the treatment of cancer, arthritis and cardiovascular diseases. Various in vitro (cell/organ culture, organ-bath) and in vivo experimental models are used to study treatment effects on angiogenesis, metastasis, inflammation, immunological functions, atherosclerosis, and vascular reactivity. Chemical, biochemical, histological, intravital videomicroscopic and molecular biological techniques are used to examine the sites and mechanisms of action of selected products. These studies contribute to the evidence-based practice of herbal medicine as well as the development of pharmacological markers or bioassays for the standardization of natural health products. His research is funded the Seed Funding Initiative of the NHPD of Health Canada and the Wai King Funds for Research and Education in Medicinal Use of Chinese Herbs. Currently, he is organizing a multi-centred research proposal for the validation of product quality and efficacy of North American ginseng.
Dr. Lui has been active in the educational aspects of complementary medicine in undergraduate medical curriculum and he is currently a member of the Executive Committee of the National Working Group on Complementary and Alternative Medicine for Undergraduate Medical Education in Canada. He is responsible for organizing CAM for UME. He also offers a course entitled: Pharmacology and Toxicology of Natural Sourced Medicines to 4th year medical science students at the University of Western Ontario. He also provides leadership in establishing the Integrative Health Network at UWO. There are more than 30 members which consist of faculty members from UWO and community CAM practitioners. The mandate of this organization is to promote networking and collaboration in research and education in complementary medicine and to provide outreach to community in South Western Ontario.