Know Your Host
Meet Your Summit Hosts
Dr. Nafysa Parpia, N.D.
Nafysa Parpia, ND, has an independent practice at Gordon Medical Associates, specializing in Lyme disease treatment and other complex chronic illnesses like autoimmunity, mold toxicity, fibromyalgia, environmental toxicity, and gastrointestinal disorders. Her patients with chronic Lyme Disease are typically those who either do not do well with antibiotics or prefer the biological medicine approach to treatment, including a combination of antibiotics and detoxification methods.
Over years of treating these illnesses, she discovered the same techniques used with essentially well people fostered increased vitality and slowed down the aging process, leading her to include specialization in health optimization and regenerative medicine in her practice.
She embraces various modalities, including peptide therapies, oral and intravenous micronutrient therapy, botanical medicine, functional nutrition, injection therapies, lifestyle counseling, and craniosacral therapy. She knows that to unravel the mystery of chronic illness, she must fully understand her patients’ biochemical imbalances, epigenetic expression (how your genes respond to the environment), toxin exposure, and emotional imbalance.
Dr. Parpia is a sought-after speaker at conferences and has spoken on Tick-Borne Illness and Environmental Medicine at ILADS, the Environmental Health Symposium, and the American Academy of Ozone Therapy. She is a board member of Neurohacker Collective and has been interviewed on their podcast, Collective Insights.
Eric Gordon, M.D.
Eric D. Gordon, MD, President of Gordon Medical Research Center (GMRC), is the founder and owner of Gordon Medical Associates (GMA), a private medical practice in the San Francisco Bay area specializing in complex chronic illness.
In addition to clinical practice (40+ years), Dr. Gordon is engaged in clinical research. Between 2007-2009, he created a series of medical symposia, bringing together leading international medical researchers and cutting-edge clinicians focusing on ME/CFS, Lyme disease, autoimmune diseases, and autism. The collaboration of innovative medical practice with a university research center has been his lifelong dream. Combining forces with Dr. Robert Naviaux and his research into metabolomics, mitochondrial function, and chronic inflammatory disease is now bringing this dream to life.
In 2016 Dr. Gordon was co-author with Dr. Naviaux on a groundbreaking study, “Metabolic Features of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome,” published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS). Dr. Gordon is a medical advisor to Tec Bioscience, and GMA is a collection site for the Lyme Disease Biobank, providing patient samples to researchers worldwide.
Co-Host, Christine Schaffner, ND
Dr. Christine Schaffner is a board-certified Naturopathic Doctor who has helped thousands of people recover from chronic or complex illnesses. Through online summits, her Spectrum of Health podcast, network of Immanence Health clinics, and renown online programs, Dr. Schaffner goes beyond biological medicine, pulling from all systems of medicine and healing modalities–helping patients reclaim their wellness and reveal their brightest light.
After graduating from Bastyr University in Seattle, Washington, Dr. Schaffner completed her undergraduate studies in Pre-medicine and Psychology at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville.
With her diverse skill set, Dr. Schaffner seeks to improve access, outcomes, and speed of recovery for patients struggling with chronic, complex, and mystery illnesses. Patients travel from all around the world to reclaim their wellness using her EECO methodology.
Co-Host, Dr. Jamie Kunkle
For nearly a decade, Dr. Kunkle has worked with complex chronic disease patients including those with: Lyme/chronic infections, autoimmunity, hormone/endocrine disturbances, chronic pain, chronic fatigue and environmentally acquired illnesses. Dr. Kunkle grew up in the East Coast, and had early first hand experiences with tick borne infection and has witnessed the various stages of this illness on individual systems including several family members. He became further fascinated with the unknown (and poorly understood) after majoring in neuroscience/pre-med in his undergraduate studies at the University of Pittsburgh. He developed a passion for the origins of medicine (including plant medicine) and understanding the body-mind connection in health/wellness. Soon after medical school, a notable prolonged mold exposure in Seattle greatly affected himself and his wife. Though his fatigue symptoms cleared over time after leaving this home, his wife developed an autoimmune condition. This event greatly underlined the importance of early recognition of environmental illness and the diversity of individual responses that may manifest.
In addition to his doctorate in Naturopathic Medicine, Dr. Kunkle holds a masters in Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine from Bastyr University. He has extensively studied traditional medical systems including visiting Chinese integrative hospitals to better understand and differentiate individual patterns of disease process, identify imbalances and treat the root cause of the illness. He also spent three years working with an integrative Pediatrician specializing in complex childhood illnesses including PANS/PANDAS and mold illness.
Dr. Kunkle is happily married with two young daughters and enjoys spending time outdoors and working on various projects around his home. He greatly enjoys gardening and hobby farming as well.
