Lan Kao, DACM, LAc, is a doctor of acupuncture and Chinese medicine with over 21 years of clinical experience, expertise, and leadership in the field of Eastern medicine. She is nationally board certified in oriental medicine with clinical and research experience that focus on mind-body medicine, herbal medicine, and integrative mental health. Her studies have been published in peer-reviewed journals including Medical Acupuncture, BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, FOCUS, and Global Advances in Health and Medicine.
On record as the first acupuncturist recruited by the Department of Defense in 2008 to work on an integrative pain management team at Tripler Army Medical Center in Hawaii, she laid the groundwork for the utilization of acupuncture within the military medical system that included development of treatment protocols, methods for long term self care and recovery for service members injured from war in Iraq and Afghanistan.
She is currently a research associate at the UCLA Center for East-West Medicine and co-investigator on a multicenter FDA-approved double blinded randomized controlled trial to evaluate the effect of Chinese herbal medicine to treat COVID-19, and co-investigator on a UCLA study for self-acupressure trial for healthcare providers to reduce stress and improve well-being. She is also a Clinical Specialist for the Operation Mend Intensive Treatment Program for veterans with post traumatic stress disorder and mild-traumatic brain injury at the UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior. Amidst her schedule, she also maintains a private practice.
