Our Team

Program Champions

Johnese Spisso, MPA

President of UCLA Health, CEO of UCLA Hospital System, and Associate Vice Chancellor of Health Sciences

Johnese Spisso was appointed to the position of President of UCLA Health, CEO of UCLA Hospital System and Associate Vice Chancellor of UCLA Health Sciences on February 8, 2016. She is a nationally recognized academic healthcare leader with more than 30 years of experience, and oversees all operations of UCLA's hospitals and clinics as well as the health system's regional outreach strategy.

Janet Rimicci, RN, MSN

Senior Director

Janet Rimicci, RN, MSN, is currently the Senior Director of the UCLA Santa Monica Medical Center where she oversees the financial management, strategic planning, organizational development and coordination of all clinical and administrative operations. She was previously the Executive Director of Quality and Patient Safety, the Interim Executive Director of Perioperative Services, and the Director of Emergency and Trauma Services for UCLA Health. Janet was also the Vice President of Operations and Performance Improvement at Stanford Hospital and Clinics with areas of responsibility including the Emergency Department, Trauma Services, Office of Emergency Management, the Medicine Service Line, and Lean Performance Improvement. Janet’s clinical background is predominately in Cardio-Thoracic SICU/CCU Intensive Care with additional experience in Emergency Medicine and high risk OB.

Medical Director

Elizabeth Ko, MD

Elizabeth Ko, MD is an Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine of the David Geffen School of Medicine.  She received a Bachelor's degree in Physiological Science from UCLA and a medical degree from the University of Miami.  She completed her Internal Medicine residency and Chief residency, with a focus on primary care, at Brown University.  Dr. Ko completed a fellowship in Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine, yoga teacher training at Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health as well as the Medical Acupuncture for Physicians course through the Helms Medical Institute. An avid home cook, Dr. Ko spent one year cooking in Los Angeles restaurants including Spago Beverly Hills and A.O.C. She is board-certified in Internal Medicine and Integrative Medicine and is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians. Dr. Ko sees patients for preventive care and chronic disease management, blending traditional medical approaches with integrative methods including nutrition, stress management and acupuncture.

Administrative Director

Erin Rice

Erin spent the first 14 years of her career in the finance industry, bringing electronic trading to the forefront in New York. Ten years ago, Erin moved to Los Angeles, where she rescued her dog Finn and began volunteering for UCLA Health People-Animal Connection (PAC). In 2012, Erin became the program's director, and under her leadership, PAC has been recognized by Red Cross and the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors for its impactful work. Erin is committed to non-pharmacologic approaches to symptom management, including animal-assisted therapy, and she is excited to take her next step at UCLA Health as administrative director of integrative medicine. Erin will coordinate UCLA Health's integrative medicine programs, helping to establish a united and comprehensive array of integrative medicine offerings, particularly in the clinical, educational, research and policy domains.

Pillar Leads

Clinical Pillar Lead - Elizabeth Ko, MD

See bio and photo above >

Education Pillar Lead - Rashmi Mullur, MD

Dr. Rashmi Mullur is an Associate Professor at the David Geffen School of Medicine, the Chief of Telehealth for the VA Greater Los Angeles, as well as the Education director for the UCLA Integrative Medicine Collaborative. She is a board-certified internist, endocrinologist, integrative medicine practitioner, and certified yoga instructor.  She serves on the Academy of Integrative Health and Medicine (AIHM) BIPOC committee to promote health equity in integrative medicine and whole health. Dr. Mullur has been practicing yoga since childhood and has been incorporating yoga into clinical care as a physician. Her clinical practice is focused on the use of mind-body techniques, integrative approaches, and remote monitoring tools in the management of chronic disease. She is inspired by the opportunity to leverage digital health technology to advance healthcare.  As a medical educator, she has published several curricula in integrative medicine and is bringing integrative medicine into the curriculum at DGSOM.

Research Pillar Lead - Helen Lavretsky, MD

Dr. Helen Lavretsky is a Professor In-Residence in the Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences at UCLA and a geriatric psychiatrist with federally funded research programs in geriatric depression and in translational neuroscience of integrative medicine (NIMH and NCCIH) that use mind-body interventions. She is a recipient of the Career Development awards from the NIMH and NCCIH and other prestigious research awards. Her current research studies include investigations of novel treatments of geriatric depression, mild cognitive impairment and the use of Tai Chi and yoga and meditation for treatment and prevention of late-life mood and cognitive disorders. She is the Semel Scholar in Integrative Mental Health and the Director of the Late-life mood, stress and wellness and the Integrative Mental Health programs.