Honorable Faculty

With over 11 years of experience in the clinic focusing on injury treatment and structural integration, Sharon brings a wealth of practical information to the classroom. Her passion for optimizing the human form and function combines well with her adoration of academia. Endeavoring to provide guidance to her students as they study TCM, she relies on her own schooling, both in the Masters and Doctorate program at Five Branches University and her origins at the Brian Utting School of Massage in Seattle, Washington.

Sharon Adena teaches in the Departments of Western Medicine and Review and Assessment.

Joanna Zhao, Academic Dean, has been Director of Five Branches’ TCM Clinic since she co-founded it in 1984. Her commitment to TCM began as a youngster in China, when she became interested in the work of her uncle, a famous TCM doctor. Joanna received her education from the Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine in the People’s Republic of China, where she trained in both Western medicine and TCM. She studied with noted medical doctors and acupuncturists Xiuyan Lu and Yuan Fang. Joanna has spent more than a quarter of a century teaching and practicing TCM in China and the U.S., working with local oncologists and developing specialties in cancer, immune diseases and mental emotional disorders. Joanna has lectured at the Five Branches’ International Symposium on Women’s TCM and on Pediatric TCM, and has been a guest speaker at the University of California, Santa Cruz. She has also been the lead speaker at national conferences on female reproductive cancer, and leukemia. She has led study tours to China since 1992, where Five Branches’ students and graduates study in Shanghai’s Shuguang Hospital and Zhejiang Chinese Medical University. Joanna is an accomplished musician, integrating Eastern and Western styles of music. Like her teacher and great-grandfather, she is also an excellent calligrapher. Professor Zhao teaches in the Departments of TCM Acupuncture and TCM Herbology, and is a faculty member of the Five Branches DAOM program.

Lucy Hu comes from a family of healthcare practitioners. Her great grandfather was a doctor of Traditional Chinese medicine and her two older sisters earned Western MD degrees in China. Lucy received her medical degree from Shenyang University in Shenyang, People’s Republic of China, in 1961 and worked as a pediatrician and instructor at the Dalian Children Hospital from 1961 through 1979. Lucy graduated from the Chinese Acupuncture Medical Institute of Hong Kong in 1982, with diplomas in Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine. In her three decades of medical experience, she has specialized in pediatrics. Lucy became a licensed acupuncturist in California in 1987 and obtained her National Certification (NCCAOM) in both Acupuncture and Chinese Herbology. In 2004, Lucy presented a case study of a child with a severe genetic metabolic disorder at the International Conference on Diagnosis and Treatment of Difficult Diseases by Herbal Therapy and Acupuncture in Hangzhou, China. She treated the child with success unobtainable by Western methods. After 12 months of treatment, the child’s health and quality of life continued to improve significantly. Lucy maintains a private practice for adults and children in Santa Clara, California. Her interests include classical music and cooking, especially the healthy Chinese herbal soups so favored by her students. You can visit her website at http://lucy.hu.googlepages.com/. Professor Hu teaches in the Departments of TCM Clinical Medicine and TCM Clinical Training and is a faculty member of the Five Branches DAOM program.

Christine Klein is a graduate of both the first graduating class of Five Branches as well as a DAOM graduate in the first doctoral class of Five Branches University. She graduated with a B.A. in English Literature from San Francisco State University. In private practice in Santa Cruz since 1987, her specialties include: pain management, pulmonary and digestive disorders, immune problems, gynecology, internal medicine and scalp acupuncture. Christine volunteers at the Rice Project in Carmel, Ca. (supporting needy families of Monterey county). She has taught Acupuncture II, theatre, internship and TCM Qigong at Five Branches University. Her interests include meditation, hiking and medical Qigong. She currently studies Medical Qigong with Dr. Bingkun Hu Ph.d. Dr. Klein currently teaches in the Departments of Complementary Studies and TCM Clinical Training.

Nancy Lowe was in Five Branches’ first graduating class in 1987, and now is a member of Five Branches' first DAOM graduating class. Prior to studying TCM, she was a massage therapist. Nancy loves the challenge and satisfaction that comes from working with patients and teaching at the University. She is a general practitioner with experience in treating a broad spectrum of maladies, specializing in the treatment of pain. Nancy has been in private practice since 1987 and has been teaching in the Five Branches clinic since 1993. She enjoys knitting, reading, gardening, being in nature and the pursuit of happiness. Nancy Lowe teaches in the Department of TCM Clinical Training.