Episodes

  • Dr. M’s Women and Children First Podcast #99 Liz Mumper, MD – Kids and Covid

    Dr. M’s Women and Children First Podcast #99 Liz Mumper, MD – Kids and Covid
    Oct 12 2025
    Welcome to Dr. M’s Women & Children First Podcast, where we engage with pioneering voices at the intersection of science, healthcare, and the well-being of families. Today on Dr. M’s Women and Children First, we welcome Dr. Elizabeth Mumper, a physician, educator, and thought leader whose career has profoundly influenced the practice of integrative pediatrics. Dr. Mumper earned her Bachelor of Science degree from Bridgewater College, graduating magna cum laude, before attending the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, where she received her medical degree. She completed her pediatric residency at the University of Virginia and served as Chief Resident in Pediatrics. She remained at UVA as an Associate Professor of Clinical Pediatrics from 1997 to 2005, mentoring future physicians and advancing holistic, evidence-based approaches to child health. Following her time in academia, Dr. Mumper founded The Rimland Center for Integrative Medicine in Lynchburg, Virginia, a clinic dedicated to children with autism spectrum disorders, PANS/PANDAS, allergies, and complex chronic illnesses. Her practice integrates the best of conventional pediatrics with biomedical and functional medicine principles, always guided by compassion and curiosity. She has been a leading educator with the Medical Academy of Pediatric Special Needs (MAPS) and a frequent international lecturer, teaching clinicians how to recognize and treat the root causes of immune dysregulation, inflammation, and neurodevelopmental challenges. Dr. Mumper is also the author of the new book Kids and COVID, an insightful exploration of how the pandemic impacted children, physically, emotionally, and developmentally, and what lessons medicine must learn moving forward. In our conversation, we discuss her book in depth, as well as the broader implications of the COVID-19 pandemic for pediatric care, resilience, and future public health policy. Finally, we dive into the complex topic of vaccines, considering what we’ve learned from the pandemic years and expanding the conversation begun with Dr. Paul Offit and Dr. Joel Warsh. Dr. Mumper’s lifelong dedication to children, her fearless pursuit of truth, and her balanced, science-driven voice make her one of the most respected figures in functional medicine. Please join me in welcoming my friend and colleague, Dr. Elizabeth Mumper. Dr. M
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 30 mins
  • Dr. M’s SPA Newsletter Volume 15 Issue 20/21

    Dr. M’s SPA Newsletter Volume 15 Issue 20/21
    Oct 10 2025
    Flu season is around the corner and we should take a look at the virus for preparation purposes. Influenza Every few years, I revisit this virus in my writing, not only to keep it on your radar in preparation, but also because of the significant illness and death it continues to cause. It’s never wise to dismiss its potential impact. Influenza reliably returns each year, difficult to escape even with strict isolation. The flu is different from the common cold in many ways as the flu has: 1) Rapid onset with high spiking fevers 2) Muscle and headaches 3) Little to not sneezing and sore throat 4) Rapid and robust cough onset Influenza season is beginning in the United States this fall. Who gets sick? In short, people of all ages. Seasonal influenza has a reproductive rate of just over one, meaning that each infected person typically spreads the virus to one or two others through coughing or sneezing in close proximity. The virus also survives on surfaces for up to 24 hours, creating another common route of transmission, especially in children. Young kids frequently touch surfaces and each other, then touch their faces, providing the perfect pathway for infection. Because of this, schools remain a major hub for flu transmission across the country. Preventing the virus from taking root in your body is the key to avoiding a bad outcome. Things that I think of as critical to avoiding or preventing this infection: 1) Keeping your vitamin D level greater than 50 ng/ml is an important way to prevent influenza infections. Get tested and supplement accordingly. As always the sun is your natural route to normal D levels 2) Get adequate sleep based on your age to keep your immune system in great shape. Sleep is very important for immune health...... and more on asthma driving mental health issues. Dr. M
    Show More Show Less
    Less than 1 minute
  • Dr. M’s Women and Children First Podcast #98 William Parker, PhD – Acetaminophen and Autism – What Do We Know in 2025?

    Dr. M’s Women and Children First Podcast #98 William Parker, PhD – Acetaminophen and Autism – What Do We Know in 2025?
    Oct 2 2025
    Welcome to Dr. M’s Women & Children First Podcast, where we engage with pioneering voices at the intersection of science, healthcare, and the well-being of families. Today, I’m honored to introduce Dr. William Parker, PhD. Dr. Parker is perhaps best known for discovering the function of the human appendix, but his contributions to science extend far beyond that single discovery. He studied biology and chemistry as an undergraduate before earning his PhD in Chemistry from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in 1992. Since the 1980s, he has conducted innovative research, publishing more than 150 peer-reviewed articles that span immune function, microbiome science, and human health. Dr. Parker was the first to compare immune systems in wild animals with those of their laboratory counterparts, and among the first to conclude that changes in the human “biota”, the symbiotic organisms living within us, brought on by modern society can contribute to depression and anxiety. After nearly three decades at Duke University, where he served as associate professor and research leader, he founded WPLab, Inc., a nonprofit dedicated to understanding and educating about the causes of chronic inflammatory diseases in high-income societies. Currently a visiting scholar at the University of North Carolina, Dr. Parker collaborates widely with colleagues from Duke University, University of Montreal, Czech Academy of Sciences, University of Groningen, University of Colorado Boulder, and scientists across the pharmaceutical industry. In recent years, he has turned his attention to a provocative and urgent question: the potential links between early acetaminophen exposure and autism spectrum outcomes. His current work combines mechanistic and epidemiologic approaches to explore how acetaminophen’s effects on human physiology at critical stages of development might influence neurodevelopment. In our conversation, we’ll explore: The evidence and hypotheses behind acetaminophen’s potential role in autism risk What families and clinicians should know: what’s plausible, what remains speculative, and where research is heading next I’m thrilled to share this episode with Dr. Parker, whose intellectual curiosity, scientific rigor, and courage to ask difficult questions embody the spirit of this show. Dr. M
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 33 mins
  • Dr. M’s SPA Newsletter Volume 15 Issue 19

    Dr. M’s SPA Newsletter Volume 15 Issue 19
    Sep 26 2025
    For parents of special needs children, I honor you today. I witness your strength every day in clinic. You rise to meet challenges that many cannot begin to imagine, truly. You navigate medical appointments, therapy sessions, school meetings, and the unpredictable rhythms that come with raising a child with special needs. Often without pause, without adequate rest, and without the recognition you deserve. For those single parents carrying this day to day reality, a double level of gratitude for you. I want to pause for a moment and say what is too rarely said: you are extraordinary. Truly extraordinary. Your love is not passive, it is an active force. It shows up at 2 AM when a child can’t sleep, in the quiet patience during a meltdown, in the persistence to advocate for services in a dysfunctional system requiring resilience summoned when the system says “no” but you know your child needs a “yes.”.... and a discussion of nutritional dark matter. Enjoy, Dr. M
    Show More Show Less
    Less than 1 minute
  • Dr. M’s Women and Children First Podcast #97 Paul Offit, MD – Vaccines – What Do We Know in 2025 Part 2?

    Dr. M’s Women and Children First Podcast #97 Paul Offit, MD – Vaccines – What Do We Know in 2025 Part 2?
    Sep 21 2025
    Welcome back to Dr. M’s Women & Children First, where we explore the front lines of children’s health and what matters most for our families. Today I’m honored to bring you Dr. Paul A. Offit, the Director of the Vaccine Education Center and Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. He also holds the Maurice R. Hilleman Professorship of Vaccinology at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Offit is a globally recognized expert in virology and immunology. He has served on the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee. He’s co-editor of the seminal vaccine textbook Vaccines, and for decades has been one of the clearest scientific voices defending evidence, transparency, and children’s health. This week, we’ll dig into COVID, vaccine policy, and what’s ahead for children in light of the latest shifts. Among current headlines: Healthy children and pregnant women are no longer being uniformly recommended for COVID vaccines by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a decision that’s stirring debate among pediatricians and public health experts like Dr. Offit. He’s sharply voiced concerns about removing key vaccine recommendations without new data, and about the broader implications of loosening vaccine guidance for the public good. In this conversation, we’ll cover: What the science says now about bivalent COVID vaccines in kids How recent policy changes affect vaccine access, trust, and safety What parents need to know—what’s changed, what’s stable, and what remains uncertain This is my third time talking with Dr. Offit, and as always, I expect you’ll leave with clarity, evidence, and questions worth sharing. I hope you enjoy this conversation. Let’s dive in. Dr. M
    Show More Show Less
    45 mins
  • Dr. M’s SPA Newsletter Volume 15 Issue 18

    Dr. M’s SPA Newsletter Volume 15 Issue 18
    Sep 13 2025
    Breastmilk is Dynamic Cellular and transcriptional diversity over the course of human lactation This recent 2022 paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences by Dr. Nyqiust and colleagues is a site for sore eyes. It offers a remarkable, high-resolution portrait of how the cellular landscape of human breast milk (hBM) shifts over time. The authors capture something both scientifically rich and uniquely human: the dynamic, living composition of milk as it adapts to the changing needs of mother and child. The abstract: "Human breast milk is a dynamic fluid that contains millions of cells, but their identities and phenotypic properties are poorly understood. We generated and analyzed single-cell RNA-sequencing (scRNA-seq) data to characterize the transcriptomes of cells from hBM across lactational time from 3 to 632 d postpartum in 15 donors. We found that the majority of cells in hBM are lactocytes, a specialized epithelial subset, and that cell-type frequencies shift over the course of lactation, yielding greater epithelial diversity at later points. Analysis of lactocytes reveals a continuum of cell states characterized by transcriptional changes in hormone-, growth factor-, and milk production-related pathways. Generalized additive models suggest that one subcluster, LC1 epithelial cells, increases as a function of time postpartum, daycare attendance, and the use of hormonal birth control. We identify several subclusters of macrophages in hBM that are enriched for tolerogenic functions, possibly playing a role in protecting the mammary gland during lactation. Our description of the cellular components of breast milk, their association with maternal–infant dyad metadata, and our quantification of alterations at the gene and pathway levels provide a detailed longitudinal picture of hBM cells across lactational time. This work paves the way for future investigations of how a potential division of cellular labor and differential hormone regulation might be leveraged therapeutically to support healthy lactation and potentially aid in milk production." (Nyquist et. al. 2022) And more information on breastmilk immunology and a recipe. Dr. M
    Show More Show Less
    13 mins
  • Dr. M’s Women and Children First Podcast #96 Joel Warsh, MD Vaccines – What Do We Know in 2025?

    Dr. M’s Women and Children First Podcast #96 Joel Warsh, MD Vaccines – What Do We Know in 2025?
    Sep 7 2025
    Welcome back to Dr. M’s Women and Children First podcast where we look at the world of Women and Children's Health through an anthropological lens with the humble understanding that we have a lot to learn. Today, I’m joined by Dr. Joel “Dr. Gator” Warsh, a pediatrician, author, and advocate for a whole-child approach to healthcare. Dr. Warsh earned his medical degree from Thomas Jefferson Medical College and completed his pediatric residency at Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles. Along the way, he also obtained a Master’s degree in Epidemiology and Biostatistics from Queen’s University in Canada, giving him a strong foundation in both clinical care and population health. These educational pursuits make him uniquely suited for today's conversation on vaccines. He is the author of Between a Shot and a Hard Place. In his own words, he says: I’ve dedicated my career to helping families navigate complicated health topics with clarity. My book addresses vaccine questions in a calm, data-driven, and practical way, offering parents guidance that steers clear of extremes. Parents face unprecedented pressure to make the "right" choices, often without enough balanced information. He has been featured on major platforms sharing his message with more than 400,000 parents through social media. We discuss his passion for empowering families to make informed, individualized decisions, including in areas that have been challenging or even taboo to discuss. Today, we’ll dive into his latest work, his perspectives on vaccines and preventative care, and how he envisions a future of pediatrics that is proactive rather than reactive. This is a conversation about rethinking the foundations of child health and it’s one you won’t want to miss. Enjoy, Dr. M
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 13 mins
  • Dr. M’s SPA Newsletter Volume 15 Issue 17

    Dr. M’s SPA Newsletter Volume 15 Issue 17
    Sep 3 2025
    Inflammaging from a Population View In a landmark study published in Nature Aging on July 7, 2025, researchers challenge a cornerstone of modern gerontology by showing that inflammaging, chronic, age-associated low-grade inflammation, is not universal across all human populations. The abstract states the following: "Inflammaging, an age-associated increase in chronic inflammation, is considered a hallmark of aging. However, there is no consensus approach to measuring inflammaging based on circulating cytokines. Here we assessed whether an inflammaging axis detected in the Italian InCHIANTI dataset comprising 19 cytokines could be generalized to a different industrialized population (Singapore Longitudinal Aging Study) or to two indigenous, nonindustrialized populations: the Tsimane from the Bolivian Amazon and the Orang Asli from Peninsular Malaysia. We assessed cytokine axis structure similarity and whether the inflammaging axis replicating the InCHIANTI result increased with age or was associated with health outcomes. The Singapore Longitudinal Aging Study was similar to InCHIANTI except for IL-6 and IL-1RA. The Tsimane and Orang Asli showed markedly different axis structures with little to no association with age and no association with age-related diseases. Inflammaging, as measured in this manner in these cohorts, thus appears to be largely a byproduct of industrialized lifestyles, with major variation across environments and populations." (Franck et. al. 2025) The research team analyzed 19 cytokines in over 2,800 individuals from four diverse populations: two industrialized cohorts: Italy's InCHIANTI and the Singapore Longitudinal Aging Study (SLAS); two non-industrialized, Indigenous groups: the Tsimane of the Bolivian Amazon and the Orang Asli of Peninsular Malaysia. In Italy and Singapore, the industrialized regions noted classic inflammaging signatures with inflammatory markers like IL‑6, TNF-α, and CRP increased with age, and correlated strongly with age-related chronic diseases such as cardiovascular and kidney disease..... and more on inflammaging... Dr. M
    Show More Show Less
    16 mins