Dr. Mingshan Lu, Ph.D., TCMD, is a highly respected health economist, educator, and Traditional Chinese Medicine doctor with over 30 years of experience in research and teaching in health economics. She is a Professor in the Department of Economics at the University of Calgary and an Adjunct Professor at the Department of Community Health Sciences at Cumming School of Medicine, having joined the faculty in 1997. Dr. Lu is also a Faculty Member of the O’Brien Institute of Public Health at the University of Calgary and a registered acupuncturist in Alberta.

With her extensive background, Dr. Lu is a renowned expert in the field of mental health and substance abuse. She has served as a consultant for various organizations including the World Bank, the US National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), and the US National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). Dr. Lu has also been a member of the Science-Policy-Practice Network in Children’s Mental Health in Alberta and the Network of Alberta Health Economists (NOAHE).

Dr. Lu’s passion for Traditional Chinese Medicine led her to study as an apprentice with TCM masters since 2010. She received her Diploma in Acupuncture and Diploma in Traditional Chinese Medicine from the Alberta College of Acupuncture & Traditional Chinese Medicine (ACATCM) in 2022. Additionally, to effectively integrate psychological counseling into her TCM treatment, she is working on her MSc in Counseling Psychology at the University of Calgary.

As a leading expert in integrative medicine, Dr. Lu has played a pivotal role in spearheading groundbreaking programs aimed at providing TCM to vulnerable populations struggling with mental health and pain conditions. Her expertise in this area has resulted in successful projects such as the Complementary Health Integration Project (CHIP), Societal Health Integration Project (SHIP), and the Alberta Innovative Disabilities Program (AIDP). These world-first interventional studies on TCM integration have contributed significantly to evidence-based research in this area, demonstrating the potential of TCM in managing mental health and pain conditions.

Dr. Lu’s treatment style is centered around Chinese herbal medicine therapy supplemented by Acupuncture, with the option of telemedicine. Her specialties include mental health issues and accompanying cognitive impairments, particularly prevalent for students and professionals, such as:

• chronic fatigue syndrome; burnout
• avoidance procrastination
• attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) / autism spectrum disorder (ASD)
• memory loss (amnesia / dementia)
• panic disorder / phobias / post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
• anxiety / depression / mania / bipolar disorder