The Microbiome Education Working Group will provide resources that help to position the global naturopathic profession as experts in microbiome and ways to address the microbiome / terrain issues as it relates to health.

The Microbiome Education WG shall be directly responsible to the WNF Executive and will have the following functions:

  • To provide education modules for the naturopathic community and other health professionals on the microbiome.
  • To support the dissemination of the work of the Microbiome Education WG.
  • To ensure sound fiscal management for any aspects of the project that are directly funded and to provide written monthly updates to the CEO for all funded aspects of the Microbiome Education WG.
  • To provide regular updates to the WNF Executive.

WNF Executive Lead –

WNF Research Lead – Dr. Joanna Harnett, PhD, MHSc, BHSc, University of Sydney (Australia)

Dr. Joanna Harnett is a Senior Lecturer (Complementary Medicines) at the University of Sydney Faculty of Medicine and Health. She holds a PhD (Nutritional Pharmacology), Bachelor of Health Science (Complementary Medicine – Naturopathy), Master Health Science (Complementary medicine), Graduate Diploma in Clinical Nutrition, and a Grad Cert Educational Studies (Higher Education). Her research focuses on the quality use of complementary medicines, and clinical studies in gastrointestinal health through an integrative physiology lens. She is current board member of the International Society for Complementary, Traditional and Integrative Medicine Research and serves on the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration Advisory Committee Complementary Medicines.

Ryan Bradley, ND, MPH, NUNM (USA)

Dr. Ryan Bradley is an Associate Professor in the Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health at the University of California, San Diego. He holds a Doctor of Naturopathy from Basytr University and a Masters in Public Health in Epidemiology from the University of Washington. He serves as one of three PIs of the UC San Diego REACH Center for Translational Science in Whole Person Health. His clinical research focuses on the mechanisms of natural products and mind-body interventions for affecting cardiometabolic risk, and his cardiovascular epidemiology research focuses on risk related to natural products, including cannabis and dietary supplements.

Dr. Sharon Erdrich, PhD, MHSc (Hons), PG Dip HSc (Merit), PG Cert HSc (Nutrition), NZRGON (New Zealand)

Dr. Erdrich began her career in nursing before training in naturopathy. She holds a Master of Health Science from the University of Auckland – conducting a nutritional intervention study in men with prostate cancer – and a PhD from the University of Sydney, where she led a large clinical study investigating systemic symptoms, digestive function, and the oral and faecal microbiomes in women with and without fibromyalgia. She has been clinical lead in her Auckland-based naturopathic practice since 2004 and has extensive experience teaching nursing, naturopathy and nutrition in New Zealand. Her clinical practice and research focus on the role of the gut microbiome in human health, particularly where related to disordered digestive function. Dr. Erdrich has authored 13 peer-reviewed publications and contributed to three book chapters, including the gastrointestinal chapter of the WNF’s Health Technology Assessment (HTA). She is an Adjunct Fellow at Southern Cross University (Australia) and a past Vice President of Naturopaths & Medical Herbalists of New Zealand.

Dr. David Lescheid, BSc, PhD, ND (Germany)

Dr. Moira Bradfield Strydom, PhD, Naturopath (Australia)

Dr. Moira Bradfield Strydom (PhD) is a naturopath, educator and researcher, and founder of Intimate Ecology. With over 20 years’ clinical experience, she focuses on genitourinary microbiome health, including vaginal, bladder, seminal and penile microbiomes, recurrent infections and hormonal influences. She holds a PhD from Griffith University on gastrointestinal and vaginal microbiomes, patient experiences and novel interventions in recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis (RVVC), and a Bachelor of Naturopathy and Master of Acupuncture from Southern Cross University.

Dawn Whitten (Australia)

Ex Officio – WNF CEO – Dr. Iva Lloyd, ND, CAND (Canada)

Dr. Iva Lloyd, ND was the inaugural president of the WNF from 2014 until 2023 and has now transitioned to WNF’s Chief Executive Officer. She has participated in seven WHO Working Groups, the Global Conference for Primary Health Care in Kazakhstan (2018), the CSO Dialogue between the TCIH and the WHO (2023) and the 1st Global Summit on Traditional Medicine in India (2023).

Dr. Lloyd graduated from the CCNM in 2002 and continues to maintain a full-time naturopathic practice. She is Editor-in-Chief of the website www.ndhealthfacts.org as well as a reviewer on a number of journals. She is the author of four books and was lead editor for the Health Technology Assessment on Naturopathy (2021). Dr. Lloyd, ND is a prolific researcher, author and lecturer with over 20 peer-reviewed published articles.