She is a Founding Advisor for the Sound Health Network at UCSF and Co-Chair of the Johns Hopkins/Aspen Institute NeuroArts Blueprint.
The series was inspired by the Sound Health initiative she leads as Artistic Advisor to the Kennedy Center, in partnership with the NIH and the NEA. In 2020, she launched Music and Mind LIVE, a weekly web series exploring the intersection of music and arts with human health and the brain, amassing nearly 700,000 views from 70 countries. Renée has given presentations with scientists and practitioners around the world on the connection of arts and health, earning Research!Americas Rosenfeld Award for Impact on Public Opinion. In 2014, Renée became the first classical artist ever to sing The Star-Spangled Banner at the Super Bowl. Honored with four Grammy® awards and the US National Medal of Arts, Renée has sung for momentous occasions from the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony to the Diamond Jubilee for Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace. Renée Fleming is one of the most acclaimed singers of our time, performing on the stages of the worlds greatest opera houses and concert halls. He completed pediatric residency and General Academic Pediatric fellowship training at Childrens National Hospital. Essel earned a BS from Emory University, Medical Degree and Masters of Public Health in Epidemiology from GWU.
He is the Principal Investigator of a large multidisciplinary population health initiative that aims to strengthen community-clinical ties to address diet related chronic diseases in marginalized settings in Washington, D.C.
He also co-authored a national toolkit for pediatric providers to screen and intervene for food insecurity with the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Food Research & Action Center. He was nationally recognized by the Alliance for a Healthier Generation for helping to create an innovative curriculum to enhance pediatric resident trainee skills in obesity management. Essel has dedicated his career to advocacy and research around healthcare training, health disparities, and community engagement, with expertise and national recognition in addressing obesity and food insecurity in families. Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, and the Director of the George Washington University School of Medicines Culinary Medicine Program, the Community/Urban Health Scholarly Concentration, and the Clinical Public Health Summit on Obesity. Essel, MD, MPH, FAAP, is a community pediatrician at Childrens National Hospital in Washington, D.C. Cheng has a background in anthropology, earned her medical degree at Oregon Health & Science University, then completed a family medicine residency at Contra Costa Regional Medical Center, followed by a fellowship in hospice and palliative medicine, with an integrative medicine focus, at George Washington University.
Cheng completed a chaplaincy certificate program through the Sati Center for Buddhist Studies and a two-year training through Spirit Rock Insight Meditation Center and the Metta Institute focused on incorporating contemplative practice, mindfulness, and compassion into ones personal and professional life. With colleagues at the UCSF Osher Center for Integrative Medicine, she also studies integrative approaches to treating common cancer-related symptoms. She also serves as one of the principal investigators for a pilot study evaluating innovative group medical visits pairing psycho-oncology and integrative palliative care for patients with advanced cancer. Cheng has a special interest in holistic management of symptoms and improving quality of life through integrative approaches, especially by considering psychosocial and spiritual aspects of wellness. She currently works at the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, providing supportive care for patients with cancer. Stephanie Cheng, MD is a palliative care physician with a longstanding commitment to integrative medicine.