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Erica Oberg, ND, MPH

Campus: 
California
School of Naturopathic Medicine

Current Roles

Dr. Oberg is director of clinical services at Bastyr University Clinic in San Diego. She is also director of the Bastyr University Center for Health Policy and Leadership.

Clinical Leadership

Dr. Oberg specializes in treating the underlying causes of disease, especially chronic diseases. For people with conditions like diabetes or high blood pressure, this often means fine-tuning lifestyle factors such as nutrition, physical activity or stress. For people with chronic pain or other somatic symptoms, this can mean using mind-body techniques such as craniosacral therapy to release underlying patterns of tension. Dr. Oberg's approach to medicine strives to bring together science-based knowledge with the internal wisdom of the body and spirit.

Current Research

Dr. Oberg is currently involved in a study of the biological markers of homeopathy. The project measures the genomic response of patients receiving a homeopathic remedy versus a placebo group. Finding a measurable difference in gene expression between these two groups could lead to a greater understanding of and scientific acceptance for homeopathy.

Research Interests

Dr. Oberg's research interests and expertise relate to nutrition, physical activity and stress reduction (health promotion) for the prevention of chronic disease. By conducting translational research, she aims to increase the frequency and effectiveness of health promotion and chronic disease prevention delivered in primary care and integrative medicine settings.

Naturopathic medicine is a model laboratory for the delivery of clinical health promotion. Research methodologies she uses to accomplish this include whole systems/whole practice trials; qualitative research; prospective outcomes research including measurement of patient-reported outcomes and biomarkers; epidemiological/health services studies in large datasets such as claims and practice management data; and the use of health IT and electronic medical records (EMRs) to improve clinical prevention and health promotion. 

Dr. Oberg is also an activist and advocate for improving health care as a whole through translating research evidence into policy.

Education

  • Master of Public Health from the University of Washington in 2007
  • Residency at Bastyr Center for Natural Health (Council on Naturopathic Medical Education-accredited) in 2004
  • ND from Bastyr University in 2003
  • BA in anthropology from University of Colorado in 1995
A portrait of Erica Oberg.
Erica Oberg, ND, MPH

Email: eoberg[at]bastyr[dot]edu