Medicinal Mushrooms
Medicinal Mushroom Committee
NAMA’s Medicinal Mushroom Committee is made up of practicing clinicians, extract producers, mushroom cultivators, chemists, and biomedical engineers.
Our goal is to provide accurate and relevant information about medicinal mushrooms including psychedelics. Look for our articles in the quarterly mycophile.
Committee Members
- John Michelotti, Chair
- Dr. Michael Beug
- Dr. Cornelia Cho
- Hayden Johnson
- Nicholas Sciolino
- Dr. Anna Sitkoff
- Avery Stempel
- Dr. David Walde
- Ex officio members: NAMA President and NAMA Chief Operating Officer
- Honorary members: Robert Rogers & Denis Benjamin
Chair: John Michelotti
John Michelotti is the founder of Catskill Fungi which empowers people with fungi through outdoor educational classes, cultivation courses, mushroom art, and mushroom health extracts. John is a former President of the Mid-Hudson Mycological Association. He serves as Medicinal Mushroom Committee Chair and is a Poison Control Consultant for the North American Mycological Association (NAMA) where he started the NAMA Virtual Mushroom Book Club. He was chosen by the Catskill Center as a “Steward of the Catskills” for his contribution to the environment. His goal is to educate and inspire people to pair with fungi to improve the environment, their health, and communities.
Dr. Michael Beug
Michael Beug taught chemistry, mycology and organic farming at Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington for 32 years. His proudest accomplishment was a two-year research project (1973-75) with colleague Steve Herman and 40 Evergreen students, instrumental in the banning of DDT use in North America. Michael is a member of NAMA where he served ten years as Editor of the Journal McIlvainea, Chair of the Toxicology Committee, and member of the Education Committee. He received the 2006 NAMA Award for Contributions to Amateur Mycology. He is also active with the Pacific Northwest Key Council; a group dedicated to writing macroscopic keys for the identification of fungi. In addition to his new book, Mushrooms of Cascadia: An Illustrated Key (Fungi Press, 2021), he coauthored Ascomycete Fungi of North America (University of Texas Press, 2014). His photographs have appeared in over 80 publications. He regularly writes for McIlvainea, The Mycophile, and Fungi Magazine. Michael prepared over two dozen presentations about mushrooms for NAMA. In 2017, Paul Stamets of Fungi Perfecti, created the Mike Beug Scholarship, in honor of the professor who helped shaped Stamets’ career. His most popular talks are: 1) “Should I have Eaten That?”, a talk featuring both poisonous and edible mushrooms and how to avoid dangerous mistakes; 2) “The Unusual Mushrooms of Cascadia”; 3) “Psilocybe Mushrooms as Entheogens”. He has several talks focusing on Ascomycetes in general or on morels in particular, and general talks on spring or fall mushrooms.
Find Dr. Beug online at: https://www.mushroomsofcascadia.com/home
Dr. Cornelia Cho
Dr. Hayden Johnson
Hayden Johnson is a postdoctoral scholar at Oregon State University researching methods in whole genome identification of fungi and oomycetes. He received his PhD in biomedical engineering at the University of Memphis for work measuring metabolites in biological samples and developing machine learning methods for NMR metabolomics. He has a passion for surveying fungal biodiversity – especially local species and entomopathogenic fungi. Hayden has led mushroom walks for several Memphis-based conservancies, and he shares his best fungal finds on instagram (@mycomemphis) and uses iNaturalist to log biodiversity (username: hayden127).
Dr. Anna Sitkoff
Dr. Anna Sitkoff, ND began studying and teaching about medicinal mushrooms in 2014 as an extension of her work with herbal medicine. Since then she has written and taught extensively about the medicinal mushrooms of the Pacific Northwest, and enjoys teaching about harvesting, processing and the nitty gritty of various extraction methods. While completing her doctorate of naturopathic medicine she performed research on Fomitopsis cajanderi, the rosy polypore, and the medicinal effects of different extraction methods on cancer cell lines that was published in The Journal of Immunology. She authored the Medicinal Mushroom chapter for the current edition of the Textbook of Natural Medicine. Most recently, in 2023, she launched a medicinal mushroom product line, Lucidum Medicinals, to bring clinically relevant mushroom formulas to the people! Anna lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and newborn son and loves to be out in the forest appreciating the array of mushrooms whenever possible. Her writings can be found on her website drannasitkoff.com or the original blog reishiandroses.com.
Avery Stempel
Raised on a sawmill in rural southwestern Albany County, Avery has always had an affinity for all things natural and free. Fungi attracted his attention at an early age and after conversing closely with psilocybin many times in his teens and twenties he developed a close relationship with the mycelial. Graduating with a BA in Philosophy, and 2 MS degrees in education, he followed several paths before alighting upon his current toadstool: the owner / operator of Collar City Mushrooms, an indoor urban vertical mushroom farm, mycological education center, and community gathering space. He is a founding member of the New York Psilocybin Action Committee, Co-President of New Yorkers for Mental Health Alternatives, and is the Psilocybin Correspondent for the North American Mycological Association’s Committee on Medicinal Mushrooms. Avery is dedicated to educating others about the magic of mycelium and advocates for a future where plant and fungi-based medicines are understood, accepted, and accessible to all who would benefit from their use. He lives in Troy, NY.
Dr. David Walde
Dr. David Walde is a retired Medical oncologist.
He presently lives in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. His medical practice previously was in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.
He sits on the NAMA Medicinal Mushroom Committee (North American Mycological Association). In 2018 he joined the Board of SVIMS (South Vancouver Island Mycological Association) initially as secretary for 2 years and then 3 years as the President stepping down in 2023 to pursue his interest in the medicinal aspects of fungi. His interest(hobby) in fungi dates back to his residency days in the UK.
He was born and brought up in India. On graduating from St. Xavier’s in Kolkata he was accepted into medical school at Guy’s Hospital at 16, graduating in 1968.
Qualifications: MBBS (University of London, UK), LRCP and MRCS (Royal Colleges of London), MRCP (UK-College of Physicians in London, Glasgow, and Edinburgh). ECFMG(USA). He became Chief resident at the Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto in 1973 obtaining his LMCC (Licentiate of the Medical Council of Canada) followed by his FRCPC (Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada) in Internal Medicine. His special competence in Medical Oncology was received in 1985 when this was offered for the first time. In 1974 he became a diplomate of the American Board of Internal Medicine and Medical Oncology.
Most of his career was spent as a consultant in Sault Ste. Marie in Internal Medicine, Medical Oncology, Hematology, and Apheresis. He has been on innumerable medical and advisory committees as Chair and member locally, regionally, provincially, and nationally, participating in setting up and directing programs with clinical trial involvement in phase 1,2, and 3. These studies were done with industry and the NCIC. This resulted in a large diverse portfolio of publications.
Innovative programs were established in apheresis, an independent donor panel in the Soo with the support of the Red Cross, a 24-hour oncology service and a home infusion pump supportive care program providing chemotherapy, antibiotics, analgesia, and parenteral nutrition. These were family-involved programs with the use of home care only where necessary. This was more than just a Hospital in the Home project.
There were many teaching roles for patients, the public, medical students, residents and hospital staff.
Campaigning and fundraising for new initiatives, equipment and a comprehensive cancer program were a constant. The two biggest campaigns in local history for the hospitals acted as co-chairs for the CT and MRI acquisition and the New Sault Area Hospital campaigns. Both were a huge success surpassing their goals considerably.
He was involved in the initiative for a comprehensive palliative program in the community culminating in ARCH Hospice.
He was on the founding committee and then board of the Algoma Nurse Practitioner-Led Clinic.
Awards: Sault Ste. Marie medal of merit x2, Commemorative 125th Canadian Confederation medal, Lupus Foundation Award of Merit, John Barker Group Health Centre award, Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal, the Dr. William Hutchinson Award for the district of Algoma, the SSM Chamber of Commerce Paul Dalseg Award, Rotary Foundation International Paul Harris Fellowship. Toastmasters Community Achievement Award. Featured in the Homecoming Celebration of the Spirit of the Sault. Inductee into the SSM Walk of Fame. Algoma University John R. Rhodes honouree.
In 2008, the Order of Ontario for service of the greatest distinction and of singular excellence to the Province of Ontario.
He has always loved the interaction with his patients and colleagues, many becoming good friends. Medicine was always a hobby besides being a career. He has been grateful to Canada, a Sault Ste. Marie and Ontario, for giving him the opportunities provided.
He is an ardent Scottish Country Dancer and presently on the demonstration team for the Van Isle group. He began his dancing hobby in the Soo with the White Cockade club in 1995.
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