What does it take to turn student interest into a lasting, high-impact initiative?
In this episode of LM in Motion, host Dawson Myers sits down with Jillian Lopez, second-year medical student at Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine, to explore how she helped bring lifestyle medicine education to life across three campuses.
Recognizing a gap in formal medical training, Jillian set out to create a space where students could learn, connect, and engage with lifestyle medicine in a meaningful, practical way. The result: a multi-campus Lifestyle Medicine Mini Conference designed to introduce future clinicians to evidence-based prevention and whole-person care.
Together, they discuss:
How she identified an unmet need within medical education
What it took to plan and execute a multi-campus event
The role of mentorship, teamwork, and early planning
Challenges like scheduling, logistics, and unexpected weather
How this model can be replicated at other institutions
This episode highlights how small, student-led initiatives can create ripple effects—shaping future clinical practice and expanding the reach of lifestyle medicine.
🎧 Whether you’re a trainee, educator, or clinician, you’ll leave with practical ideas for building community, advancing education, and turning passion into action.
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The American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM) is the medical professional society for physicians and other professionals dedicated to clinical and worksite practice of lifestyle medicine as the foundation of a transformed and sustainable healthcare system. Lifestyle medicine is a medical specialty that uses therapeutic lifestyle interventions as a primary modality to treat chronic conditions including, but not limited to, cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, and obesity.
Lifestyle medicine-certified clinicians are trained to apply evidence-based, whole-person, prescriptive lifestyle change to treat and, when used intensively, often reverse such conditions. Applying the six pillars of lifestyle medicine—a whole-food, plant-predominant eating pattern, physical activity, restorative sleep, stress management, avoidance of risky substances, and positive social connections—also provides effective prevention for these conditions.
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