Master of Science in Therapeutic Herbalism Program

Academic Director

Michael Tims, PhD, has more than 20 years of professional experience in herbalism, including as a faculty member at the University of Maryland, Trinity University, Northern Virginia Community College, and Montgomery College. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the National Institute of Standards and Technology in herbal supplement research. In addition, Tims served as a pharmacognosist at the Alternative Medicine Foundation, and a contractor for the Food and Drug Administration, where he provided toxicity assessments to prioritize medicinal plant research. Tims says he is fascinated by the “space in-between,” exploring the gaps of knowledge between botany, mycology, chemistry, and ecology, and collaborating with students to uncover how they can develop into life-long learners.

Featured Faculty

Bevin Clare, M.S., LDN, CNS, RH(AHG), is a clinical herbalist and nutritionist with a deep love of plants. Bevin holds a M.S. in Infectious Disease from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, with her thesis research conducted at the NIA (National Institute on Aging) at the National Institutes of Health, and a B.S. in ethnobotany from Lesley University. Bevin has studied herbal medicine around the world and blends her knowledge of traditional uses of plants with modern science and contemporary healthcare strategies. Bevin also serves on the faculty of the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy, is on the board of directors of United Plant Savers, is codirector of the Herbal Clinic for All, and lectures nationally. Bevin is a professional member of the American Herbalists Guild and has served on their governing council since 2002.

Sara Eisenberg, M.S., is a clinical herbalist practicing at Ruscombe Community Health Center in Baltimore, Maryland, where she offers herbal consultations, healing work, and workshops based in the Jewish wisdom tradition. With more than 30 years of experience as a guide, facilitator, and educator in the healing arts, Ms. Eisenberg also holds a Masters of Science degree in Herbal Medicine from Tai Sophia Institute. Prior to her studies at Tai Sophia she served for six years as Director of The Center for Health Enhancement, a full-service complementary care center at St. Joseph Medical Center.

Simon Mills, M.A., FNIMH, MCPP, is is currently a Director of Sustaincare Community Interest Company, a new international social enterprise corporation, registered in England, that is becoming a major educational and information resource for empowering local communities in their self care. He was the founder of Tai Sophia Institute’s Masters of Science in Herbal Medicine program and served as the program’s Director from 2000 to 2006. Mr. Mills graduated in medical sciences from Cambridge University, completed the 4-year professional training program at the 145-year-old National Institute of Medical Herbalists, and has practiced as a medical herbalist since 1977. In 1987, he co-founded the Centre for Complementary Health Studies at the University of Exeter the first such university centre in the world, and pioneered the establishment of clear professional and academic standards in the practice of complementary health care. He was Special Advisor to the seminal report on Complementary and Alternative Medicine by the British House of Lords in 2000. Simon's mission has been to mobilize resilience and self care beyond medical practice. He has recently led a major self care project on behalf of the UK government and spearheads a broad new professional orientation to self care in that country. He has published widely in the scientific literature, including controlled clinical trials and other primary research, and lectures around the world. He has written many books, including two standard texts with Kerry Bone: The Principles and Practice of Phytotherapy (2000) and The Essential Guide to Herbal Safety (2005).

Andrew Pengelly, Ph.D., RH (AHG), FNHAA, is completed professional training programs in botanical medicine, naturopathy, and homeopathy in 1983 at the Southern Cross Herbal School in Australia and obtained his doctorate in Food Science from the University of Newcastle in Australia in 2009. During this period, he practiced as a clinical herbalist, lectured widely in Australia, New Zealand, and the United States, and was nominated a Fellow of the National Herbalists Association of Australia. Dr. Pengelly is the director of Tai Sophia’s herbal dispensary and is the principal investigator of a current Tai Sophia clinical trial on the medicinal qualities of culinary herbs.

Gerard Mullin, M.D., M.S., CNSP, is an associate professor in the Department of Medicine at The Johns Hopkins University, as well as Director of Integrative GI Nutrition Services at The Johns Hopkins Hospital. An internist, gastroenterologist, and nutritionist, Dr. Mullin is internationally renowned for his work in integrative gastroenterology and nutrition, having accumulated over 15 years of clinical experience in the field. Dr. Mullin is the only physician in the United States who is board- certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine for Gastroenterology, the American Society of Enteral and Parenteral Nutrition, the American College of Nutrition, and the American Board of Nutrition Physician Specialists. He is an associate editor of Integrative Medicine: a Clinicians Journal and has recently been selected by Dr. Andrew Weil to serve as a senior editor for the first book for physicians on integrative gastroenterology by Oxford Press.