IMC Leadership

Johnese Spisso, MPA

President, UCLA Health
CEO, UCLA Hospital System
Associate Vice Chancellor, UCLA Health Sciences

Johnese Spisso was appointed president of UCLA Health, CEO of UCLA Hospital System and associate vice chancellor of UCLA Health Sciences on February 8, 2016. She is a nationally recognized academic health care leader with more than 30 years of experience. She oversees all operations of UCLA Health’s hospitals and clinics as well as the health system's regional outreach strategy.

Janet Rimicci, RN, MSN

Senior Executive Director

Janet Rimicci, RN, MSN, is senior executive director of UCLA Santa Monica Medical Center. She oversees the financial management, strategic planning, organizational development and coordination of all clinical and administrative operations. Janet’s clinical background is mainly in cardiothoracic surgical and cardiac intensive care, with additional experience in emergency medicine and high-risk obstetrics.

Elizabeth Ko, MD

Medical Director 
Clinical Pillar Lead

Dr. Elizabeth Ko is an internist, primary care physician and assistant clinical professor of medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. Dr. Ko sees patients for preventive care and chronic disease management. She blends traditional medical approaches with integrative methods, including nutrition, stress management and acupuncture. She is board certified in internal medicine and integrative medicine, and a fellow of the American College of Physicians. 

Following her internal medicine residency, Dr. Ko completed a fellowship in integrative medicine at the University of Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine and the Medical Acupuncture for Physicians course through the Helms Medical Institute. She is a certified yoga teacher, trained at the Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health.

Rashmi Mullur, MD

Education Pillar Lead

Dr. Rashmi Mullur is an associate professor at the David Geffen School of Medicine, the chief of telehealth for the VA Greater Los Angeles, and the education director for the UCLA Health Integrative Medicine Collaborative. She is a board-certified internist, endocrinologist, integrative medicine practitioner and certified yoga instructor. She serves on the Academy of Integrative Health and Medicine BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) committee to promote health equity in integrative medicine and whole health. 

Dr. Mullur has practiced yoga since childhood and incorporates yoga into clinical care as a physician. Her clinical practice focuses on using mind-body techniques, integrative approaches and remote-monitoring tools in chronic disease management. She is inspired by the opportunity to leverage digital health technology to advance health care.

As a medical educator, Dr. Mullur has published several curricula in integrative medicine and is bringing integrative medicine into the curriculum at the David Geffen School of Medicine.

Helen Lavretsky, MD

Research Pillar Lead

Dr. Helen Lavretsky is a professor in residence in the Department of Psychiatry at UCLA. She serves as a geriatric integrative psychiatrist with a research program in using mind-body interventions for geriatric depression and integrative mental health. Her research program is funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, and the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH).

Dr. Lavretsky’s current research focuses on mild cognitive impairment and psychopharmacological treatments for geriatric depression. She has also investigated the use of tai chi and yoga in preventing and treating late-life mood and cognitive disorders.

Dr. Lavretsky serves as director of the Late-Life Mood, Stress and Wellness Research Program, the UCLA Health Integrative Psychiatry Clinic and the UCLA Health Post-COVID Psychiatry Clinic.

Erin Rice

Administrative Director

Erin spent the first 14 years of her career in finance, bringing electronic trading to the forefront in New York. She later moved to Los Angeles, where she rescued her dog, Finn, and began volunteering for the UCLA Health People-Animal Connection (PAC). In 2012, Erin became the program's director, and under her leadership, PAC has been recognized by the Red Cross and the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors for its impactful work.

Erin is committed to nonpharmacologic approaches to symptom management, including animal-assisted therapy. As administrative director of the IMC, Erin coordinates the many UCLA Health integrative medicine programs and services. She helps establish a unified and comprehensive array of integrative medicine offerings, particularly in the clinical, educational, research and policy domains.