David Rakel MD, FAAFP
Professor and Chair, Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WisconsinDr. David Rakel is Professor and Chair of the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health at the University of Wisconsin. During his time at UW–Madison, he founded the Integrative Medicine Program (now known as the Integrative Health Program) and received the Gold Foundation’s Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Award, the school’s highest honor for excellence and compassion in care. His team worked with more than 50 clinical systems within the Veterans Health Administration to implement changes to make care more personalized, proactive, and patient-driven.
After residency training in family medicine in Colorado, Dr. Rakel worked in private practice in rural Idaho. His burgeoning interest in the relationships across health, the human experience, and the environment led to a fellowship in integrative medicine at the University of Arizona.
An author of both academic and popular writings, Dr. Rakel says one of his missions is to communicate medical information in a way that is accessible to people of all backgrounds.
Recent Contributions to PracticeUpdate:
- Association of Plant and Animal Fat Intake With Overall Cardiovascular Disease Mortality
- Association of Anti-Inflammatory Diet With Dementia in Older Adults With Cardiometabolic Diseases
- Association of Metabolic Syndrome With Neuroimaging and Cognitive Outcomes
- Comparative Cardiovascular Benefits of Bempedoic Acid and Statins
- Semaglutide vs Tirzepatide for Weight Loss in Adults With Overweight or Obesity
- Associations Between Ultraprocessed Food Consumption and Adverse Brain Health Outcomes
- Detection, Classification, and Epidemiology of Chronic Kidney Disease
- Integration of a Fasting-Mimicking Diet Programme in Primary Care for Type 2 Diabetes Reduces the Need for Medication and Improves Glycaemic Control
- Xylitol Is Prothrombotic and Associated With CV Risk
- Association of Mediterranean Diet Adherence With Risk of All-Cause Mortality in Women