Building Momentum: How One Student Scaled Lifestyle Medicine Education

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.

Connect with ACLM Online!

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