Dr. Deborah Heath DO, CSPOMM

Deborah M. Heath, D.O., CSPOMM is board certified in Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine and has been in general practice in Phoenix, Arizona for over 30 years with an emphasis in osteopathic manipulative medicine.  She has also has been a full-time professor at A.T. Still University since 2007 as well as served as the Associate Dean of Innovation and Curricular Integration between 2018-2023.

Dr. Heath has been actively involved in research since she was a student at the Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine where she was mentored by Albert Kelso, Ph.D., William Johnston, D.O., and Irwin Korr, Ph.D.  She has continued her passion for research on physiologic responses to osteopathic manipulation as well as integrated a variety of non-invasive physiologic measurements as part of the osteopathic medical students hands-on learning sessions.   She has authored 16 papers related to this research as well as presented lectures and posters at national and international conferences.

Dr. Heath has been a core faculty for Viola Frymann, D.O. teaching osteopathy in the cranial field to national and international osteopaths for 20 years at the Osteopathic Center for Children in La Jolla, California.  She was a member of osteopathic delegation led by Dr. Frymann to China and Russia where seeds of osteopathic medicine were sown and local healing traditions were shared.  Dr. Heath was a former board member of Dr. Frymann’s Foundation, Osteopathy’s Promise to Children.  She is currently part of the “Biodynamics” core teaching faculty and has been a student of Dr. James Jealous since 1982.

In addition to her osteopathic training, Dr. Heath has been actively involved in the integrative and complementary medicine community with training in acupuncture, nutrition, and homeopathy since the early 90’s.

“Physiology Through an Osteopathic Lens” Part I
July 2024 thru June2025

The course, “Physiology through an osteopathic lens, Part I “, integrates physiology with clinical cases relevant to an osteopathic clinical practice. Using the most current scientific literature combined with the traditional organizing principles of the body as an integrated unit of function described by A.T. Still, this course encompasses mechanisms from the molecular level to the whole person and their environment. Building on the fundamentals of homeostasis, feedback and feedforward regulation, and mechanotransduction, a focus is given on the relationship between the precise timing and optimal conditions that promote growth and development as well as the delicate balance of these mechanisms that is needed to support healing, health, and vitality. From Wolff’s law to epigenetics to the communication between the gut microbiome and the brain with the psychoneuroimmune modulators in between, this course underscores the importance of understanding the dynamic interrelationship and linkages in all systems. It will distill important concepts that will have practical application for osteopathic patient care and will serve as a foundation for a comprehensive osteopathic education.