Alex Shikhman, MD, PhD

CEO Institute Specialized Medicine

​

Dr. Shikhman is board certified in internal medicine and rheumatology. He is a leading author of numerous scientific publications in peer review journals, including Journal of Immunology, Arthritis and Rheumatism, Annals of Rheumatic Diseases, New England Journal of Medicine, Journal of Gluten Sensitivity and Nature Biotechnology, among others.

​

He is listed in Who is Who in American Medicine and Healthcare and America’s Top Physicians by Consumer’s Research Council of America. His other awards include a research grant from the Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology, an Oklahoma University award in clinical excellence, and a Skaggs scholarship in biomedical research.

​

Currently, he serves as a member of the editorial board of Future Rheumatology/International Journal of Clinical Rheumatology and is an advisory board member of Simply Gluten Free magazine.

​

Dr. Shikhman received his MD Cum Laude from the Russian State Medical University (formerly known as 2nd Moscow Medical Institute named after Pirogov) — a preeminent Russian medical center. After graduating from medical school, he spent five years in basic and clinical research in the area of autoimmune diseases driven by infectious agents and received his Ph.D. in Immunology from the Moscow Medical Academy (formerly known as 1st Moscow Medical Institute named after Sechenov).

In 1990 he immigrated to the United States and became a research professor at the Oklahoma University Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, where he conducted pioneering work on mechanisms of molecular mimicry between streptococcus group A and human skin proteins. He served his internship and residency in internal medicine at the Oklahoma University Health Sciences Center and completed his clinical fellowship in rheumatology at Scripps Clinic.

​

Subsequently, he became a member of Scripps Clinic Division of Rheumatology and a faculty member in the Department of Arthritis Research at the Scripps Research Institute. His additional training included: study of medical acupuncture at UCLA, master classes in musculoskeletal ultrasound, auricolotherapy and auriculodiagnosis, and application of low-level lasers in therapy of arthritis and allied conditions.

​

Dr. Shikhman was among the first awardees of the National Institute of Complementary and Alternative Medicine to study the molecular mechanisms of glucosamine in arthritis. His research resulted in the discovery of glucose transporting mechanisms in human cartilage tissue and identification of several natural products with promising therapeutic benefits for patients with osteoarthritis.

​

As a symbiosis of his clinical and basic research activities, he developed a comprehensive approach to treat various arthritic conditions which combines state-of-the-art diagnostic and therapeutic modalities, dietary modifications, nutritional supplements and biomechanical adjustments.