Herbal Fundamental Knowledge

Dr. Xie has 41 years of clinical, teaching, and research experience in veterinary acupuncture and TCVM. He has trained over 10,000 veterinarians to practice TCVM worldwide. Dr. Xie’s education includes advanced training in veterinary medicine, veterinary acupuncture, and human acupuncture. Dr. Xie has authored 20 books and over 100 peer-reviewed papers. His textbooks, including Xie’s Veterinary Herbology, Xie’s Veterinary Acupuncture, and Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine-Fundamental Principles, have been used for TCVM training programs around the world. Dr. Xie continues to teach and develop educational courses and programs at Chi University, serves as a full clinical professor at the University of Florida’s College of Veterinary Medicine, and is an honorary professor at China Agricultural University, South China Agricultural University, and China Southwest University.

Dr. Vargas received her DVM from Tuskeegee University in 1994. In 1996, she established her AAHA-accredited Orchid Springs Animal Hospital in Winter Haven, FL. Dr. Vargas began her studies at Chi in 2009, where she earned her Master's in TCVM including certifications in veterinary acupuncture, Chinese herbal medicine, food therapy, and tui-na. She is also a certified veterinary journalist and has published hundreds of newspaper articles, and in 2017 her own book: "Alt-Vet: The Revolutionary Pet Care and Longevity Solution." Dr. Vargas has earned many awards including Purina National Pet Care Award, Bay News 9 Medical Hero Award, Brighthouse Business Award, Girls Inc "She Knows Where She’s Going” Award, and the FVMA Gold Award. She served as a TCVM consultant for Disney Animal Kingdom and remains the AVMA Spokesperson for Hispanic market. In 2015, Dr. Vargas started as a TA for Chi's acupuncture program and was named "America's Favorite Veterinarian" by the AVMF.

Dr. Alfaro received his DVM from Federal University of Parana in Brazil in 1975 and, in 1979, his Master of Science from the University of Minnesota with a focus on large animal surgery, radiology, and anesthesiology. In 2006, Dr. Alfaro became certified in veterinary acupuncture through Chi University, going on to obtain certifications in Veterinary Food Therapy (2005), Tui-na (2011), and Chinese Herbal Medicine (2017), followed by a Master of Science in TCVM (2018). During this time, he studied under Dr. Richard Teh-Fu Tan, achieving Silver Level Certification in Balance Method Acupuncture followed by Executive Level Balance Method Practitioner Certification from The Academy of Acupuncture Balance Method in 2018. Dr. Alfaro retired as Professor of Equine Surgery at National University, Costa Rica in 2005. He continues to lecture in Costa Rica and abroad.