Dr. Joy Kong featured on cover of EP Magazine

The many dimensions of Joy: a driven doctor and leading expert on regenerative medicine.

by Jeri Dayle

Dr. Joy Kong was certainly given the right name. Born on her parent’s anniversary, she was named the Chinese word for joy and she certainly was a source of that to her family. These days, as she speaks about stem cell treatments as a viable, effective, and life-saving therapy, she does it with such evident exuberance and passion that she shares her joy and wins over other medical professionals. One can also sense the joy in her, after years of study and practice, in finding the specialty that truly enthuses this brilliant doctor. She is board certified three times over, the latest in anti-aging and regenerative medicine. This field provides her the gratification of helping people and making a difference that first inspired her to become a doctor.

Joy is also woven into the name of her company, Chara Biologics, which strives to help patients who are struggling with chronic illness or age-related declines. Chara comes from the Greek word for Joy, and the cell therapy products Dr. Kong uses bear that name.

“Cell therapy is one of the most exciting fields of medicine and represents an incredibly powerful yet holistic approach,” Dr. Kong says, adding that “if you think about it, we humans all spring from a single cell. Stem cells are the intelligence behind our being, and every component of our bodies.”

While Dr. Kong knew she wanted to practice medicine, she did not at first know which specialty would be best for her. She did rotations as a student and experienced different areas of medicine, but most of them left her feeling disappointed. It seemed to her that too many physicians were practicing with blinders on. Dr. Kong believes in looking at the full picture: a person’s nutrition status, hormone levels, toxic exposures, microbiome imbalances, and oxidative stress, etc., all affecting the body in profound ways. Because of her fascination with the human brain and psyche, she chose to go into the field of Psychiatry. However, she saw that “psychiatry seems to have forgotten that the brain is attached to the rest of the body.” While there is plenty of emphasis on psychiatric medications or even psychoanalyses, there was almost no investigation into the multitude of physiological factors that can affect brain function. Traditional medicine, she believes, keeps patients just hanging in rather than living with real vitality and happiness. So, she gave up the medical practices defined by numbers and insurance reimbursement to focus instead on people–on integrative care and the kind of treatments that empower and transform.

“I am excited about the direction we are taking,” Dr. Kong says, “I have begun to focus on conducting clinical research, to bring in the high quality scientific data that the field sorely needs.” Dr. Kong has also focused on educating other physicians about stem cell therapies and founded The American Academy of Integrative Cell Therapy to facilitate that. She has done a series of lectures about the different types of stem cells and regenerative therapies that can be viewed on you tube {https://youtu.be/_srondIUvAI}. Always a voracious reader and seeker of knowledge, Dr. Kong has given up reading books for pleasure, to devote her time to reading the mountains of literature in regenerative medicine: article upon article, and case study after case study, highlighting and summarizing as she reads. Her quest is to become a true subject matter expert in regenerative medicine and stem cell therapy, and to provide education to the public and physicians alike.

Dr. Kong says CharaCore, the flagship product of Chara Biologics, is the most comprehensive and potent stem cell product available on the market. It is derived from donated birth tissue from healthy live births by U.S. mothers. Birth tissue offers the safest and most potent cell source to date. Chara products can also be safely dosed at regular intervals, and is also a remarkable anti-aging therapy, as the main effects of the product is to reduce inflammation and promote tissue repair. Dr. Kong has seen remarkable transformations in her patients, such as ones plagued by autism, cardiac issues, COPD, osteoarthritis, dementia, and autoimmune disorders like lupus or psoriasis. One can take a closer look at these case studies at: https://charabiologics.com/case- studies/

These cutting-edge treatments are the source of the real joy– seeing patients happy, vital, improved and enjoying life once again.

EP Magazine spoke with Dr. Joy Kong and learned about what stirs her as a professional, an intellectual, an achiever and an influencer.

Q & A

E.P.: What would you consider your greatest achievement?

Dr Kong: I would think the greatest achievement was actually how I made it to this country from China. I was 20 years old. China didn't want me to leave, and the U.S. didn't want me to come, and I knew nobody in the United States. I am actually writing a book about this interesting journey called "Tiger of Beijing."

E.P.: Was there another doctor or entrepreneur who significantly influenced you?

Dr Kong: There were a few maybe, but mostly I just followed my gut. I looked at what others were doing and thought I could do even better. Since a child, I have felt that there is greatness in me that I needed to manifest. I think I'm manifesting it by making a difference in the world. I started all this because I was trying to find the best cell therapy products for my patients. It just grew organically from there.

E.P.: What is the one thing you are never without?

Dr Kong: (after one of her hearty laughs): My cell phone! I am obsessed with working and keeping on top of things, so I always have it with me. I answer every text and e-mail that I get from doctors and patients. All the doctors know that I am always there for them, whether about the product, the treatment protocol, a particular condition, or a puzzling patient. I love helping them, because they can go out and help so many more that I might not have the opportunity to reach.

E.P.: How do you find inspiration?

Dr Kong: My biggest inspiration is from my patients. You see, I never had children, and in a sense, I see my patients as my kids. Instead of devoting most of my energy to a few kids, I am able to devote it so many people and help transform their lives. I love my patients, and they are my responsibility. I take great delight in their improvement and healing. For example, I treated a 6 year old girl who was autistic and still wearing diapers because she had no bowel or bladder control. Her parents returned seven months after the first treatment and the change was incredible! She is no longer wearing a diaper the first time in her life; she is able to communicate with her parents that she needed to go potty, she is able hold it until parents can locate a restroom. She had been previously non-verbal, but now has started to speak words. She also had hypotonia where she did not have enough muscle strength to walk up the stairs at home so parents always had to carry her, but now she walks up the stairs on her own. Knowing that I was able to help this beautiful family to struggle less and enjoy life more, to me, that is the greatest inspiration I have experienced!

E.P.: If you hadn’t become a doctor, what is another path might taken?

Dr Kong: It’s interesting, when I was a college student in Beijing, I studied architecture. I was passionate about becoming a great architect. I am particularly drawn to fields that are an amalgam of many disciplines. Just like medicine, which is a fusion of science, technology, humanities, psychology, architecture brings in art, engineering, sociology, etc. I enjoy it when many areas of my brain can be engaged at the same time. I find it the most stimulating and satisfying.

E.P.: What is the most challenging part of your work? Is it about ensuring the safety and integrity of stem cells, or something else?

Dr Kong: For me, the hardest part has been to fight the misconceptions the public has about stem cells. Even many doctors have many misconceptions. In addition, there are people in the regenerative medicine field who attack what I do, which can get to the point of being vicious. There is a lot of hypocrisy in this field, which is truly unfortunate. A lot of doctors who attack me have vested interests in sticking with the types of therapies they're providing, instead of looking at new science and evidence showing that there may be something better for their patients.