Dr Lesley Braun is a registered pharmacist and naturopath. She holds a PhD from RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia, in which she investigated the integration of complementary medicine into hospitals in Victoria. Dr Braun is an Adjunct associate Professor of Integrative Medicine at the National Institute of Complementary Medicine at the University of Western Sydney in Australia. NICM provides leadership and support for strategically directed research into complementary medicine and translation of evidence into clinical practice and relevant policy to benefit the health of all Australians.

Dr Braun serves on the Australian Therapeutic Goods Advisory Council which oversees the implementation of TGA reforms and provides general strategic guidance to the TGA, advice on relationships and communication with stakeholders. She is also on the executive for the Complementary and Integrative Therapies interest group of the Clinical Oncology Society of Australia and an advisory board member to the Australasian Integrative Medicine Association. As of 2014, she is also the Director of Blackmore's Institute, the academic and professional arm of Blackmores, which entails engaging with a broad range of academics, government and industry bodies and overseeing a comprehensive academic and research program.

Since 1996 she has authored numerous chapters for books and more than 100 articles, and since 2000 has written regular columns for the Australian Journal of Pharmacy and the Journal of Complementary Medicine. She lectures to medical students at Monash University and to chiropractic students at RMIT University, and is regularly invited to present at national and international conferences about evidence-based complementary medicine, drug interactions, complementary medicine safety and her own clinical research.

Her role as the main author of Herbs and Natural Supplements - An Evidence-based Guide represents a continuation of a life-long goal to integrate evidence-based complementary medicine into standard practice and improve patient outcomes safely and effectively.

Volume 1: Herbal and natural supplements 1 Introduction to complementary medicine 2 Introduction to herbal medicine 3 Introduction to clinical nutrition 4 Introduction to aromatherapy 5 Introduction to food as medicine Clinical practice 6 Introduction to the practice of integrative medicine 7 Safety and complementary medicines 8 Interactions with herbal and natural medicines 9 Preoperative care: considerations 10 Cancer and safety of complementary medicines 11 Herbs and natural supplements in pregnancy 12 Introduction to wellness

Volume 2: Monograph Title: Adhatodha Albizzia Aloe vera Alpha lipoic acid Andrographis Astragalus Baical skullcap Bergamot Beta-carotene Bilberry Bitter melon Bitter Orange/citrus aurantium Black cohosh Brahmi Calcium Calendula Carnitine Celery Chaste tree (Vitex) Chickweed Chitosan Chondroitin Chromium Cinnamon Cloves Cocoa Coenzyme Q10 Colostrum Coriolus versicolor Cranberry Creatine Damiana Dandelion Devil's claw Dunaliella salina Echinacea Elder Eucalyptus Fenugreek Feverfew Fish oils Flaxseed oil Folate Garlic Gentian Ginger Ginkgo biloba Ginseng - Korean Globe artichoke Glucosamine Goji Goldenrod Goldenseal Grapeseed Green tea Guarana Gymnema Hawthorn Honey Hops Horse chestnut Horseradish Iodine Iron Kava L-arginine Lavender Lemon balm L-Glutamine Licorice L-Lysine Lutein and zeaxanthin Maca Magnesium Meadowsweet Mullein Myrrh New Zealand green-lipped mussel Nigella Noni Oats Passionflower Pelargonium Peppermint Perilla Policosanol Prebiotics Probiotics Psyllium Pygeum Quercetin Raspberry leaf Red clover Red rice yeast extract Rhodiola Rosehip Rosemary S-Adenosyl-L-methionine (SAMe) Saffron Sage Saw palmetto Schisandra Selenium Shark cartilage Shatavari Siberian Ginseng Slippery elm Soy St John's Wort St Mary's thistle Stinging nettle Taurine Tea tree Thyme Tribulus Tulsi Turmeric Tyrosine Valerian Vitamin A Vitamin B1 Vitamin B12 Vitamin B2 - Riboflavin Vitamin B5 - Pantothenic acid Vitamin B6 Vitamin C Vitamin D Vitamin E Wild Yam Willowbark Withania Zinc