Born and raised in Missouri, Dr. Joel Wallach attended The University of Missouri, where he received a Bachelor's degree in Science of Agriculture. A veterinarian for 30 years, he worked as a research veterinary pathologist with The National Institute of Health for the Center for the Biology of Natural Systems, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri; Yerkes Regional Primate Research Center in Atlanta, Georgia, at Emory University. Having discovered and identified the first animal models for cystic fibrosis - monkeys - he found that he could reproduce their condition at will because it was a nutritional deficiency. His find offered great promise for children with the disease, but when he made it public, the institute fired him on 24 - hours notice. Chagrined and perplexed, Dr. Wallach made the decision to go to medical school so he could treat children for cystic fibrosis himself.
Realizing that traditional medical school was likely to be as repressive as the National Institute he accepted an invitation to teach nutrition at The National College of Naturopathic in Oregon, not even knowing what a naturopathic doctor was. When he learned that he could be a primary care physician - deliver babies, sew up chainsaw wounds, write prescriptions and get paid by insurance - all through a program that encouraged interest in nutrition, he simultaneously enrolled as a full-time student. Soon people were flocking to the college clinic.
Doctor Wallach's innovative slant is derived from his background in veterinary medicine. Because there's no health insurance, animal products such as meat and dairy are kept affordable by preventing and curing diseases with nutritional formulas in animal feed. When he started incorporating similar nutritional formulas with people, word got out that, "if you're not happy with your doctor, go see Doctor Wallach, he'll treat you like a dog, but you'll get better."
A vast chronological list of biomedical research publications authored by Dr. Wallach is available upon request. 75 peer reviewed articles and book contributions.
Dr. Wallach has consulted with, worked for and performed autopsies at The National Science Foundation (in assistance to creation of the 1968 Animal Welfare Act), the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, The University of Chicago, The University of Missouri, The Center for the Biology of Natural Systems, Washington University, The University of Tennessee, and Iowa State University.
The following city zoos and aquariums have also drawn on Dr. Wallachs expertise in employing him to perform clinical work and animal autopsies: San Diego, Los Angeles, Chicago (Lincoln Park, Brookfield and The John G. Shedd Aquarium), New York, Washington D.C. (National), Detroit, Memphis, (Overton Park), St. Louis, Jacksonville, FL; and South Africa, also performing autopsies on culled and poached animals.
A NIH training grant for $7.5 million was provided in 1965 to Marlin Perkins of the St. Louis Zoo and Barry Commoner of Washington University and Shaws Botanical Gardens who joined to form the Center for the Biology of Natural Systems.
Dr. Wallach does not now or has he ever in the past claimed he is a Doctor of Medicine (MD). He is a certified and licensed Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine(MD) Oregon license no. 533, Dr. Wallach was awarded this four year doctorate in 1982 by the National College of naturopathic Medicine in Portland, Oregon.