Dr. Alan Spira

Dr. Alan Spira graduated from UCLA with a Bachelor of Science with Honors in Microbiology, Phi Beta Kappa and Magna Cum Laude. He then graduated from the UCLA School of Medicine in 1988. He has specialty training in Emergency Medicine, Tropical Medicine, Travel Medicine, Hyperbaric/Diving Medicine, Occupational Medicine and Acupuncture.

He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Emergency Medicine, The Royal Society of Tropical Medicine, the American Society of Tropical Medicine and a Diplomate of the American Academy of Medical Acupuncture. Dr. Spira has a special interest in tropical and travel medicine, having published numerous scientific and lay articles as well as textbook chapters. He is also very interested in caring for athletes as well as improving both the healthspan and lifespan for all his patients.

Dr Spira has supported The Village Doctor intermittently since 2009 and is delighted to return as a full-time physician. He has known Dr. Weiss as a colleague and a friend since he was a medical student at UCLA where Dr. Weiss was training in Emergency Medicine. They have been through many adventures together.

Captain Alan Spira was honorably retired from the US Navy Medical Corps in 2000 and has been decorated multiple times by the Marine Corps, Navy and Army.

Dr. Spira has a non-profit, Jamii Health International, which helps develop health centers in the developing world. He has volunteered or taught as a physician in the developing world for over 30 years.

Lastly, Dr. Spira has practiced martial arts since he was sixteen, and was UCLA Karate Team captain during medical school though now he is dedicated to Wing Chun which was Bruce Lee’s original style. He paints, writes and travels whenever he has a little free time.