Dr. Dong Ji graduated from Beijing University of Chinese Medicine in 1996 and received his medical degree (equivalent to MD) after the five-year program focused on both Chinese and Western clinical medicine.

With the enthusiasm to discover the scientific basis of acupuncture, he went to the Neuroscience Research Institute at Peking University and completed his Ph.D. with Professor Ji-Sheng Han who had been consecutively funded by National Institutes of Health (NIH, the U.S.) R01 grants for over 25 years for the research on neurobiological basis of pain relief by acupuncture. After he received the doctoral degree in neuroscience, Dr. Ji went to the prestigious SALK institute and the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California for the further research. His research and clinical practice focused on the neuroendocrine diseases and neurological disorders.

Dr. Ji was the editor-in-chief of The World of Traditional Chinese Medicine and the assistant-editor of Chinese Journal of Pain Medicine. He served as a committee member for the Medical Evidence Evaluation Advisory Committee (MEEAC) of the state of California. Dr. Ji presently serves as a reviewer for the journal of Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behavior (published by Elsevier).  He also served as a commissioner for the Accreditation Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (ACAOM).

As the department chair of Herbology, Dr. Ji teaches classes in multiple postgraduate programs, including ancient classics, clinical applications of herbal medicine, advanced integrative medicine, clinical research, and family medicine courses.  Additionally, Dr. Ji taught integrative medicine courses at UCLA for the 4th-year medical school students, residents and MD fellows. He has been invited to teach and present at different acupuncture schools, conferences and symposiums across the US.

Dr. Ji has his private practices in Del Mar, California.  He also teaches as a clinical faculty and treats patients at the UCSD Neurology Institute clinic in La Jolla, California.

Dr. Ji serves as the treasurer in the board of SDCAPA (San Diego Chinese American Physician Association). He is also a director member for SDCACS (San Diego Chinese Art and Culture Society).  

LAc, California, United States, AC13205, Active, 2009, March 2025

Type: Post-Doctorate, The Salk Institute , Post-Doctorate, Neuroscience, La Jolla, California, United States, January 2006, August 2008

2006 - 2008

Visiting investigator, Committee on the Neurobiology of Addictive Disorders, The Scripps Research Institute , La Jolla, California, United States

Doctor of Chinese Medicine / Acupuncturist, UC San Diego May 2016