Who We Are

Dr Spira is the Founder, Medical Director and CEO of Jamii Health International. JHI is a international non-profit organization dedicated to creating local self-sustaining health care systems in the developing world, emphasizing community health, disease prevention, education, training and health care whose first project is based in Uganda.

Dr Spira has taught or volunteered as a physician in the developing world for 30 years. He has rendered medical service, lectured and taught in over 15 countries.

Dr Spira obtained his BS degree in Microbiology from UCLA (Magna Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa). He is also a graduate of UCLA School of Medicine. His original specialty training in emergency medicine was done at the Los Angeles County/USC Medical Center, then the largest trauma center in North America. He then acquired the post-graduate Diplomate of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene degree at the prestigious London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine which he has put to good use both abroad and domestically. Dr Spira has also been trained in diving & hyperbaric medicine. He has the additional unique quality of being an MD who is board-certified in acupuncture. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine, the American Academy of Emergency Medicine and the American Association of Medical Acupuncture.                               

Dr Spira is an affiliated Associate Clinical Professor at Stanford University and was the Medical Director of The Travel Medicine Center in Beverly Hills, CA, where for fourteen years he provided medical care to travelers both before and after their journeys in addition to serving as a consultant for several Hollywood studios.

Dr. Spira writes extensively, for both the scientific and medical communities as well as for the public. In 2003 he published a two part series on travel medicine in The Lancet and authored chapters in the Travel and Tropical Medicine Manual as well as the textbook, Travel Medicine.  His writings serve not only to improve the burgeoning field of Global Health but to increase its visibility in both public and scientific eyes.

As a Naval Officer, Commander Spira served as a physician in Iraq in Al Anbar province with naval combat engineers and the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force. He retired from the military reserves after serving many years as a United States Marine Corps Medical Officer.

Dr. Weiss, a Clinical Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine and Infectious Diseases at Stanford University, as well as former Associate Chief of Emergency Medicine, founded The Village Doctor, a family concierge medicine practice in 2004 in Woodside California. He also lectures and consults internationally on emergency medicine, pre-hospital, tropical and travel medicine topics. In addition to founding the Stanford Travel Medicine Service, he developed and taught the first formal course on Travel Medicine at a United States medical school and was the Travel Medicine Director for the Stanford Student Health Center and the Stanford Alumni Association. Dr. Weiss has served as the   Medical Director for Stanford Life Flight as well as Emergency Medical Services for Stanford Hospital. He was the Medical Director for the Woodside Fire Department. Previously, he served as the Chief Medical Officer for MedicinePlanet, Inc., a high tech company dedicated to providing wireless health solutions to the mobile traveler, as well as the Chief Medical Officer for San Francisco International Airport where he was responsible for airport medical affairs including primary care, travel medicine, occupational health, and emergency medical services. Dr Weiss currently directs, and sees patients at, The Village Doctor, a seven physician group which also offers complementary medicine such as acupuncture, physical therapy and nutritional counseling. A Fellow of both the American College of Emergency Medicine and the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, Dr. Weiss is also an active member of the International Society of Travel Medicine the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene and was recently elected to the Board of the American Academy of Private Physicians. Dr. Weiss received a BS in Biological Sciences from Stanford, an MD from UCSF, completed his residency and chief residency in Emergency Medicine at UCLA, and trained at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, where he received his Diploma in Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.

Doron M. Tisser is a successful estate planning attorney in Southern California. He is a graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles, the Southwestern University School of Law and the New York University School of Law. He has 30 years experience helping families with their estate planning and business planning. He is Board Certified as a Specialist in Probate, Estate Planning and Trust Law, as well as Board Certified in Taxation Law. He has been selected as a Super Lawyer for Southern California for 2009 by his peers. Only 5% of attorneys were selected for this honor.

Helping charitable organizations is a life-long passion of Mr. Tisser, who competes in triathlons, including Ironman races, as a way of raising money for charities. As the director of the non-profit, Team Tisser, at the 2007 Coeur d’Alene Ironman triathlon, Mr. Tisser was given an award for being one of the highest fund-raisers for that event. Mr. Tisser has been married to his best friend Laurie for 40 years, and has 2 wonderful sons and 4 grandchildren.

Jeremy N. Tisser serves as the Creative Advisor to Jamii Health International. He is the one who most thinks outside the box, cliches aside. 

Liling Fang PhD recieved her doctorate in chemistry from Stanford University. She has extensive experience in research and development as well as marketing. She is an expert in mass spectrometry and uses her skills to advise Jamii Health International on research and scientific projects.

Lawrence Ash PhD is an Emeritus Professor of Epidemiology at the UCLA School of Public Health and is a world-renowned parasitologist. He co-wrote the definite Atlas of Human Parasitology, the WHO field guides, numerous scientific papers and the list goes on. His accomplishments in Tropical Medicine and Parasitology make him a giant in those fields.