What If You Could Learn Natural Wellness From Someone Who Actually Does the Science?
A self-paced educational program developed by Jessie Cavanaugh, PhD — clinical researcher, Harvard-trained scientist, and founder of the Nutraceuticals Research Institute. Learn herbalism, aromatherapy, and holistic wellness the way it should be taught: grounded in evidence, honest about limitations, and practically applicable.
The Wellness World Is Full of Noise. You Deserve Clarity.
You want to take a more natural approach to your family's health. But every time you search for answers, you find:
Conflicting information: One source says this herb is a miracle; another says it's dangerous. Who's right?
Marketing disguised as education: Influencers and companies making claims that sound scientific but don't hold up to scrutiny.
Missing foundations: Recipes and tips everywhere, but no one explains why things work, or when they don't.
No way to verify: You're not a research scientist. How are you supposed to know which studies are legitimate?
You don't need another list of "top 10 natural remedies" from someone who's never read the actual research.
You need to learn from someone who conducts the research, someone who can show you what the evidence actually says, teach you to evaluate claims for yourself, and give you practical skills you can trust.
A Different Kind of Natural Wellness Education
This program is developed and taught by Jessie Cavanaugh, PhD, a clinical researcher who has designed, conducted, and published randomized controlled trials on nutraceuticals, essential oils, stress, and botanical interventions.
This isn't information filtered through marketers or wellness influencers. This is education directly from someone who has:
✓ Published peer-reviewed research on the topics you want to learn about
✓ Conducted FDA-authorized clinical trials on natural products
✓ Trained at Harvard Medical School in clinical research methodology
✓ Built an organization that provides research services to the global natural products industry
What makes this different:
You'll learn from actual research, including insights from ongoing studies not yet available to the public.
Evidence-based preparation methods: the DIY protocols taught here are based on methods used in actual clinical trials
Critical evaluation skills, the same tools researchers use to assess claims, so you can navigate the wellness world with confidence
Grounded in holistic framework; true health encompasses physical, mental, AND social wellbeing, not just the absence of disease
How it Works: Your Learning Journey
This program is designed so you always know exactly where to start and what comes next.
Step 1: Foundation
Start here. Build your framework with a holistic definition of health, learn to evaluate evidence, and create your first preparations. Finish here or upgrade for more.
Step 2: Application
(Optional upgrade) Ready for more? Go deeper into herbalism, aromatherapy, and nutraceuticals with comprehensive safety training and advanced application.
Step 3: Specialization
(Optional tracks) Focus on what matters to YOU. Choose from Mental Wellness, Women's Health, Pediatric Health, Healthy Aging, Environmental Health, or Advanced Research Evaluation.
Everyone starts with Foundation. You can always add more later.
Tier 1: Foundations of Natural Wellness
(RELEASE JAN 5, 2026) This is your starting point. It's grounded in a holistic approach to health and taught by a clinical researcher.
Quick Stats:
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5 Weeks, Self-Paced
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10-12 Hours of Video Content
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Evidence-Based Materia Medica
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35+ Downloadable Resources
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Certificate of Completion
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6 Months Online Access
FREE THROUGH JAN 10 ($147 reg)
What You'll Learn in Foundations
Week 1: The Holistic Health Framework Begin with a comprehensive definition of health as complete physical, mental, and social wellbeing and not merely the absence of disease. Learn to think like a researcher and assess your own wellness across all three dimensions.
Week 2: Your Body's Defense Systems Master the basics of immune function and the stress-immunity connection. Complete your first three materia medica entries (Elderberry, Echinacea, Astragalus) with exclusive insights from Dr. Cavanaugh's published elderberry research and ongoing clinical trials.
Week 3: Evidence-Based Natural Preparations Get hands-on with preparation methods modeled on those used in clinical research. Learn to make herbal teas, elderberry syrup, healing salves, and aromatherapy inhalers — using the same approaches tested in actual studies. Add Peppermint and Eucalyptus to your materia medica.
Week 4: Becoming a Critical Consumer Develop the skills to evaluate health claims, spot statistical manipulation, and read research abstracts. This is the most valuable skill you'll gain; navigate the wellness industry without getting fooled. Complete your Lavender monograph with Dr. Cavanaugh's published research on essential oil safety.
Week 5: Integration & Your Path Forward Synthesize your learning with a personalized action plan. Complete your final monographs (Ginger, Chamomile) and learn about continuing education opportunities.
Exclusive Research Access
As a student, you'll receive insights from:
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Dr. Cavanaugh's published elderberry meta-analysis and pre-publication elderberry clinical trial
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Ongoing clinical trials on stress and essential oils
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Pre-publication findings from current research
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Behind-the-scenes look at how natural product studies are designed
What's Included
Video-Based Education
✓ 35+ video lessons with download access
✓ Research paper walkthroughs
✓ Preparation demonstrations
Preparation Guides
✓ Infusions and Decoctions
✓ Elderberry syrup protocol (research-based)
✓ Healing salve guide
✓ Aromatherapy inhaler protocol (clinical trial method)
✓ Room spray recipes
Evaluation Tools & Resources
✓ Health claim evaluation checklist
✓ Statistical red flags reference
✓ Evidence hierarchy guide
✓ How to read a research abstract
✓ "Spotting Pseudoscience" quick reference
✓ Quality sourcing guide
✓ Certificate of Completion
Tier 2: Applications of Natural Wellness
(RELEASE: FEB 2, 2026) Go deeper into herbalism, aromatherapy, and nutraceuticals with comprehensive training that builds upon what you covered in the Foundations program.
Quick Stats:
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8 Weeks, Self-Paced
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20+ Hours of Video Content
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50+ Downloadable Resources
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Advanced Certificate
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12 Months Access
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Prerequisite: Foundation Course
$397
What You'll Learn in Applications
Week 1: The Therapeutic Spectrum Positioning botanicals within the pharmacological continuum from food to pharmaceutical. Analyze the five critical failure points that compromise efficacy, even in well-designed protocols, and develop a systematic approach to risk-benefit assessment.
Week 2: Navigating Contraindications and Interactions Construct a working framework for identifying contraindications and herb-drug interactions. Examine regulatory structures governing dietary supplements and build competency in evaluating safety literature.
Week 3: Systematic Herbalism & Pharmacognosy Transition from herb-by-herb memorization to compound-class reasoning. Study pharmacognosy (bioactive constituent families: alkaloids, flavonoids, terpenes, glycosides) and pharmacokinetics (ADME: absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion) as applied to botanical interventions. Expand your materia medica.
Week 4: Aromatherapy: Mechanisms & Application Examine olfactory neuroscience and the physiological pathways through which volatile compounds exert systemic effects. Address advanced safety considerations, application method selection based on therapeutic targets, and critical evaluation of GC-MS testing and quality verification.
Week 5: Nutraceutical Integration Extend your toolkit to supplements, amino acids, and non-botanical bioactives. Evaluate the distinct evidence standards for nutraceuticals versus botanicals, and develop protocols that integrate multiple intervention types without redundancy or contraindication.
Week 6: Advanced Dosing & Protocol Creation Master comprehensive dosing parameters: therapeutic ranges, frequency optimization, duration requirements, and individual modifying factors (age, weight, health history). Construct condition-specific protocols for acute intervention versus long-term support, with attention to measurable outcomes.
Week 7: Infectious Disease & Microbial Ecology Analyze infectious disease through both pathogen-focused and terrain-based models. Examine viral replication cycles and intervention timing, bacterial resistance mechanisms and their implications for botanical antimicrobials, and the microbiome as a therapeutic target.
Week 8: Integration & Practice Synthesize course content into a coherent practice methodology. Covers case documentation, outcome tracking, protocol adjustment criteria, and response to emerging health concerns. Define boundaries and establish referral relationships with conventional providers.
Tier 3: Specialize
(AVAILABLE BEGINNING MARCH 20, 2026) Specialization Tracks: Focus on What Matters to You
After completing the Foundations and Applications Programs, choose the tracks that fit your interests and needs. Buy one, buy several, or come back anytime.
$247 per track
3 tracks for $497
Mental Wellness
Focus: Stress, trauma, and nervous system regulation
You'll Learn:
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The stress response in depth (HPA axis, sympathetic/parasympathetic balance)
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Understanding PTSD and trauma-informed approaches
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Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and long-term health
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Botanicals and nutrients for nervous system support
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Lifestyle protocols for building resilience
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Recognizing when professional support is needed
Includes: Exclusive insights from NRI's burnout and anxiety research
Duration: 4-5 weeks
Pediatric Health
Focus: Safe, evidence-informed natural approaches for children
You'll Learn:
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Why children are not small adults (physiology, safety, dosing)
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Age-appropriate interventions
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Common childhood concerns (immune support, sleep, digestion, skin)
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Working alongside healthcare providers
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When natural approaches are appropriate, and when they're not
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Creating child-friendly preparations
Includes: Insights from NRI's pediatric aromatherapy trials (autism spectrum research)
Duration: 4 weeks
Environmental Health
Focus: Reducing toxic burden and optimizing your environment
You'll Learn:
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Common environmental toxins and exposure routes
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Home environment assessment
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Clean air, water, and food strategies
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"Detoxification" what's real vs. marketing hype
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Supporting the body's natural elimination pathways
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Occupational and geographic considerations
Duration: 4 weeks
Women's Health
Focus: Hormonal balance and reproductive wellness across the lifespan
You'll Learn:
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Menstrual cycle physiology and natural support
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PMS, PMDD, and cycle-related concerns
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Fertility support approaches
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Pregnancy considerations and safety
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Perimenopause and menopause transitions
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Botanicals with hormonal activity (and safety considerations)
Includes: Research insights from NRI's pregnancy-related clinical trials
Duration: 4-5 weeks
Healthy Aging
Focus: Vitality, cognition, and quality of life in later years
You'll Learn:
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The biology of aging (what's modifiable, what's not)
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Cognitive health and neuroprotection strategies
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Inflammation as a driver of aging
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Mobility, bone health, and physical resilience
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Cardiovascular considerations
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Polypharmacy awareness and herb-drug interactions in older adults
Duration: 4-5 weeks
Advanced Research Evaluation
Focus: Deep research literacy for those who want to go further
You'll Learn:
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Reading and interpreting full scientific papers
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Understanding study design strengths and weaknesses
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Systematic reviews and meta-analyses in depth
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Evaluating supplement and botanical research specifically
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Navigating conflicting evidence
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Building your own evidence-informed approaches
Ideal For: Those who want to move beyond consumer-level evaluation to true research fluency.
Duration: 4 weeks
Bundle & Save
2
Foundations & Applications Bundle
Foundations + Applications Programs
Everything you need to build comprehensive knowledge in evidence-based natural wellness.
Includes:
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Foundation Course (5 weeks)
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Application Program (8 weeks)
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All resources associated with both programs
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Both completion certificates
$497 (SAVE $50)
"Most natural wellness education falls into one of two traps: oversimplified protocols that ignore individual variation, or pseudoscientific claims dressed up in research language. Neither serves the person who wants to actually help people.
I built this program to teach the same analytical framework I use when designing clinical trials—not to make you a researcher, but to make you someone who can read research critically, construct defensible protocols, and know the difference between what's been demonstrated and what's been assumed.
If you want certainty and simple answers, this isn't the right program. If you want the tools to navigate complexity and make informed decisions under uncertainty, keep reading."
Presented by Jessie Hawkins-Cavanaugh, PhD,
Founder & President of Nutraceuticals Research Institute
Jessie Cavanaugh, PhD is a clinical researcher and epidemiologist whose work bridges the gap between traditional botanical medicine and modern evidence standards. As founder and president of the Nutraceuticals Research Institute, she designs and directs randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled clinical trials on natural products, the same methodology used in pharmaceutical research.
Academic Training:
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PhD, Health Research — Middle Tennessee State University Dissertation: Randomized clinical trial on essential oil inhalation for pre-procedural anxiety in pediatric ASD populations
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Post-Doctoral Certificate with Commendation — Harvard Medical School Global Clinical Scholars Research Training Program
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Post-Graduate Certificate, Epidemiology — London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
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Master's Degree, Health Studies & Health Education — University of Alabama
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Bachelor's Degree, Environmental Health Studies — Union Institute & University
Research Portfolio: Dr. Cavanaugh has served as principal investigator on clinical trials spanning aromatherapy, botanical supplementation, and integrative protocols, including:
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Clinical Trial: Elderberry for upper respiratory symptoms (2025)
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Aromatherapy intervention for pregnancy-induced nausea and vomiting (2022)
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Essential oil formulation for post-COVID fatigue syndrome (2022)
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Pre-procedural aromatherapy in pediatric autism populations (2019)
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Current trials: pediatric respiratory aromatherapy, third-trimester quality of life, occupational burnout intervention
Ready to learn natural wellness the right way?
You don't need to become a research scientist to make informed decisions about natural health. You just need education from someone who actually does the science.
Start with Foundation. Build your framework. Learn to evaluate evidence. Create your first preparations using research-based methods.
And know that you're learning from someone who has conducted the clinical trials, not just read about them.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where do I start? Everyone starts with the Foundation course. It establishes the core health framework, builds your critical evaluation skills, and gives you your first materia medica collection. Even if you have background in natural health, Foundation ensures you have the evidence-based approach that everything else builds on.
Is it self paced or do I have a schedule? Completely self-paced. We provide recommended timelines (5 weeks for Foundation, 8 weeks for Application), but you can go faster or slower based on your life.
Do I need any prior knowledge? No prerequisites for Foundation; it's designed for anyone interested in natural wellness, regardless of background. The Application Program requires Foundation completion. Specialization tracks require Application completion.
Will I learn the research behind what's being taught? Yes. Dr. Cavanaugh shares insights from her published work and ongoing studies throughout the program, including pre-publication findings from current trials. You'll also learn to read and evaluate research yourself.
What makes this different from other natural wellness programs? Most courses are taught by enthusiasts, coaches, or people with financial ties to product companies. This program is developed and taught by a clinical researcher who has actually conducted the studies. You'll learn what the evidence shows (and doesn't show), how to evaluate claims yourself, and how to create preparations using methods tested in actual research.
How long do I have access? Once you enroll, the content is yours forever; you simply need to download and store each component. Online access and support will last for 6 months (Foundations) or for 12 months (Applications) from your enrollment date.
What is your refund policy? We offer a 14-day satisfaction guarantee. If the program isn't what you expected, email us within 14 days of enrollment for a full refund.
What if I have other questions? Email us: info@nutraceuticalsresearch.com We're happy to help you determine if this program is right for you.