Robert Buckingham

Robert L Buckingham, MD, FACP is a board-certified specialist in internal medicine and has been in medical practice for 44 years in Ojai, California. During this time, he has been actively involved in the local community hospital serving as Chief of Staff and various committee chairs, as well as being involved in numerous civic groups. In 1993, he was elected one of the first Living Treasures of Ojai and in 2009 became a Fellow of the American College of Physicians.

In 2013, Dr. Buckingham returned to basic research in the physiology and chemistry of cellular networks, focusing on how interstitial spaces respond to and eliminate inflammation. By 2017, he developed a theory that capillary cells specifically, and endothelial cells generally, manage multiple anti-inflammatory purposes through a rhythmic pivot and swing dance step rhythm involving outer membrane permeability shifts and mitochondrial combustion swings between energy and nitric oxide. Since developing the pivot and swing dance step theory, Dr. Buckingham has published four books, as well as several abstracts and peer-reviewed journal articles on the implications of this rhythm in combating end-organ interstitial space inflammation.

Curriculum Vitae

Medical School Education:

1973-1976 University of Illinois Abraham Lincoln School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois - Doctor of Medicine (MD): Graduated as a James Scholar of Medicine

1974-1975 University of Illinois Abraham Lincoln School of Medicine, Chicago Illinois - Master of Science (MS):

“Monoamine Metabolites in Cerebrospinal Fluid; Indicators of Sleep and Wakefulness”.

Post Graduate Education:

1976-1979 Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Northwestern University Medical School, Chicago Illinois - Categorical internship and residency in Internal Medicine.

Fellowship American College of Physicians (FACP):

2009.

Certifications:

Certifications: National Boards Parts I, II, III: June 1975, April 1976 and March 1977 Internal Medicine: September 1983.

Continuing Medical Education:

The majority of 75 category one hours per year through Scientific American Medicine.

Hospital Privileges:

Active Staff: Hospitalist-Internal Medicine-Ojai Valley Community Hospital

National Awards:

Strathmore’s Who’s Who - National Internist of the Year Award, 2015

Publications:

Buckingham, R., “Monoamine Metabolites in Cerebrospinal Fluid: Indicators of Sleep and Wakefulness.” University of Illinois Press, 1975.
Radulovacki, M., Buckingham, R., Chen, E. and Kavacevic, R., “Similar effects of tryptophan and sleep on cisternal cerebrospinal fluid 5 hydroxyindoleacetic acid and homovanillic acids in cats.” Brain Research, 129:371-374, 1977.
Radulovacki, M. and Buckingham, R.,”A significant difference between the amount of slow wave sleep and wakefulness or slow wave sleep and drowsiness in cats after administration of 10 mg/kgof L-tryptophan.” Neuroscience Abstracts, 1:740, 1975.
Buckingham, R., “Hazing Aging, How Capillary Endothelia Control Inflammation and Aging.” I Universe, a subsidiary of Penguin Books- Editor’s Choice, 2015.
Buckingham, R. and Radulovacki, M.,”5-Hydroxyindoleacetic acid in cerebrospinal fluid: an indicator of slow wave sleep.” Brain Research, 99:440-443, 1975.
Buckingham,R.,”Rejuvenation!” How the Capillary-Cell Dance Blocks Aging while Decreasing Pain and Fatigue.” I Universe, a subsidiary of Penguin Books, 2017.
Buckingham, R. and Radulovacki, M.,”The selective effects of Alpha-methyl aromatic amino acids on brain monoamine metabolites and behavior in cats.” Res Comm Chem Path and Pharm,12(2)255-265, 1976.
Buckingham, R., “Trafficking, How Chronic Inflammation Sabotages the Immune Arsenal and Poisons the Interstitial Spaces of End Organs”. Litfire Publishing, 2018.
Buckingham,R. and Radulovacki, M.,”The effects of reserpine, L-dopa and 5 hydroxytryptophan on 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid and homovanillic acids in cerebrospinal fluid, behavior and EEG in cats.” Neuropharmacology, 15:389-392, 1976..
Buckingham, R.,”Rejuvenation 2.0 How the Capillary Cell Pivot and Swing Dance Stems and Paces Interstitial Space Sanitation and End Organ Rejuvenation to Resolve Disease, Pain and Fatigue.” Litfire Publishing, 2019.
Buckingham, R.,”Mechanisms of cardiac arrhythmias.” Bios, 47(1)13-25, 1976.
Buckingham, R., “How Dancing Really Stops the Clock.” Amelia Publishing, March-April 2020.

Hospital Activities:

Chief of Staff: Ojai Valley Community Hospital 1999-2001.
Vice Chief of Staff: Ojai Valley Community Hospital 1997-1998.
Past Chief of Staff: Ojai Valley Community Hospital 2002-2003.
Board of Directors-Ojai Valley Community Hospital 1991-2002.
Medical Executive Committee- Ojai Valley community Hospital 1991-1992, 1995-2004, 2009-2010, 2013-2014.
Chief of Medicine-Ojai Valley Community Hospital 1991-1992, 2003-2004, 2009-2010, 2013-2014.
Director, Intensive Care and Committee-Ojai Valley Community Hospital 1986-1992, 2003-2004.
Chairman By-laws Committee-Ojai Valley Community Hospital 1993-1994.
Chairman, Credentials Committee-Ojai Valley Community Hospital 1995-1998.
Chairman, Interdisciplinary Practice Committee-Ojai Valley Community Hospital 2003-2008.
Member, Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee-Ojai Valley Community Hospital 1984-1990, 2002-2008.
Member, Utilization Review Committee-Ojai Valley Community Hospital 1986-1990, 2015-2016.
Member, Physician Well-being Committee-Ojai Valley Community Hospital 2007-2008.
Medical Director, Kestrel Sleep Diagnostics-Ventura, California 1996-2004.

Hospital Activities:

The Owen Brown Workshop in Cardiac and Vascular Ultrasound- October 1993.
The Burwin Institute of Diagnostic Medical Ultrasound-Adult Echocardiography-October 2004.
Completion of Pain Management, Palliative Care and Treatment of the Terminally Ill- October 2006.
Completion of Emergency Medicine Ultrasound Basics Course-July 2007.

Community Service Awards:

Rotarian of the Year- The Rotary Club of Ojai 1993-1994.
President Local Branch-American Heart Association 1994-1995.
American Heart Association Volunteer of the Year 1994-1995.
Living Treasure of Ojai 1994 to present.
City of Ojai Certificate of Commendation to secure Ojai Valley Community Hospital as a Nonprofit Community Benefit Facility 2001.

Lectures:

“Sleep Apnea and Heart Rhythm Disturbances” Ojai Valley Community Hospital- December 1999.
“Atrial Fibrillation and Sleep Apnea” Ojai Valley Community Hospital- 2007.
“Cardiac Risk Factors and Heart Attack Risk” Mended Heart, Inc. Community Memorial Hospital, Ventura California-September 2002.
“Bedside Assessment of Mental Status Change” Los Robles Care Center, Ojai California-May2007.

Robert L Buckingham, MD, FACP

Biography

My passion is treating patients by providing individualized strategies to help them succeed. My practice career spanning 4 decades has offered a rarified perspective of health care delivery, as I have been responsible for patients requiring intensive care, managed care and then those that require comfort care. The gamut of care delivery has enabled me to have access to all the advances in medical diagnostics and treatments as well as first -hand experience in evaluating hundreds if not thousands of cardiac and carotid ultrasounds and sleep studies.

These experiences in health care delivery, have given me an unprecedented perspective on inflammatory risk factors to health and has motivated me to write books addressing the cause and effect of inflammatory lifestyles to many of the chronic illnesses we face as we age. The recurrent themes that are addressed in these first- line vascular inflammatory risks include diabetes, the metabolic syndrome, hypertension, cigarette smoking, alcohol and drug abuse, elevations in LDL cholesterol and other lipoproteins, inactivity, poorly managed diet, excessive stress and inadequate sleep from sleep apnea or insomnia. All of these inflammatory mediator-risks are modifiable by intentional lifestyle choices and in some cases medicines, supplements and positive pressure breathing.

This preventative path to health care has become my passion, as so many chronic health conditions are either initiated or facilitated by these risks. My goal is to make as many people as I can aware of these toxic risks and make adjustments before getting boxed in by spirals of inflammation that require multiple medications and limit activity. This message of prevention becomes more important to health care delivery with each passing day.