Mala Mathur, MD, MPH, is an integrative pediatrician and director of professional development for the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.  

Growing up as a second-generation Indian American, Dr. Mathur was familiar with integrative therapies through cultural healing practices and the food she learned how to cook from family recipes. “I had also been interested in the potential for healing through dance and movement and as an adult have developed a regular yoga and meditation practice,” says Dr. Mathur. “I saw the positive impact of mind-body practices on my own well-being and wanted to see how I could bring this to the kids I treat.”  

After completing the Osher Collaborative Faculty Fellowship in 2023, she was inspired to develop programming for children to support self-regulation. In 2025, she launched the UW Madison Pediatric Mind-Body Clinic, where she treats kids and adolescents and teaches them about mind-body practices like mindfulness, breathwork, yoga, and clinical hypnosis. She also created a mindfulness-based pediatric group medical visit series for children with anxiety, ages 8-11.   

“We are seeing increasing mental health issues among kids, such as anxiety and depression,” says Dr. Mathur. “We know that the evidence-based treatment recommendations are to provide therapy and medications, but, as an integrative pediatrician, there are many other ways I can support these children.” According to Dr. Mathur, families are also interested in integrative approaches. Through her pediatric primary care practice, she is bridging this gap and finding ways to bring integrative approaches to children and families within the health care system. 

Dr. Mathur recently collaborated with Jenifer Matthews, MD, at the University of California, San Francisco, on an Osher Collaborative Travel Exchange Grant to meet in person to learn more about the integrative pediatrics work happening at different Osher Centers. “The goal was to establish a foundational understanding of the work happening throughout the Collaborative in pediatric clinical care, education, and research, and then use that as an opportunity to share best practices and collaborate on future pediatric initiatives and programming,” says Dr. Mathur. 

Dr. Mathur enjoys the connection and the community that comes with being an Osher Collaborative member. “Recognizing that I am part of a wonderful community of providers working towards a shared goal of whole-child approaches to care makes me feel supported in my professional work and energized in bringing integrative approaches to the care we give to all children.”