Faculty
Saharut "Sunny" Nilchavee, DC, MSEd, BS
Fall 1980 - Fall 2120
Assistant Professor I
Los Angeles College of Chiropractic - Clinical Education
SaharutNilchavee@scuhs.edu
Current Position
Biography
Although being born and raised in Southern California, Dr. Sunny has always had a fascination with integrative and traditional healing arts, especially those of his native background country, Thailand. Having been diagnosed, treated, and surviving ALL Leukemia for most of his childhood at Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles, he realized that although modern medicine provided control of cancer, it wasn’t until treatment was that his body began to recover and thrive on its own.
With this curiosity of the body’s ability to heal itself and wanting to understand more about the human journey, Dr. Sunny pursued studies that gave him further insight and a deeper understanding: B.S. in Gerontology (USC), M.S. in Early Childhood Education(USC), and evenually D.C. in Chiropractic (LACC/SCU).
Between 2003 and 2004, Dr. Sunny also traveled to Thailand to study Thai Traditional Massage also known as “Nuad Thai Pan Boran”, and in 2004 was chosen by the Royal Thai Consulate General of Los Angeles to work with the Department for Development of Thai Traditional and Alternative Medicine for the Ministry of Public Health in Thailand, gaining deeper insight into the Thai ancient healing art.
Dr. Sunny has extensive experience in teaching and developing curriculum for Massage Therapy and Bodywork education, including his roles as faculty and Program Chair for the Massage Therapy Department at Bryman College, Alhambra Campus and as Program Director and faculty member for the Massage Therapy Certificate Program at SCU.
At SCU Dr. SCU has taught and worked with almost every academic department ranging from the College of Science and Integrative Health to the Ayurveda program and the Undergraduate program. He is currently an Assistant professor for the LACC Clinical Education Department overseeing the Chiropractic Clerkship courses: DC Student Clerkship, Clerkship I, II, and III. Dr. Sunny also coordinates and delivers LACC's Competency exams each term comprising of the Foundational Health Sciences, Clinic Entrance, and Clinic Exit exams.
Degrees
D.C., Chiropractic, Southern California University of Health Sciences (SCU), Whittier, California, United States
M.S.Ed., Education, University of Southern California (USC), Los Angeles, California, United StatesDissertation: "Triarchic Theory of Intelligence"
B.Sc., Gerontology, University of Southern California (USC), Los Angeles, California, United States
Professional Licensures (Healthcare)
DC, California, United States, DC29603, Active, 2005, October 2024, 1265506018
Professional Licensures and Certifications (All other/non-healthcare)
California Multiple Subjects Teaching Credential, June 1998, December 2024, California Commission on Teaching Credentialing, California, United States, 14021267 , Professional Clear with CLAD Emphasis
Work Experience
2020 - Ongoing
Clinical Education Department Faculty (Los Angeles College of Chiropractic), Southern California University of Health Sciences (SCU), Whittier, California, United States
2006 - 2020
Program Director (SCU Massage Therapy Certificate Program), Adjunct Faculty (School of Professional Studies/ College of Science and Integrative Health/ Ayurveda Program/Undergraduate Studies)), Southern California University of Health Sciences (SCU), Whittier, California, United States
2006 - 2014
Private Practice, Chiropractic & Wellness Physician, Back 2 Balance Chiropractic & Thai Bodywork, Alhambra, California, United States
2005 - 2006
Program Chair, Faculty (Massage Therapy Program), Bryman College, Alhambra Campus (Corinthian Colleges, Inc.), Alhambra, California, United States
2004 - 2005
Curriculum Development, Faculty (Massage Therapy Program), Integrative Healing Arts Academy, Reseda and Thousand Oaks Healing Arts Institute, Thousand Oaks, Reseda and Thousand Oaks, California, United States
Office Manager and Chiropractic Physician, A2Z Health Chiropractic and Massage Therapy Clinic, Reseda and West Hollywood, California, United States
2004 - 2004
Consultant and Thai Traditional Medicine Intern, Ministry of Public Health, Thailand Department for Development of Thai Traditional and Alternative Medicine (DTTAM), Nonthaburi, Thailand
Professional Membership
Spring 2022 - Ongoing
Acadmic Collaborative for Integrative Health, October 2018, Ongoing, Clinical Working Group Member
Hear from the Students Who’ve Been in Your Shoes
I chose SCU when looking for a PA program because of their Integrative Medicine approach. I am from Michigan, and not many programs focus on this Integrative, Holistic approach when it comes to patient care in the Midwest, and I felt that was very important for me to learn as a future provider. My transition to semi-virtual learning has been very smooth and quite enjoyable. [su_accordion][su_spoiler title="Read More..." open="No"]My favorite part about attending SCU is how tight-knit and diverse the community is. Coming from a large undergrad university and moving so far, it was very important for me to have a PA program that made me feel valued and invested in my success. At SCU, they do a great job of making you feel that.[/su_spoiler][/su_accordion]
Brianna Hadley
MSPA Class of 2022
One of the great things about SCU is we do have a campus layout, so all your classes aren't in a single room. We have our cadaver lab. We have different specialty rooms for physical assessment classes vs. acupuncture classes. All our acupuncture-specific classes have all the herbs in the room. You can pull out the herbs and look at them, whether in class or in between classes to get that extra studying in.[su_accordion][su_spoiler title="Read More..." open="No"]My favorite part of SCU is the collaboration from our beginning terms. We were working alongside chiropractor students, PA students, and ayurvedic students. It's a unique community where we get to learn about these different fields and sit in classrooms with them and work with them in the clinic. It allows you to get an understanding of all the different fields and how they can work together, and what is unique about your field. I think that is a wonderful aspect that I didn't think was going to be as prominent as it is here; even now, in my upper term classes and I am not in class with chiropractic students, I can still reach out to them about a certain aspect I may not understand or if I am working on a case. I want another perspective I know I have them to reach out to, so that has been a great networking community to have resources for.[/su_spoiler][/su_accordion]
Dr. Jamie Kuljis
Graduate, Doctor of Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine
"There are a lot of things that I love about the program at SCU. The first one is that the faculty come from a long line of Ayurvedic knowledge deeply rooted in ancient classical text. They studied Ayurveda, but they also lived it. When you learn from people who embody this wisdom, it's much easier to grasp this knowledge. The second thing I love is the camaraderie within the cohort. The combination of the training, supportive faculty, and the support of my peers and classmates has given me the confidence I need to start my own practice."
Portia Harris
Student, Ayurveda Program
Some of my favorite courses at SCU have to be the chiropractic procedure classes; those are the classes you get to hone in on your chiro skills, your palpation skills and ultimately work on the adjustments that make you a chiropractor. Those are the classes I feel enhance my knowledge the most and are some of the reasons I chose to become a chiropractor here are SCU.[su_accordion][su_spoiler title="Read More..." open="No"]On top of chiropractic procedures classes, my favorite is the cadaver lab experience. The cadaver classes opened up my perception of what the human body is made up of. It allowed me to get an in-person perspective of how the body works and looks on the inside. I am genuinely thankful for those experiences because they opened and broadened my horizons to the human body and anatomy in general.[/su_spoiler][/su_accordion]
Jordan Vega
Student, Doctor of Chiropractic
Getting Started
View our application requirements above or fill out a request for information to start speaking with an enrollment advisor today.
Financing Your Education
Graduate students have a variety of ways to help fund their education. From graduate-dedicated federal loans to speciality grants and scholarships, paying for your education can be easy at SCU. In addition, our distinctive Fixed Rate Tuition Guarantee for degree programs provides students with confidence in planning for their educational investment.
Fixed Tuition Guarantee Benefits:
- Your per term rate is guaranteed for the scheduled duration of your program*
- No tuition price uncertainty
- Plan your finances in advance
- Learn more about tuition and financial aid.
Attend a Virtual Interactive Information Session
Learn more about SCU and get a feel for campus without ever leaving home by joining an interactive information session. Information sessions include a brief presentation and specific program break out groups so you will have plenty of opportunities to ask questions via chat. Join early and compete in our game to win SCU apparel! RSVP to our Virtual Information Session.
Virtually Tour Your Campus
Not able to attend a campus preview day in person? That’s okay. You can get to know your SCU campus with this virtual tour.