Redefining Medicine

Sharon Hausman-Cohen, MD, FAAFP, ABOIM received both her master's degree and medical degree from Harvard Medical School. She is a fellow of the American Academy of Family Medicine and a diplomate of the American Board of Integrative Medicine. She is the medical director and co-founder of IntellxxDNA which is an evidence-based genomics tool designed specifically to help functional and integrative physicians practice personalized medicine. Dr. Hausman-Cohen has been a co-author on numerous papers and textbook chapters relating to the use of genomics for identifying contributing factors and improving outcomes in individuals with cognitive decline, autism, and environmental illness.

Robert Lustig, MD, MSL is a Professor of Pediatric Endocrinology at the University of California, San Francisco. Dr. Lustig has become a leading public health authority on the impact sugar has on fueling the diabetes, obesity and metabolic syndrome epidemics, and on addressing changes in the food environment to reverse these chronic diseases.

In his New York Times best selling book Fat Chance: Beating the Odds Against Sugar, Processes Food, Obesity, and Disease, Robert documents both the science and the politics that have led to the current pandemic of obesity and chronic disease. In the Fat Chance Cookbook, Robert provides practical examples for applying healthy eating principles with recipes by Cindy Gershen.

Dr. Lustig is a neuroendocrinologist, with basic and clinical training relative to hypothalamic development, anatomy, and function. Prior to coming to San Francisco in 2001, he worked at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis, TN. There, he was charged with the endocrine care of many children whose hypothalami had been damaged by brain tumors, or subsequent surgery, radiation, or chemotherapy. Many patients who survived became massively obese. Dr. Lustig theorized that hypothalamic damage led to the inability to sense the hormone leptin, which in turn, led to the starvation response. Since repairing the hypothalamus was not an option, he looked downstream, and noted that these patients had increased activity of the vagus nerve (a manifestation of starvation) which increased insulin secretion. By administering the insulin suppressive agent octreotide, he was able to get them to lose weight; but more remarkably, they started to exercise spontaneously. He then demonstrated the same phenomenon in obese adults without CNS lesions.

The universality of these findings has enabled Dr. Lustig to weave these threads together into a novel unifying hypothesis regarding the etiology, prevention, and treatment of the current obesity epidemic, and the role of our environment in the biochemical changes that promote weight gain. This has led him to explore the specific role of fructose (half of sucrose and high-fructose corn syrup) as a specific mediator of both chronic disease, and continued caloric consumption. His acclaimed YouTube video, "Sugar: The Bitter Truth" continues its popularity with the lay public.

A native of Brooklyn, New York, Dr. Lustig went to Stuyvesant High School in Manhattan, graduated from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1976, and received his M.D. from Cornell University Medical College in 1980. He completed his pediatric residency at St. Louis Children's Hospital in 1983, and his clinical fellowship at UCSF in 1984. From there, he spent six years as a post-doctoral fellow and research associate in neuroendocrinology at The Rockefeller University. He has also been a faculty member at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and the University of Tennessee, Memphis. In 2013, Dr. Lustig received his Masters in the study of Law from University of California, Hastings to enable him to impact the food industry through policy change.

Dr. Lustig has authored 125 peer-reviewed articles and 73 reviews. He has mentored 20 pediatric endocrine fellows, and trained numerous other allied health professionals. He provides endocrinologic support to several protocols of the Children's Oncology Group. He is the former Chairman of the Ad hoc Obesity Task Force of the Lawson Wilkins Pediatric Endocrine Society, a member of the Pediatric Obesity Practice Guidelines Subcommittee of The Endocrine Society, a member of the Obesity Task Force of the Endocrine Society, a member of the Pediatric Obesity Devices Committee of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, a member of the Bay Area Board of Directors of the American Heart Association, and a member of the Steering Committee of Health Foods, Healthy Kids of the Culinary Institute of America. He also consults for several childhood obesity advocacy groups.

Dr. Lustig lives in San Francisco with his wife Julie and two daughters. Spare time (what little there is) is spent cooking, theater-going, and traveling.

Speaker, Author, and Board-Certified Nurse Practitioner Dr. Terri DeNeui has extensive training in her field. She earned her B.A in Nursing from Texas Women's University and her Master's and Doctoral degrees at University of Texas in Arlington, Summa Cum Laude. In addition to her training as an Acute Care Nurse Practitioner, she has extended her education to include certifications in Integrative and Functional medicine as well as advanced endocrinology and sex hormone optimization.

Her 27-year career expands from over a decade in high-risk OB and emergency care at a major trauma center in Dallas Texas, as well as several years as a hospitalist. Disenchanted with the current "sick-care" system, she has spent the past 15 years in a medical center she founded focused on advanced endocrinology and sex hormone optimization as a cornerstone for overall disease prevention strategies.

Dr. DeNeui, and her team of 6 Board Certified Nurse Practitioners have treated thousands of women and men in hormone restoration and prevention of disease through a functional, integrated approach, and are positively affecting lives on a daily basis.

She is a peer-reviewed, published author whose passion is speaking and teaching globally to professionals and laypersons alike on the importance of advanced endocrinology and sex hormone optimization and its impact on acute and chronic disease processes. Her passion for speaking and educating has earned her accolades across the country and invitations to write columns and speak in a variety of settings, including television, radio, medical conferences and seminars across the country.

Dr. DeNeui lives in the Dallas / Ft. Worth Metroplex with her husband Dan and two dogs, Bodie and Bella. Their family of 7 children and 3 grandchildren also live in the area and are never too far from home.

Dr. Jaclyn Chasse-Smeaton, N.D. is a naturopathic physician and founder of Hello Fertility. For over 15 years, she has been the nation's leading expert on integrative approaches to infertility, reproductive, and genitourinary health. She has helped hundreds of couples conceive when they thought there was no hope, and has taught thousands of doctors her successful methods. In addition to reproductive medicine, Dr. Smeaton has a diverse career spanning dietary supplements, health technology and innovation, and strategic leadership and commercial strategy in the integrative medicine industry. She most recently worked with Emerson Ecologics as their Senior VP of Medical Affairs.

She has served as adjunct faculty for Bastyr University, as President for both the New Hampshire Association of Naturopathic Doctors and the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians, as an Ambassador for the Academy of Integrative Health and Medicine, and a board member of the Integrative Health Policy Consortium, the American Herbal Products Association, and several others.

www.a4m.com

Dr. Marianne Pinkston, born and raised in Texas, has been a dedicated medical professional in San Antonio for the past 25 years. She began her academic journey at Texas Tech University, earning a BS in Biology in 1991. She then attended graduate school at the University of Texas Health Science Center (UTHSC) in San Antonio, where she was accepted into medical school, graduating in 1997. Dr. Pinkston was part of the inaugural intern class of the prestigious CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Family Practice Residency Program, from which she graduated in 2000.

As a Board-Certified Family Practitioner, Dr. Pinkston opened her solo practice in the Medical Center, where she practiced for a decade. During this time, she provided care to over 10,000 patients, spanning all ages and genders. With more than 4,000 hours of teaching experience, she has served the community for over 20 years.

Dr. Pinkston is married to Aiman Baki, a Physical Therapist with an MBA, and together they have three children, along with a cat and two fish.

After moving her practice to Northwest San Antonio, Dr. Pinkston has continued to operate her solo practice. She has personally battled Rheumatoid Arthritis, a journey that has profoundly influenced her approach to healthcare. Her experience has led her to pursue a Fellowship with the Metabolic Medical Institute (MCII) through the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine (A4M) and to apply for Board Certification in Integrative Medicine through a program at George Washington University.

Dr. Pinkston's personal health challenges have instilled in her a deep empathy for her patients. She believes in the transformative power of Functional and Integrative Medicine, which combines nutrition, natural remedies, and contemporary medical practices. "Finding Functional and Integrative Medicine has changed my life and health," says Dr. Pinkston. "The freedom of nutrition and natural medicine combined with contemporary medicine has given me the power to take control of my health again and live fully."

Her commitment to quality, comprehensive care has been recognized by her peers and patients alike. She has been honored as a "Super Doc," a "Most Compassionate Doctor," and a "Top Doc" in San Antonio Magazine. Dr. Pinkston's mission is to "put the heart back in medicine" by focusing on the holistic needs of her patients and healing the mind, body, and soul.

"I am still a work in progress, but I will win, and so can you," says Dr. Pinkston, reflecting her dedication to her patients and her own health journey.

As a brain tumor survivor and the youngest winner of NYU Stern's business plan competition, Chris Mirabile is known for beating the odds. Throughout his career, Chris has pursued a lifelong passion "health and wellness" with an emphasis on avoiding disease, and extending his healthy lifespan. According to independently verified third-party epigenetic, metabolomic, telomere, and physiological tests, he was able to reduce his biological age by 37% and his pace of aging by 31%. Now approaching a chronological age of 40, Chris' biology is by most accounts that of someone in his mid-twenties. In following his life-long passion and after more than a decade of research and experimentation, Chris founded NOVOS, the first nutraceutical company that targets the 12 biological causes of aging to increase longevity. NOVOS includes a Scientific Advisory Board of six of the world's top biologists and geneticists who study aging from Harvard, MIT, The Salk Institute, and more. With NOVOS, Chris created much more than a supplement company, he built the leading consumer biotech platform that leverages the latest science to help people take control of their healthspans and lifespans. NOVOS is a Public Benefit Corporation (PBC).

Shari B. Kaplan, LCSW, a leading expert in mental health treatment and plant formulations, uses a transformative approach of mental healthcare. Kaplan emphasizes the power of integrative protocols that blend traditional therapy and medical treatment with innovative practices including Biopsychosocial evaluations, plant medicine, ketamine assisted therapy, trauma mind/body work, breath work, nutrition, fitness/movement, music and personal transformative practices. Kaplan is a passionate about educating other clinicians in applied clinical practices of integrative mental health and psychedelic assisted therapy.

Dr. Rhonda Patrick earned her Ph.D. in Biomedical Science from the University of Tennessee at Memphis, subsequently completing a post-doctoral fellowship in Nutritional Biochemistry at the Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute in Oakland, CA. Her published research explores the intricate connections between micronutrient deficiencies, aging, and age-related diseases.

In 2014, she established FoundMyFitness, LLC, a platform from which she serves as a science communicator and specialist for a worldwide audience. Through this medium, she delivers scientifically grounded information on a wide range of topics pertinent to human health, fitness, nutrition, and longevity.

Dr. Patrick is also an associate scientist at the Fatty Acid Research Institute, where she is involved in projects investigating the role of omega-3 fatty acids in brain aging.

Dr. Michelle Weiner is Double board-certified in Interventional Pain Medicine, Physical Medicine, and Rehabilitation. She is the Director of Integrative Pain Management at NeuroPain Health. she completed her residency and fellowship training at the University of Miami. She is a Clinical Assistant Professor at Nova Southeastern University College of Osteopathic Medicine. Dr. Weiner is a member of Florida's Medical Cannabis Advisory Committee. Dr. Weiner's unique approach to personalized integrative pain management allows her to treat the root cause of one's pain and suffering, both physical and emotional, providing comprehensive and durable relief. She uses a biopsychosocial model including lifestyle and plant medicine to empower her patients to cultivate health and optimize quality of life. Dr. Weiner was trained in ketamine assisted psychotherapy by the Ketamine Training Center and incorporates a multidisciplinary patient-centered approach. Her cannabis research focuses on using cannabis as a substitute for opioids in chronic pain patients and cannabis's effect on seniors with chronic pain. Her research at the University of Miami compared psychedelic vs psycholytic doses of ketamine to treat chronic pain and depression.

Scott Fisher, MD is a former college basketball team captain, Joseph Scott Fisher graduated with a BA in Economics from The University of Chicago in 2004 and worked for a year in options trading at the Chicago Board of Options Exchange before matriculating at and subsequently graduating from The Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University in 2009. His General Psychiatry Residency training was also done at Northwestern University before he completed his Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship at the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Hospital. He has developed expertise in the treatment of depression, anxiety, bipolar, and attention deficit disorders in his private practice located in South Florida.

In 2018, he completed the Certificate in Psychedelic Therapy and Research at the California Institute of Integral Studies, which included training in MDMA, psilocybin, LSD, and ketamine assisted treatments. He takes an interest in research into psilocybin-facilitated and MDMA-facilitated psychotherapy as novel tools for treating depressive, anxiety, trauma-related, and eating disorders. He is Board Certified in Adult Psychiatry by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology.

Dr. Fisher is an integral member of Segal Trials Center for Psychedelic and Cannabis Research, Dr. Fisher serves as a Lead Facilitator for centers' Psychedelic studies. Dr. Fisher is one of only few licensed psychiatrists in the country with advanced certification in Psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy from California Institute of Integral Studies, the only accredited institution of higher learning in this field. Dr. Fisher currently serves as a scientific and psychiatric advisor on multiple advisory boards providing advice on integration and application of Psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy.