the NUANCE // a community health podcast.

Dr. Brennan Spiegel, MD, is Director of Health Services Research for Cedars-Sinai Health System. He directs the Cedars-Sinai Center for Outcomes Research and Education (CS-CORE), a multidisciplinary team that investigates how digital health technologies – including wearable biosensors, smartphone applications, virtual reality and social media – can strengthen the patient-doctor bond, improve outcomes and save money. Dr. Spiegel has published more than 170 articles in peer-reviewed journals. He is listed in the 2016 Onalytica "Top 100 Influencer" lists for digital health (No. 13) and virtual reality (No. 14). He also authored VRx: How Virtual Therapeutics Will Revolutionize Medicine, which was named one of the 8 best science books of 2020 by Wired Magazine. Beyond his focus on digital health innovations, Spiegel conducts psychometric, health-economic, epidemiologic and qualitative research across a wide range of healthcare topics. VRx: How Virtual Therapeutics Will Revolutionize Medicine:   https://amzn.to/3cTLI0L VirtualMedicine.org Inquiries: ContactMedicineExplained@gmail.com

Dr Jenna Macciochi has over 20 years' experience as an immunologist researching the impact of diet and lifestyle on the immune system. Based in Brighton, Jenna is a lecturer at Sussex University and a qualified fitness instructor. She is a mother of 5 year old twins and a keen home cook, creating recipes inspired by her farm-to-table Scottish roots and capturing her Italian heritage. With a concerning growth towards generic, oversimplified health recommendations. Coupled with the guilt from trying, and failing, to achieve perfect health, she is on a mission to unravel the science around immunity and decodes exactly what it takes to be well in the modern day.  She explores how we can no longer ignore the fact that our fast-paced, over-consuming, unrelenting lives are slowly eroding our delicate immune defences. Offering simple, clear and educated advice, debunking popular myths along the way, Jenna looks at nutrition, exercise, sleep and even mental health play into your immunity and long-term health.

An internationally recognized expert in the mechanisms of neurodegenerative diseases, Dr. Dale Bredesen’s career has been guided by a simple idea: that Alzheimer’s as we know it is not just preventable, but reversible and his research led to the discoveries that today underlie the ReCODE Report. Dr. Bredesen earned his MD from Duke University Medical Center and served as Chief Resident in Neurology at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), before joining Nobel laureate Stanley Prusiner’s laboratory at UCSF as an NIH Postdoctoral Fellow. He held faculty positions at UCSF, UCLA, and the University of California, San Diego. Dr. Bredesen also directed the Program on Aging at the Burnham Institute before joining the Buck Institute in 1998 as founding President and CEO. Dr. Bredesen’s research explores previously uncharted territory in explaining the physical mechanism behind the erosion of memory seen in Alzheimer’s disease, and has opened the door to new approaches to treatment. This work has led to the identification of several new therapeutic processes that are showing remarkable early results. Dr. Bredesen is a prodigious innovator in medicine, with over thirty patents to his name. Notably, he put much of his findings and research into the 2017 New York Times‘ Best-Seller, The End of Alzheimer’s. He has also authored The End of Alzheimer’s Programme.

Drew Ramsey, M.D. is a psychiatrist, author, and farmer. He is a clear voice in the mental health conversation and one of psychiatry’s leading proponents of using nutritional interventions. He is an assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons.  He founded the Brain Food Clinic in New York City, offering treatment and consultation for depression, anxiety and emotional wellness concerns. His media work includes three recent TEDx talks, a video series with Big Think, and the BBC documentary Food on the Brain. His work and writing have been featured by The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Huffington Post, Atlantic.com, Prevention, Lancet Psychiatry, and NPR, which named him a “kale evangelist.” He is the author of three books, most recently the award-winning cookbook Eat Complete: The 21 Nutrients that Fuel Brain Power, Boost Weight Loss and Transform Your Health (HarperWave 2016). Dr. Ramsey is a diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. Drew Ramsey's new book, Eat to Beat Depression and Anxiety, found here: https://amzn.to/3bYsi98 Follow us @MedicineExplained on TikTok, @Medicine.Explained on IG. For inquiries: ContactMedicineExplained@gmail.com

Dr Sam Manger, who is a General Practitioner and Family Physician, President of the Australasian Society of Lifestyle Medicine, Australian representative for the Lifestyle Medicine Global Alliance, founder of “The GP Show” podcast, and Medical Educator with James Cook University (JCU) and Generalist Medical Training (GMT). His passion for health has evolved into reflecting on how to change individual and social behavior to lead to a more healthy, sustainable and ethical culture.

Zachery Dereniowski known on Instagram and tiktok as @mdmotivator. He’s studying Medicine at The University of Sydney. Not only is he a brilliant doctor to be, he’s gained an extremely large platform on Instagram and TikTok having started with guiding med students to focusing on mental illness. Zachery often advocates for those with depression, anxiety and related life struggles to not only speak up but assures his community that life does go on beyond any mental anguish. Zachery shares his story with us, which you will hear him tell at the beginning of the episode and how he channeled it to becoming the success he is today. Zachery believes it’s about giving mental health a voice and letting people be heard – this past year has been a really tough year for people with mental health issues. Today, Zachery has become one of TikTok’s top mental health advocates, with over 1.2 million followers. He is changing lives daily with his content. He is also a co-founder of the mental health movement. Zachery believes life is about the impact it leaves on bettering the lives of others. And he wants to use his personal experiences to do just that. His formula is “vulnerability = relatability = empowerment.” Zach truly embodies “motivation” and we’re lucky to call him our friend.

Dr. Pooja Amy Shah is a dual board certified physician in Integrative Medicine + Family Medicine. She is an Assistant Professor at Columbia University Medical Center, Director of Integrative Medicine and Director of Musculoskeletal Education at the Center for Family and Community Medicine. Dr. Shah teaches Eastern mind-body practices. She has a unique and diverse toolbox to heal her patients including medical acupuncture, herbs, meditation, and yoga. Dr. Shah has received many awards including the Columbia University Medical Center/New York-Presbyterian Hospital Faculty Teacher of the Year Award, New York-Presbyterian Hospital / Columbia University Medical Center Staff Choice Attending Physician of the Year Award, and a 3x Weil Grant recipient. Dr. Shah has an extensive resume, so we’ve only touched on some of the certifications, experiences, awards, and recognition she has received!

Jeff Tkach serves as the Chief Impact Officer for the Rodale Institute. He is responsible for expanding Rodale Institute’s global influence in healing people and the planet by unlocking the transformational power of regenerative organic agriculture. As Chief Impact Officer, Jeff leads the development and execution of the Institute’s core strategies, overseeing opportunities for partnership and co-investment that drive positive outcomes for Rodale’s philanthropic and programmatic initiatives. For 70 years, Rodale Institute has been leading game-changing research, expertly training farmers, and educating the community to help heal broken agricultural systems. Together, we can transform not only the way we farm, but what and how we eat. We can harness the power of regenerative organic agriculture to secure the future health of the planet and transform lives.

Professor Felice Jacka is Director of the Food & Mood Centre at Deakin University and an international leader in the transformative field of Nutritional Psychiatry research. She is also founder and president of the International Society for Nutritional Psychiatry Research (ISNPR) and immediate past president of the Australian Alliance for the Prevention of Mental Disorders. She has been responsible for the development of a highly innovative field of research establishing diet and nutrition as of importance to common mental disorders. These include the first studies to document a role for diet in adolescent depression, the first study to identify both maternal and early life nutrition as important predictors of children’s mental health, and the first trial to show that dietary improvement can address depression. The results of the studies she has conducted have been highly influential Professor Jacka’s current research focuses closely on the links between diet, gut health, and mental and brain health. Professor Jacka has published >160 peer-reviewed scientific papers, the majority in high-impact journals in the mental health field including the American Journal of Psychiatry, BMC Medicine and Lancet Psychiatry. She is listed in the top ten most highly-cited researchers in mood disorders in Australia (Scopus). She has written a book for the lay public called ‘Brain Changer’, which we HIGHLY recommend. She is also passionate about prompting changes by policy-makers to improve the global food environment.

Dr. Margaret Adamek received her PhD from the University of Minnesota. She is an expert in Adult Learning Theory, Community-Based Knowledge Systems, Philosophy of Consciousness, and Methodological Development for Consciousness Research. She blends her skills as an organizer, network weaver, adult learning expert, capacity builder, social change movement designer, strategic communicator, and facilitator to equip and empower diverse communities to thrive. Nationally recognized for her unique, impact-oriented approach to helping people and partnerships create healthy communities, Maggi provides clients with clear, strategic counsel and comprehensive, creative support as they execute initiatives designed to benefit the public good. Maggi serves on the American Swedish Institute’s Board of Directors and is a former Bush Foundation Leadership Fellow.