Redefining Medicine

Vicki Kobliner MS, RDN, CD-N is a Registered Dietitian/Nutritionist and owner of Holcare Nutrition and the Healthy Baby Roadmap. Vicki is passionate about helping children and families live vibrant, healthy lives using functional nutrition to maximize health, reduce disease risk and help her clients heal from chronic illness. Vicki works with infants through adults with chronic illnesses, autoimmune diseases, digestive disorders, eczema, allergies, Lyme, ADHD, PANS/PANDAS, and autism spectrum disorders. She provides fertility and prenatal nutrition counseling with a focus on reducing the risk of chronic illnesses in children. She is a contributing author to two books: A Compromised Generation: The Epidemic of Chronic Illness in America's Children, and Essential Remedies for Women's Health. She has lectured nationally and internationally about the role of nutrition in chronic disease and acts as faculty for the Autism Research Institute and the Medical Academy of Pediatric Special Needs.

Recognized by Forbes as one of the top fifty female futurists globally, for nearly 40 years, Maddy Dychtwald has been deeply involved in exploring all aspects of the age wave and how it’s fundamentally transforming our lives and the world at-large. This has led her to become an award-winning author, acclaimed public speaker, and thought leader on longevity and aging, health, wellness, and the new retirement.   Maddy co-founded Age Wave, the world’s leader in understanding and addressing the far-reaching impacts of longevity and our aging population. The Age Wave team has worked with more than half of the Fortune 500 in industries ranging from healthcare and medical technology to financial services and consumer products.   With women at the forefront of the longevity revolution, Maddy has dug deep into their specific longevity-related wants, needs, challenges and opportunities. As a researcher and social scientist, she has led numerous acclaimed studies, including the landmark Women, Money and Power sponsored by Allianz and Women and Financial Wellness: Beyond the Bottom Line for Bank of America Merrill Lynch. In addition, she has been involved in more than 25 thought leadership research studies worldwide on longevity, aging, retirement, health and wellness, family and social connections, purpose, caregiving, finances, and leisure, which have cumulatively garnered more than twenty billion media impressions. As a blogger and member of The Wall Street Journal’s Expert Panel, Maddy’s posts on leadership, wealth management, and financial planning have topped the most-read lists. Her insights and research have been featured in prominent media outlets, including Bloomberg Businessweek, Forbes, Newsweek, Time, Fox Business News, CNBC, and NPR.   Maddy has written four books, including the award-winning Cycles: How We Will Live, Work, and Buy, Influence: How Women’s Soaring Economic Power Will Transform Our World for the Better, and the children’s/young readers’ book Gideon’s Dream: A Tale of New Beginnings. Her highly anticipated new book, Ageless Aging: A Woman’s Guide to Increasing Healthspan, Brainspan, and Lifespan, (Mayo Clinic Press, May 2024) will provide an insider’s guide to living better longer, covering everything from fitness and nutrition to hormones and ageism, from sleep to purpose, from navigating the healthcare system to the role of finances.   Over the years, Maddy has herself become part of the age wave and has experimented personally with how to increase her own healthspan, brainspan, and lifespan. She is a co-founder of the non-profit Women Against Alzheimer’s and serves as a board member of the non-profit BrightFocus Foundation, which funds cutting-edge research to cure diseases of the brain and eye. She is also a lead partner for Portfolia in the Active Aging and Longevity 2 Fund.   Maddy and her husband Ken were awarded the prestigious Esalen Prize for their outstanding contributions to advancing the human potential of long-lived men and women worldwide. An empty-nester, she is highly involved with her adult children and her granddog.

Elizabeth Mumper, MD, FAAP, has a general pediatrics practice (Advocates for Children) and a practice devoted to the care of children with autism and other neurodevelopmental problems (Advocates for Families). She is also chief executive office of The Rimland Center for Integrative Medicine, Lynchburg, Virginia, which was established to honor Bernard Rimland, PhD, who debunked the myth that autism is caused by “refrigerator mothers.” Mumper lectures nationally and internationally and mentors clinicians who want to learn about integrative approaches to pediatrics and the medical problems of children with neurodevelopmental disorders.

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.