Advisors

Our Scientific Advisory Board

Robert Lustig, MD, MSL

Masters of Studies in Law
Hastings College, University of California at San Francisco

Doctor of Medicine
Cornell University

Bachelor of Science
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Dr. Lustig is a renowned endocrinologist, researcher, and clinician focused on childhood obesity and diabetes. As Professor Emeritus of Pediatrics, Division of Endocrinology at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), he specialized in neuroendocrinology, with an emphasis on the regulation of energy balance by the central nervous system.

Dr. Lustig’s research on childhood obesity led him to explore the role of fructose in metabolic health, childhood diabetes, and obesity. He is known globally for fostering conversations on the causes, prevention, and treatment of the obesity epidemic.

Dr. Lustig is author / co-author of over 100 peer-reviewed publications. His 2011 video, Sugar: The Bitter Truth, has been viewed over 25M times on Youtube. Dr. Lustig is also the author of a number of books, including the NYTimes best sellers: Fat Chance, Hacking of the American Mind, and Metabolical. Learn more at https://robertlustig.com/.

Arun Varadhachary, MD, Ph.D.

Fellowship
Neuromuscular Disease, Barnes-Jewish Hospital

Residency
Neurology, Barnes-Jewish Hospital

Doctor of Medicine
Temple University – Lewis Katz School of Medicine

PhD in immunology
Temple University – Lewis Katz School of Medicine

PubMed

Dr. Varadhachary is Professor of Neurology and Neurohospitalist at Washington University School of Medicine and affiliated with the Barnes-Jewish Hospital, St. Louis. He focuses on neuropathy, autoimmune/ inflammatory nervous system disorders, and metabolic/degenerative neurologic disorders.

His research explores the interaction between autoimmune/inflammatory disorders and mitochondrial dysfunction with particular focus on dermatomyositis.

Dr Varadhachary’s 23 peer-reviewed publications range from the study of peripheral nervous system disorders across rheumatology and neurology to functional decline as a result of deficits in skeletal muscle transcriptome and mitochondrial coupling in progressive diabetes.

Dr. Varadhachary, along with Washington Hospital, hosts the Annual Beckers Muscular Dystrophy Education Day (BEED) in St. Louis with the purpose of building community and bringing together experts in Beckers care and research for people living with Beckers and their families. Learn more at: physicians.wustl.edu

Richard Johnson, MD, FACP

Residency & Fellowship
Nephrology & Infectious Disease, University of Washington, Seattle

Doctor of Medicine
University of Minnesota Medical School

Bachelor of Science
University of Wisconsin–Madison

PubMed

Dr. Johnson is a renowned nephrologist, clinical scientist, and world expert on sugar and its role in health. He is Professor Emeritus, Medicine-Renal Medicine and Diseases/Hypertension at the University of Colorado. For several decades, Dr. Johnson has led research on the cause of obesity and diabetes, with a special interest in the role of fructose and uric acid in these conditions.

Dr. Johnson shares the latest research on these topics with the lay public in a very approachable and easily understood way via general education articles and as a frequent speaker on popular health podcasts and panels.

Dr. Johnson is author / co-author of over 700 peer-reviewed publications. He is author of several best selling and popular books, including, The Sugar Fix, Nature Wants Us to Be Fat, and The Fat Switch. He is founding editor of the book, Comprehensive Clinical Nephrology, is a widely used and highly recommended textbook for medical students and nephrologists. Learn more at: https://drrichardjohnson.com/

Professor Paul Shiels, Ph.D

Doctor of Philosophy
University of Glasgow, Scotland

Bachelor (Moderator) with First Class honours, Natural Sciences
Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland

Professor Paul Shiels is Professor of Geroscience (Molecular Biosciences) at the University of Glasgow, Scotland, and is affiliated with the School of Cancer Sciences. He is a pioneer of telomere cloning and worked on aging in cloned animals, including Dolly the sheep, at PPL Therapeutics Roslin. His current research portfolio focuses on the investigation and application of novel senotherapies and how the microbiome impacts on age-related health.

Professor Shiels’ research has focused on determining socio-economic, psychological, lifestyle and biological factors required for healthy ageing. A founding member of the Glasgow Ageing Research Network (GARNER), he has acted as an expert on the Biology of Ageing in a number of national policy advising consortia, including pSoBiD for the Chief Medical Officer of Scotland.

Paul is founder and Director of the Glasgow Geroscience Group and Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board of the British Society for Research on Ageing, the world’s oldest charitable society for research on ageing. He has acted as an expert on the Biology of Ageing on a number of national policy advising consortia, including providing evidence to the UK Government All Party Parliamentary Group on Longevity.

Paul has acted as CSO for Pathfinder Cell Therapy PLC and sits on the Scientific Advisory Boards and acts as a consultant for a range of Pharma companies. He has over 300 publications and 10 Patents to his credit.