Lily Johnston, MD, MPH, FSVS
Dr. Lily Johnston, MD, MPH, is the associate medical director for Nexus Healthspan, and is board-certified in both vascular and general surgery. Dr. Johnston received her MD from the University of California, San Diego; she completed her residency in general surgery at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, and then completed a fellowship in vascular surgery at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. Dr. Johnston also has a Masters in Public Health from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, MD. She has authored over 25 peer-reviewed studies in cardiovascular disease, and has given numerous talks on topics ranging from vascular and metabolic health to cognitive biases in physicians.
After several years of practicing vascular surgery full-time, she witnessed too many people losing their lives and limbs to preventable and reversible diseases. She has now dedicated her career to addressing the root cause of cardiovascular disease, and is passionate about bringing the principles of whole person medicine and metabolic health to her patients. Dr. Johnston is an expert in complex cardiometabolic therapy including cardiovascular testing and imaging, lipid management, therapeutic nutrition protocols, and hormone replacement therapy.
Dr. Johnston is the founder of the Vascular Health Institute, and is a member of the Society for Vascular Surgery. She is an accredited metabolic health practitioner with both the Society of Metabolic Health Practitioners and the Nutrition Network, and she is currently pursuing additional training in functional medicine.
Barbara Levy, MD
Barbara Levy, MD is a board-certified Obstetrician/Gynecologist and certified Menopause provider. She has over 40 years of experience in direct care, research, and physician training in women’s health care. Dr Levy is currently Chief Medical Officer of Visana Health, Inc., a virtual first women’s health company, and Chief Medical Officer of Uroshape. In addition, she is Vice-Chair of the American Medical Society’s CPT Editorial Panel, past Chair of the AMA RBRVS Update Committee, and was the vice president of health policy at the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists for over 7 years. She has published over 95 studies and peer reviewed articles. Much of her personal and professional experience has focused on improving the health, well-being, and livelihood of women across the United States and around the world.
Wafaa Abdel-Hadi, MD
Right upon graduating from Kasr Al-Ainy faculty of medicine at Cairo university in Egypt, and finishing her masters degrees in clinical oncology, Dr. Wafaa Abdel-Hadi fulfilled her life-long dream of treating people by researching and implementing a combination of conventional and unorthodox scientifically validated practices to enhance the outcomes and quality of life of her patients.
After 13 years of rigorous clinical oncology practice at the leading cancer treatment center in Egypt and in collaboration with Institute Gustave Roussy in Paris, Dr. Wafaa decided to establish AWARE clinic, the first-ever foundation for Functional Medicine Awareness & Prevention in the Middle East and Africa, in April of 2014 where she acts as CEO of the clinic.
She is now pursuing her new career and passion in Functional Medicine in collaboration with The Institute for Functional Medicine, IFM, USA. She works with her patients to encourage positive lifestyle modifications, as she is a firm believer in following reliable methodologies and individualized protocols. Each patient’s circumstances are uniquely different and should be treated specifically to meet their own needs.
Throughout her career and academic inquiries, she has intimately analyzed the metabolic approach to cancer with Dr. Nasha Winters, ND, FABNO, which has allowed her to apply metabolic methods to treat various diseases effectively in addition to cancer.
Dr. Wafaa is the first certified Functional Medicine Doctor in Egypt and the Middle East. She is also a certified international health coach from The Institute for Integrative Nutrition, IIN, USA, which empowers her to closely establish the confidence and empathy needed to work with her patients.
In 2013 she completed the Nutrition for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Course from the University of California and the Community’s Educator Program, Support Group Program, and Course for the Core workshops associated with the Global Initiative for Breast Cancer Awareness in collaboration with Susan G.Komen Foundation, Texas, USA. She was also a member of the Executive organising committee in the 9th Pan Arab Cancer Congress (PACC) in 2009.
Dr. Wafaa has also been invited to speak at international conferences where she lectures audience on her extensive research and treatment of oncology, including the Great Lakes Virtual Conference hosted in the United States, the 3rd, 4th & 5th Lifestyle and Functional Medicine Conference, in Ireland, the Integrative Medicine Meeting, IMM, in Rosenfeld, Germany to name a few.
When she is not overseeing the day to day business activities of AWARE clinic, Dr. Wafaa enjoys spending her time volunteering by providing free education lectures during disease awareness months such as the Early Breast Cancer awareness month and has actively participated in lending her services to the Liver Transplant unit at the St. James University Hospital in Leeds, UK and free health campaigns for orphaned children in Egypt.
In the future, Dr. Wafaa hopes to expand the accessibility of Functional Medicine in Egypt and the Middle East to provide world-class treatment options and education to the region and around the world. Dr. Wafaa anticipates a future where chronic disease epidemics, including cancer, are alleviated in the global population and is excited to participate in the medical advancements made in her medical field every day.
Andrea Salcedo, DO
Dr. Salcedo is a board certified OBGYN in Southern California and practices at Loma Linda University Health. She treats and addresses all benign gynaecologic issues and has a special emphasis in using lifestyle to address women’s health concerns. Particularly, she uses low carbohydrate high fat nutrition as one of her tools to treat abnormal uterine bleeding, endometriosis, and infertility.
To find Dr. Salcedo online, go to: Website
Dominic D’Agostino, PhD
Dr. Dominic D’Agostino is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Physiology at the University of South Florida (USF) Morsani College of Medicine and also a Senior Research Scientist at the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition (IHMC). The primary focus of his laboratory is directed towards understanding the physiological effects of hyperbaric oxygen and developing and testing metabolic-based therapies, including ketogenic diets, ketone supplements and drugs that target specific metabolic pathways. His research explores the use of these therapies for a broad range of disorders linked pathophysiologically to metabolic dysregulation, including seizures, neurodegenerative diseases, genetic diseases and cancer. D’Agostino’s laboratory uses in vivo and in vitro techniques to understand the physiological, cellular and molecular mechanism of metabolic therapies. His research is supported by the Office of Naval Research (ONR), Department of Defense (DoD), private organizations and foundations.
To find Dr. D’Agostino online, go to: Website, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter.
Robert Cywes, MD, PhD
Dr. Cywes is Dual Board Certified in General Surgery and in Pediatric Surgery. He specializes in Pediatric and Adult obesity, diabetes and metabolic management including bariatric surgery. His focus is on helping people understand and treat the true cause of obesity and diabetes. He has been doing bariatric surgery for 19 years and has performed around 7000 surgeries. Despite this, Dr Cywes firmly believes that obesity and diabetes are not treated by surgery, however, surgery may be an invaluable tool along the journey of becoming carbohydrate-free.
His medical training began in Cape Town, South Africa where he received his medical degree from The University of Cape Town training with Prof Tim Noakes amongst others. In 1989, Dr. Cywes moved to North America and completed a year-long residency in pediatric surgery at Ohio State University’s Columbus Children’s Hospital before moving to Canada where he completed his general surgery residency and specialized in minimally invasive surgery at the University of Toronto. Dr. Cywes also earned a PhD in liver transplant immunology and the effect of glucose metabolism on vascular endothelium injury, working with Dr David Jenkins, the father of the Glycemic Index.
After completing his pediatric surgery fellowship at the University of Michigan’s C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital, Dr. Cywes was appointed as an Assistant Professor of Paediatric and Fetal Surgery at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee where he did hepatic stem cell research. During this time, Dr. Cywes became increasingly interested in adolescent obesity and the impact of carbohydrates on the liver and metabolic syndrome in young patients.Dr. Cywes’ research led to a comprehensive understanding of the toxicity of chronic excessive carbohydrate consumption as the primary cause of obesity and so-called obesity-related co-morbidities.
In the late 1990s Dr Cywes understood that the prevailing treatment of obesity using a Calories in, Calories out (CICO) model was erroneous, and he developed the Carbohydrate Insulin Model of Obesity and Diabetes (CIMOD). Using this model in combination with his understanding of the psychology of addiction, he developed a clinical program to treat obese adolescents using this approach. Dr. Cywes relocated to Jacksonville, Florida where he joined the Department of Pediatric Surgery at the Nemours Children’s Clinic and Wolfson Children’s Hospital. This led to a national meeting in Jacksonville where guidelines for adolescent obesity surgery were established.
In 2004, Dr. Cywes established Jacksonville Surgical Associates to continue his work in both adolescent and adult obesity treatment and surgery, and in 2013 opened a practice in West Palm Beach, Florida. He now works with a highly experienced team of professionals from a variety of medical sub-specialties to better care for obese patients. He has developed the practice into a nationally recognized Center of Excellence for obesity surgery. The practice uses a cognitive behavioral therapy approach that addresses carbohydrate addiction, along with bariatric surgery, to help patients manage the cause of their obesity long term.
Based on his extensive clinical research and observations, Dr. Cywes lectures internationally regarding the physiological impact of carbohydrate consumption as the primary cause of the current Chronic Non-Communicable Disease (CNCDs) epidemic. He also lectures on the behavioral aspects of carbohydrate addiction as the cause of obesity and obesity-related co-morbidities and the use of substance abuse methodology, rather than a diet and exercise approach, to the effective long term treatment of obesity.
Dr. Cywes is a member of ASMBS (American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery) and is a member of the ASMBS Childhood Obesity Committee. He is also a member of APSA (American Pediatric Surgery Association). He has earned a Centers of Excellence designation by the Surgical Review Corporation. Dr. Cywes trains other surgeons to perform bariatric surgery as well as developing an aftercare model to help patients maintain weight loss. Dr. Cywes and his team are active in obesity research, including an ongoing Adolescent Bariatric Surgery trial. He has become one of the foremost authorities in the treatment and management of obesity in adolescents.
Dr. Cywes co-authored a book, Diabetes Unpacked outlining an effective approach to understanding and treating diabetes into remission. His vast experience in pediatric and general surgery serves him well in using bariatric surgery to treat obesity in both adults and children. Dr. Cywes maintains an active clinical practice in Palm Beach Gardens and in Jacksonville as well as being active on conveying the CIMOD message on social media and through his website.
To find Dr. Cywes online, go to: Website, Facebook, Youtube, Twitter.
