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Health & Nutrition Resources

Experts on Plant-Based Nutrition

Neal Barnard, M.D.
Neal Barnard, M.D., is a clinical researcher, author and health advocate, as well as founder and president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM). PCRM, established in 1985, is a national group of physicians and supporters that promotes preventive medicine and addresses controversies in modern medicine. Dr. Barnard received his medical degree at the George Washington University School of Medicine in Washington, D.C., and completed his residency at the same institution. Author of dozens of publications in scientific and medical journals, as well as numerous nutrition books, he is a frequent lecturer and an Adjunct Associate Professor of Medicine at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences. Dr. Barnard is also a Life Member of the American Medical Association, a member of the American Diabetes Association and recently founded The Cancer Project, a new nonprofit organization focused on advancing cancer prevention and survival through nutrition education and research. Visit www.nealbarnard.org for more information on the work of Dr. Barnard.

T. Colin Campbell, Ph.D.
T. Colin Campbell, Professor Emeritus of Nutritional Biochemistry at Cornell University, has had a long career in research, teaching and development of national/international on diet, nutrition and health. His studies have ranged from work in the Philippines developing a nationwide program for feeding malnourished children to the organization and directorship of a nationwide study on diet, health and disease in the People's Republic of China, commonly known as the China Study. He also managed a large laboratory based program of research on the basic biology of the relationship of diet with disease, especially concerning cancer. He has been a member of several expert committees that developed national and international policy on diet and cancer, food labeling, food safety issues and saccharin toxicity. He is probably best known for his work in the China Study and as Senior Science Advisor during the formative years of the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) and the World Cancer Research Fund. AICR awarded him the 1998 Lifetime Achievement Award in Cancer Research. For more information on Campbell's latest work, visit www.thechinastudy.com. (Biography adapted from www.vegsource.com/event/campbell.htm)

William Castelli, M.D.
William P. Castelli, MD, received the degree of Doctor of Medicine, Surgery and Obstetrics from the University of Louvain in Belgium. He completed his internship at the King County Hospital Center and his residency at the Lernuel Shattuck Hospital. He received a post-doctoral fellowship at the Department of Preventative Medicine at the Harvard Medical School. Castelli currently is the Medical Director at the Framingham Cardiovascular Institute and is Adjunct Associate Professor of Medicine at Boston University School of Medicine. He is a member of many professional societies including the American Medical Association, American College of Epidemiology, and The Council on Epidemiology and Prevention, American Heart Association. Associations h three medical schools have led to his teaching epidemiology and prevention of artherosclerotic cardiovascular disease for 34 years at the Harvard Medical School, 22 years at the Boston University School of Medicine and 15 years a the University of Massachusetts Medical School. In addition to his other professional duties, he is also currently the medical director of a wellness program at the Columbia Metro West Medical Center. William Castelli became the third director of the famous Framingham Heart Study in 1979. For more information on Castelli's work, visit www.framingham.com/heart/.
(Biography adapted from www.vegsource.com/shopping/speakers.htm)

Brenda Davis, R.D.
Brenda Davis, registered dietitian/nutritionist, is both a leader in her field and an internationally acclaimed speaker. Davis works as a public health nutritionist, clinical nutrition specialist, nutrition consultant, academic nutrition instructor, and is a past chair of the Vegetarian Nutrition Dietetic Practice Group of the American Dietetic Association. She has co-authored five books, including Becoming Vegetarian, Dairy-free and Delicious, Becoming Vegan, Defeating Diabetes, and The New Becoming Vegetarian. Davis's website, www.brendadavisrd.com, offers links to her books and articles, upcoming lectures and speeches and even her own personal daily diet and exercise routine.

George Eisman, R.D.
George Eisman is considered one of the nation's foremost educators on vegetarian nutrition. He served as a faculty member in Dietetics and Nutrition at several universities and colleges and has worked in a children's hospital and a nursing home, as well as for public health agencies in four states. Eisman founded the first accredited program in vegetarian studies, The Association of Vegetarian Dietitians and Nutrition Educators, which is an organization offering correspondence courses in vegetarian nutrition. He is also an Advisory Board Member of EarthSave International. Eisman currently speaks at numerous events and conferences and is author of two books, The Most Noble Diet and A Basic Course in Vegetarian and Vegan Nutrition, both of which can be purchased at the Farm Sanctuary Store.

Caldwell Esselstyn, Jr., M.D.
While chairman of the Cleveland Clinic's Breast Cancer Task Force, general surgeon Caldwell Esselstyn, Jr. grew disappointed in the way he and his colleagues were treating cancer and heart disease. Relying on pills and procedures despite their side effects and risks, Dr. Esselstyn says he and his peers were doing "nothing to prevent disease in the next unsuspecting victim." This was particularly frustrating given that research studies had already suggested an obvious culprit. The fatty American diet was, in all likelihood, responsible for heart disease and many Western cancers, which are infrequently seen in parts of the world where much less fat is consumed. Targeting heart disease, Dr. Esselstyn's experiment started at home. He and his wife adopted a plant-based diet, cutting out oil, meat, fish and fowl and all but a few nonfat dairy products. Since 1985 Dr. Esselstyn has conducted the longest running study which proves that heart disease can be arrested or reversed by a low fat, plant-based diet. Having published more than 150 scientific articles, Dr. Esselstyn is Head of the Section of Thyroid and Parathyroid Surgery at the Cleveland Clinic and Associate Professor in the Department of Surgery at the Ohio State University School of Medicine. He received his A.B. degree from Yale University and his M.D. from Western Reserve University. For more information, visit www.heartattackproof.com. (Biography adapted from http://www.heartattackproof.com/biography.htm)


Michael Greger, M.D.
Dr. Michael Greger, physician, author and internationally recognized speaker, is Farm Sanctuary's chief medical investigator, as well as Director of Public Health and Animal Agriculture at The Humane Society of the United States. A founding member of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine, Dr. Greger is author of two books, Carbophobia! - The Scary Truth about America's Low-Carb Craze and Heart Failure - Diary of a Third Year Medical Student. He has also released three DVDs, Maximum Nutrition: Transitioning Towards a Plant Based Diet, Stopping Cancer: Cancer Proofing Your Body With Plant Superfoods, and Mad Cow Disease: Plague of the 21st Century. In addition to his two websites, www.drgreger.org and www.atkinsexposed.org, Dr. Greger offers a quarterly newsletter, Latest in Human Nutrition, which is available through subscription and can be requested by sending a blank email to: drgregernewsletter-subscribe@lists.riseup.net.

William Harris, M.D.
A vegetarian since 1950 and vegan since 1963, Dr. William Harris received his M.D. from UCSF and completed his medical internship at the San Diego County Hospital. Director of the Kaiser Permanente Vegetarian Lifestyle Clinic since 1997, Dr. Harris says his toughest challenges come from battling the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and other dominant forces working against America's good health. According to Harris, "since the Roosevelt administration's creation of price supports and surplus buy-ups for the USDA, we have provided selective financial aid to the very worst aspects of U.S. agriculture, and almost no aid to the growers of fruits and vegetables that people should be eating." Dr. Harris also says that natural market forces and eliminating USDA ties would result in a steep decline in animal food consumption and a marked improvement in human health. In 1998, he wrote The Scientific Basis of Vegetarianism and sent it to every member of the U.S. Congress to "educate them about the adverse effect of animal agriculture subsidies." For information, visit www.vegsource.com/harris/. (Some bio information adapted from www.pcrm.org/magazine/GM01Autumn/GM01Autumn13.html)

Suzanne Havala Hobbs, Dr.PH., M.S., R.D.
Suzanne Havala Hobbs, DrPH, MS, RD is a nationally recognized author on issues relating to food, nutrition and health policy. She is a licensed, registered dietitian and a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Health Policy and Administration, School of Public Health, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her advice has been quoted in publications, such as Parade, SELF Magazine, Shape, Vegetarian Times, The New York Times, and Harper's Bazaar and in appearances on Good Morning America, Weekend Today and the Susan Powter Show. She is the author of books, including Being Vegetarian for Dummies, Good Foods, Bad Foods: What's Left to Eat?, The Vegetarian Food Guide and Nutrition Counter, Shopping for Health: A Nutritionist's Aisle-by-Aisle Guide to Smart, Low-fat Choices at the Supermarket, and Simple, Lowfat & Vegetarian. She is a contributing writer for Bottom Line/Personal and nutrition editor for Vegetarian Journal. She has been a regular contributor to SELF Magazine and serves on the editorial advisory board of Vegetarian Times. Suzanne is a member of the American Public Health Association, American Dietetic Association, National Association of Science Writers, Association of Health Care Journalists, Association of Food Journalists and the American Society of Journalists and Authors. For more information, visit www.onthetable.net. (Biography adapted from www.onthetable.net/bio.html)

Michael Klaper, M.D.
Dr. Michael Klaper graduated from the University of Illinois College of Medicine in 1972, and served his medical internship at Vancouver General Hospital in British Columbia. He then completed additional training in surgery, anesthesiology, orthopedics and obstetrics at the University of California Hospitals in San Francisco. Dr. Klaper believes that proper nutrition and a balanced lifestyle are essential for optimum health, and therefore encourages commitment to a plant-based diet. Currently serving as the Director of the non-profit Institute of Nutrition Education and Research, Dr. Klaper is continuously conducting studies on the relationship between diet and disease. He is a member of the Nutrition Task Force of the American Medical Student Association and host of the radio program, "Sounds of Healing", in Washington DC. Dr. Klaper has several books and videos available for purchase on his website, www.vegsource.com, along with nutritional advice and research information.

John McDougall, M.D.
John A. McDougall, MD. has been studying, writing and "speaking out" about the effects of nutrition on disease for over 20 years. Dr. McDougall is the founder and medical director of the nationally renowned McDougall Program, a twelve day, live-in plan located at the McDougall Health Center in Santa Rosa, California. Based on several years of private practice with thousands of patients and extensive medical research, Dr. McDougall has developed a nourishing , low-fat, starch-based diet that not only promotes a broad range of dramatic and lasting health benefits such as weight loss, but most importantly can also reverse serious illness, such as heart disease, without drugs. Dr. McDougall is the author of several national bestsellers including: The McDougall Plan: 12 Days to Dynamic Health, The New McDougall Cookbook, The McDougall Program for Women, and The McDougall Program for a Healthy Heart. A graduate of Michigan State University's College of Human Medicine, he performed his internship at Queen's Medical Center in Honolulu, Hawaii, and his medical residency at the University of Hawaii. He is certified as an internist by the Board of Internal Medicine and the National Board of Medical Examiners. For more information, visit www.drmcdougall.com. (Biography adapted from www.vegsource.com/shopping/speakers.htm)


Vesanto Melina, M.S., R.D.
Since 1982, Vesanto Melina has worked as a nutrition consultant, speaker, academic instructor, and writer. Previously based in Vancouver, B.C. and Seattle, Washington, Melina taught nutrition on the faculty of the University of British Columbia and at Seattle's Bastyr University. Speaking engagements have taken her across North America and the U.K., and she is a regular consultant for the Government of British Columbia. Co-author of eleven books, including Food Allergy Survival Guide, Becoming Vegan and Raising Vegetarian Children, Melina currently offers personal consultations, food and nutrition classes, conference seminars, industry and government consultations, and food guides through her website, www.nutrispeak.com.

Virginia Messina, R.D.
Virginia Messina has been a dietitian, public health nutritionist and vegetarian for nearly 20 years and, for the past decade, has focused on professional activities pertaining to vegetarian diet. As a vegetarian dietitian, she has had a number of particular interests and goals, including working towards providing information that will help--and hopefully convince--people to make the transition to a more plant-based diet, helping vegans to eat as healthfully as possible, and making it as easy as possible for people to make this transition to responsible eating by focusing on dietary changes that have a real impact on personal health, the environment, and animals, and by minimizing emphasis on the types of changes that vegans sometimes adopt but that are only marginally effective. She has co-authored several books, including The Vegetarian Way, and is a senior editor of the Vegetarian Nutrition and Health Letter from Loma Linda University. For more information or to contact Messina, visit her website, VegRD, at http://vegrd.vegan.com/. (Biography adapted from http://vegrd.vegan.com/pages/statement.html)

Jack Norris, R.D.
With a B.S. in nutrition and dietetics from Life University in Marietta, Georgia, and having completed a dietetic internship at Georgia State University, Jack Norris worked as an American Council on Exercise certified personal trainer from 1994-1996. He currently speaks at a multitude of events covering such topics as: Vegan Nutrition: What Does the Research Show?, Staying a Healthy Vegan, The Truth about Vitamin B12, and Sensible Approaches for Long-term Weight Loss. Norris's website, www.jacknorrisrd.com, contains a number of vegan-related and fitness articles, as well as links to his and other relevant websites. Norris was named "Favorite Columnist" in both 2003 and 2004 for VegNews's annual Veggie Awards.

Dean Ornish, M.D.
Dean Ornish, MD, is the founder, president, and director of the non-profit Preventive Medicine Research Institute in Sausalito, California. He is Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. Dr. Ornish received his medical training from the Baylor College of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, and the Massachusetts General Hospital. For the past 25 years, Dr. Ornish has directed clinical research demonstrating, for the first time, that comprehensive lifestyle changes may begin to reverse even severe coronary heart disease, without drugs or surgery. He is the author of five best-selling books, including New York Times' bestsellers Dr. Dean Ornish's Program for Reversing Heart Disease, Eat More, Weigh Less, and Love & Survival. More information on Ornish's famous Lifestyle Program can be found at www.webmd.com/content/pages/9/3068_9408.htm. (Biography adapted from www.webmd.com/content/pages/4/3080_453)