Samuel David Perez is a neuroscientist passionate about uncovering the mechanisms of how the human brain can change to heal itself after trauma and pathology, specially through regulation of cellular metabolic processes. During his doctoral training at Loma Linda University School of Medicine, he studied bidirectional interactions between the nervous system and circulating immune cells, under the mentorship of a notable psychoneuroimmunologist. These initial studies compelled him to explore neuroinflammatory processes affecting brain plasticity (cellular reorganization of brain cells) under Dr. Justin Rhodes in the Neurotech-Behavioral Neuroscience Division at the Beckman Institute in the University of Illinois. As part of these studies, Dr. Perez comprehensively investigated the effects of selected micronutrients on cognitive function and metabolism in aged laboratory animal models. These activities led to hypotheses of cellular processes that may promote brain resilience, which shaped his current scientific interest. Dr. Perez has also recently served as the chair of the Department of Biology and Chemistry at Washington Adventist University, where he trains future scientists and clinicians.
Rhoda J Gottfried is a trained, board-certified Psychiatrist currently practicing in the state of Maryland and Washington DC. She received her medical degree from Loma Linda University School of Medicine, her adult Psychiatry residence from the same institution, and her Child and Adolescent psychiatric training at Johns Hopkins University. As a practicing Psychiatrist, Dr. Gottfried realized early in her career, the limitations of mental health treatment strategies affecting not only children but their entire families. Initially, because of her own research and clinical activities her interest in nutritional aspects of mental health was ignited. She has expanded this interest to exploring how lifestyle and cultural factors contribute to mental illness. Dr. Gottfried is an active advocate of the promotion of healthy practices for better mental status. As a couple of professionals, Dr. Perez and Dr. Gottfried have teamed up to promote healthy life-style practices proven to enhance the human brain’s ability to protect itself against vices that can potentially have lasting physiological, emotional, and spiritual effects.
