About.

It’s been quite a ride so far…

As a kid, I was obsessed with music. My dad would play me everything from Stevie Ray Vaughn to Frank Zappa to Classical and Jazz music. I started playing the viola and guitar in 6th grade. In high school, I studied at the Governor’s School for the Arts in Norfolk, Virginia (an amazing school, and amazing experience). I learned so much there…Classical and Jazz Guitar, Music Theory, and much more. All of the teachers at that school were incredible, and in particular, my guitar teacher, Sam Dorsey. He was a life-changing teacher and a truly phenomenal person. He was responsible for my opportunities to perform in masterclasses for world-renowned classical guitarists like Manuel Barrueco and Ana Vidovic. I even had the opportunity to perform solo guitar in Europe.

I mention all of this because I strongly believe it helped shape my work ethic and who I am today as a person. I believe it also helped me significantly with science…

I started becoming curious about science early in high school. It all started after reading physics books by the author Paul Davies (for example, “The Mind of God”). After devouring several of his books, I became obsessed with science.

In college, I studied Chemistry and Math at James Madison University (Harrisonburg, VA). After graduating, I took a small break and toured around with my band for a bit, performing along the East Coast, both as a headliner and sharing the stage with national acts. Eventually, I went to work in the science industry making sensor technologies for the military and first-responders. I was still in Virginia at this time.

I’d always wanted to live in California. In August of 2014, that opportunity presented itself, and I took it. I got a job as a scientist at a contracting company (where I still work) developing sensors for NASA space systems and novel medical devices under NIH grants, as well as doing many more really cool technology product development projects.

To give you some background on my foray into health and fitness… it started back in 2013 after listening to a podcast with Art De Vany about the Paleo Diet (EconTalk episode). That podcast changed my perspective on everything and changed my life. It was the first time that I really understood that food could be medicine, a powerful tool that could help people achieve optimal health while helping to prevent disease. From that moment on, I was determined to study nutrition and fitness and its impact on health, and leverage these tools to help other people. This was part one of my transition into the health field.

Part two of my transition was when I met Chloe Temtchine, an award-winning singer-songwriter and entertainer, and also my current partner. We met in LA in late 2015. She was looking for a guitarist (we met on Craigslist of all places!).

Chloe has the rare-disease Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH). Ever since meeting her, I’ve become obsessed with finding a cure for PAH. I delved into the literature, learning everything I could. (To me, there are so many similarities between PAH, cancer and autoimmune conditions.) I’m now trying to raise funds to develop a targeted-imaging device to help diagnose PAH early, and aid doctors in risk stratification and prognosis assessment for PAH patients. I’m also on a mission to raise funds to develop novel PAH therapeutics.

In addition to those efforts, my goal is to make an impact on PAH, and health in general, through nutrition and fitness. In 2017, my brother and I launched “HealthSnap,” a health and fitness company. We produce content and products around our foundational principles:

1. there is no one-size-fits-all approach to health (i.e., personalized approaches are the key)
2. looking to evolutionary biology for clues and insights into healthy eating, healthy living, and for clues on how to develop modern therapies
3. tackling health challenges requires creativity
4. variation is key (e.g., food quantities and meal timing)