Bret Scher, MD

Dr. Bret Scher is the Director of Metabolic Mind. He is a board-certified cardiologist, lipidologist, and leading expert in therapeutic uses of metabolic therapies, including a ketogenic diet. He has practiced for over 20 years as a preventive cardiologist and was the medical director for dietdoctor.com for over three years.

Dr. Scher received his undergraduate degree from Stanford University and his MD from The Ohio State University College of Medicine. He then completed his internal medicine residency at Scripps Mercy Hospital in San Diego and a preventive cardiology fellowship at Scripps Clinic in La Jolla, CA.

Julie Milder, PhD

Dr. Julie Milder leads Baszucki Group’s scientific initiatives. Throughout her career, she has applied her expertise in neuroscience across academia, grantmaking, scientific strategy and the pharmaceutical industry.

Dr. Milder received a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the University of Colorado, Denver, and a BA in Biology/Neuroscience from Washington University in St. Louis. Dr. Milder has worked in the field of epilepsy and ketogenic diets at CURE Epilepsy and has extensive experience in science grantmaking.

Burcin Ikiz, PhD

Dr. Burcin Ikiz is the Science Program Officer for Baszucki Group. She is a neuroscientist with over 15 years of experience in research and consulting, mainly in the field of neurodegenerative diseases. Dr. Ikiz has also initiated motor neuron disease research efforts in the pharmaceutical industry and led preclinical development for several biotech startups.

Dr. Ikiz received a Ph.D. in Neurobiology from Columbia University and a B.Sc. in Biomedical Computation from Stanford University.

Rachael Xiong

Rachael is a Program Associate for Baszucki Group. She manages Metabolic Mind’s digital presence and communications. Rachael has experience leading expert relations, developing site features and managing digital social content in mission-driven environments.

Rachael received a BA in Human Biology from Stanford University.

Jan and David Baszucki

David Baszucki and Jan Ellison Baszucki launched Metabolic Mind, an initiative of Baszucki Group, to share information and resources about the emerging field of metabolic psychiatry. Their family experienced the challenges of a mental health crisis firsthand when the eldest of their four children, their son, Matt, was diagnosed with bipolar disorder at age 19. After battling bipolar illness for five years, Matt achieved a full recovery from his condition using a metabolic ketogenic diet therapy.

Georgia Ede, MD

Dr. Georgia Ede Is a Harvard-trained, board-certified psychiatrist specializing in nutritional and Metabolic Psychiatry. She has used ketogenic diets to help her patients for over two decades. She created the first CME course training physicians in the use of ketogenic therapy as mental illness treatment. She has been educating the public about nutrition science, metabolism, and mental health through her International speaking engagements, comprehensive website, and social media presence. Much of her work can be found on her website and on Twitter.

Chris Palmer, MD

Dr. Chris Palmer is the Director of the Department of Postgraduate and Continuing Education at McLean Hospital and an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. He’s been a practicing psychiatrist for almost three decades and for the majority of that has used ketogenic therapies to treat patients with severe mental illness. In 2022 Dr. Palmer published his book ‘Brain Energy‘ which explores a new hypothesis of energy and mitochondrial dysfunction as an underlying cause of mental illness. He has used his global lectures, website, media appearances, and social media presence to raise awareness of ketogenic therapies among clinicians and the public. He has also published widely on the use of metabolic therapies and ketogenic diets as a treatment for mental illness and much of his work can be found on his website and on Twitter.

Shebani Sethi, MD

Dr. Shebani Sethi Is a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University and founding director of the first academic metabolic Psychiatry clinical program in 2015. She is double board-certified in Psychiatry and Obesity medicine. Dr. Sethi is the principal investigator of a study on the effectiveness of a low carbohydrate ketogenic dietary intervention in an outpatient cohort of patients with obesity and bipolar illness or schizophrenia. She has also published widely about the use of ketogenic therapy in mental illness. Learn more about Dr. Sethi on Stanford University’s Metabolic Psychiatry website and on Twitter.

Nicole Laurent, LMHC

Nicole Laurent is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor and founder of mentalhealthketo.com. She delivers Ketogenic Metabolic Therapy to her clients with mood disorders, has undertaken post-graduate training in Nutrition and Integrative Health, and has engaged with the public through her blog, podcast appearances, and social media. Learn more about Nicole on her website and Twitter.

Beth Zupec-Kania, RDN, CD

Beth Zupec-Kania is a registered dietitian nutritionist in the field of metabolic psychiatry and a consultant with to The Charlie Foundation. She designed KetoDietCalculator, a free resource used by nutritionists and the public, wrote educational guides on Ketogenic Metabolic Therapy for epilepsy and neurological disorders, created a training module to educate nutritionists and psychiatrists, and is a co-author on many scientific papers. Learn more about Beth on her website and Twitter.

Hannah Warren

Hannah Warren is a writer, artist and social entrepreneur. She founded and co-directs Jhoole, a nonprofit social enterprise in India, and works as the Marketing and Development Director for Serenity Hospice and Home, a nonprofit organization. Since November of 2022, she has been collaborating with Dr. Christopher Palmer as a member of the Brain Energy team. She enjoys researching and writing about metabolic interventions and actively implements treatments for neurometabolic dysfunction, including ketogenic therapy, intermittent fasting, exercise and meditation.

Franziska Spritzler, RD, CDE

Franziska Spritzler is a Registered Dietitian, Certified Diabetes Educator, clinician, and writer with expertise in low-carb and ketogenic metabolic therapies. After working as a clinical dietitian at the Long Beach Medical Center for several years, she opened a low-carb-focused nutrition consulting practice in 2014. She has written many articles and guides on ketogenic and low-carb diets for health websites, including Healthline and Diet Doctor. Learn more about Franziska on her website and Twitter.