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The NIH's Longevity Scientist. On Our Team.

The team behind the vision

Nicholas J. Schork,
PhD, MA

Co-Founder, Senior Sciencist

Nicholas

is a Distinguished Professor and Director of the Quantitative Medicine and Systems Biology Division at Translational Genomics Institute, an affiliate of The City of Hope. In addition, as a leader in the design and analysis of studies of longevity, Nicholas is Scientific Director for the National Institute of Health’s National Institute of Aging-sponsored Longevity Consortium.

Prior to his current positions, Dr. Schork was Professor and Director of Human Biology at the J. Craig Venter Institute and previously Professor, Molecular and Experimental Medicine, at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) and Director of Bioinformatics and Biostatistics for the Scripps Translational Science Institute (STSI). Dr. Schork has also held faculty appointments at Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) and Harvard University. Between 1999 and 2000 Dr. Schork took a leave of absence from CWRU to conduct research as Vice President of Statistical Genomics at the French Biotechnology company, Genset, where he helped guide efforts to construct the first high-density map of genetic variation in the human genome.

Dr. Schork has published over 550 articles in many areas of biomedical and translation science, including articles detailing novel methodologies and applications leveraging integrated approaches to disease diagnosis, treatment, and prevention as well as clinical trials design. He also has a long history of collaborative and consortium-related research in which he has contributed analysis methodology and applied data analysis expertise. For example, Dr. Schork is the scientific director of the current NIA-funded Longevity Consortium, whose goals are to identify and characterize factors that contribute to human longevity. Dr. Schork has 9 patents associated with genetic analysis methodology, been involved with more than 10 start-up companies, and has mentored over 75 students and post-doctoral fellows.

Did you know?

Dr. Schork’s interest and expertise are quantitative and integrated human genetics and genomics, especially the design and implementation of methodologies to dissect the genetic basis of complex traits and diseases.

Literature

Weder AB, Sekkarie MA, Takiyyuddin M, Schork NJ, Julius S: Antihypertensive and hypotensive effects of a trial natriuretic factor in men. Hypertension 1987; 10:582-9.

Johnson EH, Schork NJ, Spielberger CD: Emotional and familial determinants of elevated blood pressure in black and white adolescent females. J Psychosom Res 1987; 31:731-41.

Egan BM, Panis R, Hinderliter A, Schork N, Julius S: Mechanism of increased alpha-adrenergic vasoconstriction in human essential hypertension. J Clin Invest 1987; 80:812-7.

Schork, NJ and Schork MA: Skewness and mixtures of normal distributions. Communications in Statistics - Theory and Methods 1988; 17:3951-69.

Egan BM, Schork N, Panis R, Hinderliter A: Vascular structure enhances regional resistance responses in mild essential hypertension. J Hypertens 1988; 6:41-8.

Egan BM, Conlon ME, Campbell R, Schork N, Zweifler A, Julius S: Effects of ketanserin on blood pressure and platelet aggregation in elderly men with mild hypertension. Am J Hypertens 1988; 1:324S-30S.

Julius S, Schork N and Schork A: Sympathetic hyperactivity in early stages of hypertension: the Ann Arbor data set. J Cardiovasc Pharmacol 1988; 12:S121-9.

Gupta MA, Gupta AK, Kirkby S, Weiner HK, Mace TM, Schork NJ, Johnson EH, Ellis CN, Voorhees JJ: Pruritus in psoriasis: A prospective study of some psychiatric and dermatologic correlates. Arch Dermatol 1988; 124:1052-7.

Gupta MA, Gupta AK, Kirkby S, Schork NJ, Gorr SK, Ellis CN, Voorhees JJ: A psychocutaneous profile of psoriasis patients who are stress reactors: A study of 127 patients. Gen Hosp Psychiatry 1989; 11:166-73.

Schork NJ and Schork MA: Testing separate families of segregation hypotheses: bootstrap methods. Am J Hum Genet 1989; 45:803-13.

Gupta MA, Gupta AK, Kirkby S, Schork NJ, Weiner HK, Ellis CN, Voorhees JJ: Pruritus associated with nocturnal wakenings: organic or psychogenic? J Am Acad Dermatol 1989; 21:479-84.

Schork NJ, Weder AB, Schork MA: On the asymmetry of biological frequency distributions. Genet Epidemiol 1990; 7:427-46.

Gupta MA, Gupta AK, Schork NJ, Ellis CN, Voorhees JJ: The aging face: A psychocutaneous perspective. J Dermatol Surg Oncol 1990; 16:902-4.

Gupta MA, Gupta AK, Schork NJ, Ellis CN, Voorhees JJ: Psychiatric aspects of the treatment of mild to moderate acne: some preliminary observations. Int J Dermatol 1990; 29:719-21.

Julius S, Mejia A, Jones K, Krause L, Schork N, van de Ven C, Johnson E, Petrin J, Sekkarie MA, Kjeldsen SE, Schmouder R, Gupta R, Ferraro J, Nazzaro P and Weissfeld J: “White coat” versus “sustained” borderline hypertension in Tecumseh, Michigan. Hypertension 1990; 16:617-23.

Schork NJ and Schork MA: Histograms: multimodal or poorly constructed? (Letter to the Editor) , Am J Hum Genet 1990; 46:396-7.

Julius S, Jones K, Schork N, Johnson E, Krause L, Nazzaro P, Zemva A: Independence of pressure reactivity from blood pressure levels in Tecumseh, Michigan. Hypertension 1991; 17(Supplement III):12-21.

Weder AB, Schork NJ, Krause L, Julius S: Red blood cell lithium-sodium countertransport in the Tecumseh blood pressure study. Hypertension 1991; 17:652-60.

Julius S, Krause L, Schork N, Mejia AD, Jones KA, van de Ven C, Johnson EH, Sekkarie MA, Kjeldsen SE, Petrin J, Schmouder R, Gupta R, Ferraro J, Nazzaro P and Weissfeld J: Hyperkinetic borderline hypertension in Tecumseh, Michigan. J Hypertens 1991; 9:77-84.

Gupta MA, Goldfarb MT, Schork NJ, Weiss JS, Gupta AK, Ellis CN and Voorhees JJ: Treatment of mildly to moderately photoaged skin with topical tretinoin has a favorable psychosocial effect: a prospective study. J Am Acad Dermatol 1991; 24:780-1.

Julius S, Jamerson K, Gudbrandsson T, Schork N: White coat hypertension: a follow-up. Clin Exp Hypertens A. 1992; 14:45-53.

Gudbrandsson T, Julius S, Krause L, Jamerson K, Randall OS, Schork N, Weder A: Correlates of the estimated arterial compliance in the population of Tecumseh, Michigan. Blood Press 1992; 1:27-34.

Bretz WA, Krahn DD, Drury M, Schork N, Loesche WJ: Effects of fluoxetine on the oral environment of bulimics. Oral Microbiol Immunol 1993; 8:62-4.

Gupta MA, Schork NJ, Gupta AK, Kirkby S, Ellis CN: Suicidal ideation in psoriasis. Int J Dermatol 1993; 32:188-90.

Gupta MA, Schork NJ, Gupta AK and Ellis CN: Alcohol intake and treatment responsiveness of psoriasis: a prospective study. J Am Acad Dermatol 1993; 28:730-2.

Schork NJ and Schork MA: The effect of pairwise correlated observations on likelihood ratio tests for the difference between two means. Communications in Statistics—Theory and Methods. 1993; 22:2609-18.

Bretz WA, Eklund SA, Radicchi R, Schork MA, Schork N, Schottenfeld D, Lopatin DE, Loesche WJ: The use of a rapid enzymatic assay in the field for the detection of infections associated with adult periodontitis. J Public Health Dent 1993; 53:235-40.

Topol EJ, Ellis SG, Cosgrove DM, Bates ER, Muller DW, Schork NJ, Schork MA, Loop FD: Analysis of coronary angioplasty practice in the United States with an insurance-claims data base. Circulation 1993; 87: 1489-97.

Schork NJ: Combining Monte Carlo and Cox tests of non-nested hypotheses. Communications in Statistics - Simulation and Computation 1993; 22:939-54.

Schork NJ, Boehnke M, Terwilliger J, Ott J: Two-trait-locus linkage analysis: a powerful strategy for mapping complex genetic traits. Am J Hum Genet 1993; 53:1127-36.

Schork NJ, Guo SW: Pedigree models for complex human traits involving the mitochondrial genome. Am J Hum Genet 1993; 53:1320-37.

Schork NJ, Weder AB, Trevisan M, Laurenzi M: The contribution of pleiotropy to blood pressure and body-mass index variation: the Gubbio Study. Am J Hum Genet 1994; 54:361-73.

Weder AB, Schork NJ: Adaptation, Allometry, and Hypertension. Hypertension 1994; 24:145-56.

Gudbrandsson T, Julius S, Jamerson K, Smith S, Krause L, Schork N: Recreational exercise and cardiovascular status in the rural community of Tecumseh, Michigan. Blood Pres 1994; 3:178-84.

Schork NJ, Jokelainen P, Grant EJ, Schork MA, Weder AB: Relationship of growth and blood pressure in inbred rats. Am J Psychiol 1994; 266:R702-8.

Lander ES, Schork NJ: Genetic dissection of complex traits. Science 1994; 265:2037-48.

Marcus R, Krause L, Weder AB, Dominguez-Meja A, Schork NJ and Julius S: Sex-specific determinants of increased left ventricular mass in the Tecumseh Blood Pressure Study. Circulation 1994; 90:928-36.

Schork NJ, Boehnke M, Terwilliger JD, Ott J. Reply to Sham et al. (Letter to the Editor) , Am J Hum Genet 1994; 5:856-8.

Smith S, Julius S, Jamerson K, Amerena J, Schork N: Hematocrit levels and physiologic factors in relationship to cardiovascular risk in Tecumseh, Michigan. J Hypertens 1994; 12:455-62.

Gupta MA, Gupta AK, Schork NJ, Watteel GN. Perceived touch deprivation and body image: some observations among eating disordered and non-clinical subjects. J Psychosom Res 1995; 39:459-64.

Davidson AO, Schork NJ, Jacques BC, Kelman AW, Sutcliffe RG, Reid JL, Dominiczak AF. Blood pressure in genetically hypertensive rats: Influence of the Y chromosome. Hypertension 1995; 26:452-9.

McAleer MA, Reifsnyder P, Palmer SM, Prochazka M, Love JM, Copeman JB, Powell EE, Rodrigues NR, Prins JB, Serreze DV, DeLarato NH, Wicker LS, Peterson LB, Schork NJ, Todd JA, Leiter EH. Crosses of NOD mice with the related NON strain: A polygenic model for type I diabetes. Diabetes 1995; 44:1186-95.

Thibbonier M, Schork NJ. The genetics of hypertension. Curr Opin Genet Dev 1995; 5:362-70.

Schork NJ, Krieger JE, Trolliet MR, Franchini KG, Koike G, Krieger EM, Lander ES, Dzau VJ, Jacob HJ. A biometrical genome search in rats reveals the multigenic basis of blood pressure variation. Genome Res 1995; 5:164-72.

Letts VA, Schork NJ, Copp AJ, Bernfield M, Frankel WN. A curly-tail modifier locus, mct1, on mouse chromosome 17. Genomics 1995; 29:719-24.

Ghosh S, Schork NJ: Genetic analysis of NIDDM. The study of quantitative traits. Diabetes 1996; 45:1-14.

Schork NJ, Allison DB, Thiel B: Mixture Distributions in Human Genetics Research. Stat Methods Med Res 1996; 5:155-78.

Witte JS, Elston RC, Schork NJ: Genetic dissection of complex traits. (Letter to the Editor) . Nat Genet 1996; 12:3556.

Schork NJ, Weder AB: The use of genetic information in large-scale clinical trials: Applications to Alzheimer research. Alzheimer Dis Assoc Disord 1996; 10 Suppl 1:22-6.

Eicher EM, Washburn LL, Schork NJ, Lee BK, Shown EP, Xu X, Dredge RD, Pringle MJ, Page DC: Sex-determining genes on mouse autosomes identified by linkage analysis of C57BL/6J-YPOS sex reversal. Nat Genet 1996; 14:206-9.

Schork NJ, Nath SP, Lindpaintner K, Jacob HJ: Extensions to quantitative trait locus mapping in experimental organisms. Hypertension 1996; 28:1104-11.

Frankel WN, Schork NJ: Who's afraid of epistasis? Nat Genet 1996; 14:371-3.

Salvador SL, Grisi MF, Romanelli RG, Silva Netto CR, Schork NJ, Bretz WA: Similarities of periodontal clinical and microbiological parameters in mother-child pairs. Braz Dent J 1997; 8:99-104.

Cassidy SB, Forsythe M, Heeger S, Nicholls RD, Schork NJ, Benn P, Schwartz S: Comparison of phenotype between patients with Prader-Willi Syndrome due to deletion 15q and uniparental disomy 15. Am J Med Genet 1997; 68:433-40.

Ferraro TN, Golden GT, Smith GG, Schork NJ, St Jean P, Ballas C, Choi H, Berrettini WH: Mapping murine loci for seizure response to kianic acid. Mamm Genome 1997; 8:200-8.

Strohl KP, Thomas AJ, St Jean P, Schlenker EH, Koletsky RJ, Schork NJ: Ventilation and metabolism among rat strains. J Appl Physiol 1997; 82:317-23.

Beebe AM, Mauze S, Schork NJ, Coffman RL: Serial backcross mapping of multiple loci associated with resistance to Leishmania major in mice. Immunity 1997; 6:551-7.

Schork NJ, Xu X: Sibpairs vs. Pedigrees: what are the advantages? Diabetes Reviews 1997; 5:116-22.

Schork NJ: Genetics of complex disease: approaches, problems, and solutions. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 1997; 156:S103-9.

Schork NJ, Thiel B, St Jean P: Linkage analysis, kinship, and the short-term evolution of chromosomes. J Exp Zool 1998; 282:133-49.

Schork NJ, Cardon LR, Xu X. The future of genetic epidemiology. Trends Genet 1998; 14:266-72.

Allison DB, Thiel B, St Jean P, Elston RC, Infante MC, Schork NJ: Multiple phenotype modeling in gene-mapping studies of quantitative traits: ower advantages. Am J Hum Genet 1998; 63:1190-201.

Herrera VL, Xie HX, Lopez, LV, Schork NJ, Ruiz-Opazo N: The alpha1 Na,K-ATPase gene is a susceptibility hypertension gene in the Dahl salt-sensitive HSD rat. J Clin Invest 1998; 102:1102-11.

Ginns EI, St. Jean P, Philibert RA, Galdzicka M, Damschroder-Williams P, Long R, Ingraham L, Dalwaldi H, Murray M, Ehlert M, Paul S, Remortel B, Patel A, Anderson M, Dymarskaia I, Martin B, Stubblefield B, Falls K, Keith T, Fann C, Thiel B, Lacy LG, Allen C, Hostetter AM, Ott J, Elston RC, Schork NJ, Egeland JA, Paul SM. A genome-wide search for chromosomal loci linked to mental health wellness in relatives at high risk for bipolar disorder among the old order Amish. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 1998; 95:15531-36.

Faust, C, Lawson KA, Schork NJ, Thiel B, Magnuson T. The Polycomb-group gene eed is required for normal morphogenetic movements during gastrulation in the mouse embryo. Development 1998; 125: 4495-506.

Anderson NH, Devlin AM, Graham D, Morton JJ, Hamilton CA, Reid JL, Schork NJ, Dominiczak AF: Telemetry for cardiovascular monitoring in a pharmacological study: new approaches to data analysis. Hypertension 1999; 33:248-55

Bix M, Wang ZE, Thiel B, Schork NJ, Locksley RM: Genetic regulation of commitment to interleukin 4 production by a CD4(+) T cell-intrinsic mechanism. J Exp Med 1998; 188:2289-99.

Xu X, Rogus JJ, Terwedow HA, Yang J, Wang Z, Chen C, Niu T, Wang B, Xu H, Weiss S, Schork NJ, Fang Z. An Extreme-Sib-Pair Genome Scan for Genes Regulating Blood Pressure. Am J Hum Genet 1999; 64:1694-701.

Meet the rest of our team

The team behind the vision.

Society spent a generation avoiding fat, we've dedicated our lives to harnessing it.

The team behind the vision.

Society spent a generation avoiding fat, we've dedicated our lives to harnessing it.

Dr. Stephanie Venn-Watson in a light blue blouse and dark pants, standing against a white background.

Stephanie Venn-Watson, DVM, MPH

CO-CEO, CO-FOUNDER

Eric Venn-Watson in black polo shirt smiling.

Eric Venn-Watson, MD, MBA

CO-CEO, CO-FOUNDER

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Kim Kamdar, PhD

BOARD CHAIR, CO-FOUNDER

Man in a blue shirt smiling confidently.

Nicholas Schork, PhD

Senior Scientist, Co-Founder

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Chris Doyle

Chief Financial Officer

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Dennis Bernstein, MBA

VP of Retention & Lifecycle Marketing

Ali Bernstein

Head of Consumer Experience & Engagement

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Kate McMahon

Sr. Account Manager

Dr. Stephanie Venn-Watson in a light blue blouse and dark pants, standing against a white background.

Stephanie Venn-Watson, DVM, MPH

CO-CEO, CO-FOUNDER

Steph is a serial entrepreneur of for-profit and not-for-profit companies, a veterinary epidemiologist and public health scientist with over 40 patents and 70 peer-reviewed scientific publications, and previously served as an epidemiologist tracking diseases for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and World Health Organization.

Eric Venn-Watson in black polo shirt smiling.

Eric Venn-Watson, MD, MBA

CO-CEO, CO-FOUNDER

Eric is a practicing physician and entrepreneur. He served over 25 years as a Navy and Marine Corps physician, working with the special forces community to improve their health and fitness. Additionally, Eric founded multiple companies in the drug discovery, healthcare analytics, and medical device industries. He is passionate about developing medical technologies that improve the practice and delivery of healthcare on a global scale.

Smiling person in green shirt with dark hair, sitting against white background.

Kim Kamdar, PhD

BOARD CHAIR, CO-FOUNDER

Kim is a Managing Partner of Domain Associates, a life sciences venture capital firm, and has been involved in numerous cutting-edge therapeutic start-ups. She was also a research director at Novartis, where she led a team to uncover small molecules that modulated signaling pathway networks.

Man in a blue shirt smiling confidently.

Nicholas Schork, PhD

Senior Scientist, Co-Founder

Nicholas is a Distinguished Professor and Director of the Quantitative Medicine and Systems Biology Division at Translational Genomics Institute, an affiliate of The City of Hope. In addition, as a leader in the design and analysis of studies of longevity, Nicholas is Scientific Director for the National Institute of Health’s National Institute of Aging-sponsored Longevity Consortium.

Smiling person in a light blue shirt on a white background.

Chris Doyle

Chief Financial Officer

Chris is a finance leader focused on driving scale and profitability for high-growth businesses. Throughout his career, Chris has worked with both small and large companies to develop growth strategies, navigate operational hurdles, execute M&A transactions, and raise capital. He is passionate about developing data-driven insights to support long-term, sustainable business expansion. Chris began his career in investment banking at J.P. Morgan and Moelis, and he has held finance roles at Mars Wrigley, KIND and Diggs.

A person in a light shirt smiling at the camera.

Dennis Bernstein, MBA

VP of Retention & Lifecycle Marketing

Dennis is a marketing and brand builder, with an entrepreneurial mindset.  He has 20+ years of experience leading the development of innovative brands and launching successful consumer products into the marketplace, working at some of the most rapidly evolving Omni-channel and DTC companies, including Procter & Gamble and Dollar Shave Club. Dennis developed and led such projects as the Thank you Mom campaign for the London Olympics and global launches for the Crest/Oral B and Gillette brands.

Ali Bernstein

Head of Consumer Experience & Engagement

Ali is an expert when it comes to marketing and community building, with the number one priority of always putting the customer first. Ali's mission is to make customers’ feel like friends and part of the fatty15 family, helping people with any requests. With over 23+ years of marketing experience on both the agency and client side of the business building communities, at companies like Empower MediaMarketing, Ali enjoys bringing her personable nature to the fatty15 family.

Smiling woman in a light blazer against a neutral background.

Kate McMahon

Sr. Account Manager

Kate is a highly motivated professional experienced in non-profit fundraising, event and project management. With her leadership, organizational skills, effective communication, and optimistic attitude, she is an invaluable asset as our project manager. She excels in maintaining a holistic perspective while also paying meticulous attention to detail. Kate proactively seeks opportunities to improve and enhance processes for the benefit of the entire team.

Living abroad as a military family has honed her change management abilities and broadened her global perspective, fueling her desire to work for companies that make a positive impact on people's lives. She finds immense satisfaction in her role at Seraphina Therapeutics, where she actively contributes to their mission of advancing global health through the transformative fatty acid C15:0.