We’re partners — in life and purpose.
Two serial entrepreneurs, dedicated to service.
Stephanie Venn-Watson, DVM, MPH
- CO-FOUNDER & CEO
- Veterinary Epidemiologist.
- Public Health Scientist.
- 40 patents + 70 peer-reviewed scientific publications.
- 2 decades of leading efforts to understand and improve dolphin health.
Eric Venn-Watson,
MD, MBA
- CO-FOUNDER & COO
- US Navy Veteran.
- 20+ years as a Military Physician.
- Launched and led 3 life science companies.
- Supports entrepreneurship programs for military Veterans in San Diego.
Before fatty15™...
Stephanie served as an epidemiologist tracking diseases for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization. She co-founded the National Marine Mammal Foundation and is a recipient of the Department of Health and Human Services Secretary’s Award for Innovations in Health Promotion and Disease Prevention.
Eric held multiple leadership roles as a US Navy military physician, with combat deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. Experienced in growing companies with medical technologies, he was awarded the 'Best Entrepreneur' in the Startup Company Category at the Veteran and Military Conference and Awards.
Now back to the dolphins.
To see how these human-like mammals were affected by changes in the ocean and the fish they eat, we looked at two groups:
-
San Diego, CA -
Sarasota, FL
But even though both populations were generally healthy, we noticed something strange.
A tale of two pods.
-
The California Pod
More dolphins with aging-related conditions.
-
The Florida Pod
Fewer dolphins with aging-related conditions.
And those aging-related conditions?
They’re the precursors to diabetes, heart disease and stroke in humans.
So what was the difference?
The Florida pod ate different fish than their California friends. Fish with higher levels of fatty acid C15:0 (aka FA15™).
When the California pod switched to fish with higher levels of C15:0 (aka FA15™), their aging-related conditions stabilized and their cells stabilized, too.
Bottlenose dolphins are a lot like us.
They live for a long time. They’re social and intelligent. And they can develop aging-related conditions.
But with our fatty15 breakthrough, we’re just getting started helping both humans and dolphins age in healthier ways.*