Documenting Functional Medicine Progress-the FMRC Staff
The following individuals are important in overseeing the direction of research at the FMRC, directing the reporting of results of clinical trials, and managing the day-to-day activities of this human clinical research facility.
Robert H. Lerman, MD, PhD
Director of Medicine and Extramural Clinical Research for Metagenics, Inc.
Deanna Minich, PhD, CN
Director, Department of Information Integration & Innovation
Joseph J. Lamb, MD
Director of Intramural Clinical Research, Functional Medicine Research CenterSM
Jeffrey S. Bland, PhD, FACN, CNS
President and Chief Science Officer
Robert H. Lerman, MD, PhD
Director of Medicine and Extramural Clinical Research for Metagenics, Inc.
Dr. Lerman is the Director of Medicine and Extramural Clinical Research for Metagenics, Inc. and works with the team in the Functional Medicine Research Center. He was officially appointed in 1999; however, he had spent the previous year at HealthComm International, Inc. (which merged with Metagenics in 2000) on sabbatical leave from Boston University School of Medicine, where he was an Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine and a faculty member in Nutritional Sciences at the Henry M. Goldman School of Graduate Dentistry. He was also Director of Inpatient Nutrition and Director of Clinical Nutrition for more than 15 years at Boston Medical Center, and served as Chief of Nutrition at Jewish Memorial Hospital in Boston. Dr. Lerman is board certified in internal medicine and received his M.D. from Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and a Ph.D. in Nutritional Biochemistry and Metabolism from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He has completed fellowships in nephrology and clinical nutrition. As a Major in the U.S. Army Medical Corps, he served as Chief of Medicine at the U.S. Army Hospitals in Berlin, Germany and Vicenza, Italy. In addition, he was acting Chief of Nephrology at Soroka Medical Center in Beer Sheba, Israel.
He has authored and co-authored numerous papers and book chapters, in addition to lecturing on such topics as parenteral nutrition, obesity, fatty acid metabolism, healing and repair of acute myocardial infarction, and trace element deficiency. He is also Director of Medical Education for the Institute for Functional Medicine, serves on the editorial board of Integrative Medicine: A Clinician's Journal, and an Adjunct Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine at Boston University School of Medicine.
Dr. Lerman's clinical research activities are centered at Metagenics' Functional Medicine Research Center, where he has served as the principle investigator in multiple studies in such areas as premenstrual syndrome, knee osteoarthritis, fibromyalgia, ex-vivo evaluation of phytonutrient formulations, and evaluation of the effects of a phytonutrient combination on platelet function. He has also been a co-investigator in other studies. He sees numerous study subjects in individual case management in the evaluation of Metagenics products in a variety of conditions, including metabolic syndrome, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, premenstrual syndrome, perimenopausal hot flashes, fibromyalgia, carbohydrate craving, chronic fatigue syndrome, hypercholesterolemia, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, irritable bowel syndrome, and inflammatory bowel disease.
Deanna Minich, PhD, CN
Director, Department of Information Integration & Innovation
Dr. Minich leads the team of novel ingredient research and innovation and facilitates these new product concepts through their clinical development and eventual launch into the market. She also manages the staff responsible for database development, data review, biostatistics, technical writing, and collection and dissemination of library resources. In addition, she counsels patients on nutrition and lifestyle using functional medicine protocols at the Functional Medicine Research Center in Gig Harbor, WA. Overall, she plays a pivotal role interfacing with and aligning R&D, Sales, Marketing and Manufacturing to execute new product launches on time. Since joining Metagenics in May 2003, she has streamlined the organizational process, which has helped to contribute to the on-time delivery of products. Another facet of Dr. Minich's position is her role as a liaison to the Marketing Department by addressing pertinent scientific issues in the form of technical documents, such as company position papers and white papers. She also assists Marketing in the development of new formulas and is responsible for evaluating the safety and efficacy of Metagenics formulas.
Dr. Minich has an extensive background in nutritional science, having received her Master of Science degree in human nutrition and metabolism from the University of Illinois at Chicago, and her doctorate in Medical Sciences from the Department of Human Nutrition and Metabolism at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. Her area of doctoral research has been focused primarily on lipid biochemistry, and specifically on the absorption and metabolism of essential fatty acids. She has published over 10 articles in numerous peer-reviewed, scientific journals, and has presented her work at several national scientific meetings. She is a Fellow of the American College of Nutrition, a Certified Nutrition Specialist and a member of both the American College of Nutrition and the American Society for Nutrition Science. She is certified as a nutritionist (CN) through the Washington State Department of Health.
Dr. Minich has previously served as an educator, teaching various nutrition-related courses in university settings. In addition to her academic training and teaching skills, she brings industry experience from Cooke Pharma, where she worked on the research and development of the HeartBar™ medical food bar. She also served as Senior Nutrition Scientist at General Mills, Inc. within the Bell Institute of Health and Nutrition as a technical expert and developed health strategies for marketing teams such as Small Planet Foods.
Joseph J. Lamb, MD
Director of Intramural Clinical Research, Functional Medicine Research CenterSM
Dr. Lamb joined Metagenics in 2006 and serves a vital role in the clinical trials and investigational case management studies at the Functional Medicine Research Center (FMRC) at our Gig Harbor campus. He received his MD from the Medical College of Virginia and was awarded a fellowship in the cardiology division of internal medicine at University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. He is a diplomate of the American Board of Internal Medicine and founding diplomate of the American Board of Holistic Medicine.
Prior to joining Metagenics, Dr. Lamb led a successful career in private practice in Alexandria, Virginia, where he integrated functional medicine principals in treatment approaches to wellness. He also held clinical and advisory positions for local educational facilities, healthcare conferences, area hospitals, and a healthcare Web site for the lay community. He is active in community service and is frequently invited to lecture on integrative health topics raging from pain management and healthy aging to women’s health and complementary cancer care.
Dr. Lamb has served in collegiate faculty and adjunct positions for prestigious institutes such as the George Washington University School of Medicine. In addition, he has contributed to several medical textbooks, including the Textbook of Functional Medicine published by The Institute for Functional Medicine, where he also serves on the advisory committee for continuing medical education.
Jeffrey S. Bland, PhD, FACN, CNS
President and Chief Science Officer
Jeffrey S. Bland, Metagenics' President and Chief Science Officer, has been an internationally recognized leader in the nutritional medicine field for over 30 years. Headquartered in Gig Harbor, WA, Dr. Bland founded HealthComm International, Inc. in 1985, and served as its Chief Executive Officer until the merger with its strategic partner, Metagenics, in 2000. As the principal visionary of HealthComm, Dr. Bland had already distinguished the company as a leader in the development of medical foods by the time of the merger. In 1992 he established the internationally respected Institute for Functional Medicine to train health practitioners globally in the application of nutritional and functional medicine.
A nutritional biochemist and registered clinical laboratory director, Dr. Bland is a former professor of biochemistry at the University of Puget Sound, and a previous Director of Nutritional Supplement Research at the Linus Pauling Institute of Science and Medicine. Dr. Bland has authored five books on nutritional medicine for the healthcare professional and four books on nutrition and health for the general public. He is also the principal author of over 100 peer-reviewed research papers on nutritional biochemistry.
Committed to advancing education in the natural health sciences, Dr. Bland was one of the original board members of Bastyr University in Washington State, the first federally accredited university in the United States offering graduate and undergraduate degrees in natural medicine. With his annual highly regarded seminar series on science-based nutrition and health, Dr. Bland continues to focus on providing practical education to healthcare professionals worldwide.
Dr. Bland holds several patents for nutritional products and oversees the activities of the Functional Medicine Research Center and serves as the Chairman of the Institute for Functional Medicine.
Clinical trials Case Studies Meet the Rest of the Metagenics Scientific Team