Coalition for Metabolic Health Launches as Part of $50 Million Investment to Tackle America’s Health Crisis
WASHINGTON (September 4) – Launched with seed funding from the Baszucki family’s $50 million commitment to improve metabolic health, the Coalition for Metabolic Health (CMH) — an independent alliance of leading scientists, clinicians, and advocates — will put the issue at the center of America’s fight against chronic disease.
CMH was conceived by Jan Ellison Baszucki, best-selling author and co-founder of Baszucki Group and Metabolic Mind, and her husband, David Baszucki, founder and CEO of Roblox.
“Poor metabolic health is fueling America’s health crises in adults and children alike, from diabetes and obesity to depression and anxiety,” said Jan Ellison Baszucki, CMH’s board chair. “For the first time, leading researchers, clinicians, advocates, and policymakers are joining forces to make metabolic health a focus of medical practice. We are committed to making proven dietary and lifestyle interventions — like those that helped our son reclaim his health — a standard aspect of medical care to reverse the course of America’s physical and mental health crises.”
Chronic disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, with six in 10 Americans living with at least one such condition. More than 90% of Americans have some form of metabolic dysfunction — when the body’s ability to convert food into energy is impaired — a key driver of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, Alzheimer’s, depression, and more.
CMH aims to:
- Drive policy change to align federal nutrition guidelines, research priorities, health screenings, and insurance coverage with metabolic health science.
- Support independent, unbiased research to advance the understanding of metabolism’s impact on disease prevention and treatment, and to deliver trusted nutritional guidance to healthcare providers and the public.
- Advocate for and educate healthcare providers, policymakers, and the public on the role of metabolic health in preventing and reversing chronic disease.
- Integrate therapeutic nutrition into routine medical care through partnerships with policymakers, health systems, employers, and insurers.
“This coalition of experts has an opportunity to be a critical force driving positive change for millions of Americans,” said David Baszucki, CMH’s co-founder. “At Roblox, we’ve seen firsthand how offering employee benefits that include tools for improving metabolic health can make a difference — and I believe this model can help guide broader change.”
Drawing on decades of evidence and clinical practice, CMH seeks to shape policy, public awareness, and medical practice so that dietary therapies proven to stabilize blood sugar and improve insulin sensitivity — including low-carbohydrate and ketogenic approaches — become accessible to more people living with or at risk for chronic disease.
“Mainstream medicine has deprioritized important advances in nutrition science for too long,” said Dr. Bret Scher, CMH’s founding medical director. “By aligning policy and practice with a better understanding of nutrition science and metabolic health, we can change the trajectory of chronic disease in America.”
CMH’s medical and scientific advisory committee features leaders in community mental health, obesity medicine, cardiology, endocrinology, psychiatry, gastroenterology, obstetrics, internal medicine, and nutrition science, including:
- Bret Scher, M.D., cardiologist and lipidologist; medical director of Baszucki Group and Metabolic Mind.
- Matt Bernstein, M.D., psychiatrist; lecturer in psychiatry, Harvard Medical School; chief medical officer, Ellenhorn; chief medical officer and CEO, Accord Mental Health.
- Benjamin Bikman, Ph.D., professor, Department of Cell Biology and Physiology, Brigham Young University.
- Mark Cucuzzella, M.D., physician, family medicine and obesity medicine; professor, West Virginia University School of Medicine.
- Dominic D’Agostino, Ph.D., associate professor, Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Physiology, University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine.
- Elizabeth Errico, founder and executive director, Children’s Mental Health Resource Center.
- Karen Jerome-Zapadka, M.D., physician; gastroenterologist; obesity medicine specialist; founder and medical director, Trajectory Health Partners.
- Tro Kalayjian, D.O., physician, internal medicine and obesity medicine; founder, Toward Health.
- Andrew Koutnik, Ph.D., research faculty, Institute for Sport Science & Medicine, Florida State University.
- David Ludwig, M.D., Ph.D., endocrinologist; professor of nutrition, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health; professor of pediatrics, Harvard Medical School; researcher, Boston Children’s Hospital.
- Andrea Salcedo, D.O., assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology, Loma Linda University School of Medicine.
- Jeff Volek, Ph.D., professor, Department of Human Sciences, The Ohio State University.
For more information and to sign up for our monthly newsletter, visit coalitionformetabolichealth.org.
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About the Coalition for Metabolic Health
The Coalition for Metabolic Health (CMH) is a national alliance of researchers, clinicians, philanthropists, nonprofits, business leaders, and advocates ushering in a new era in healthcare by making metabolic health mainstream.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Ellie Pickel
ellie@keybridge.biz
(202) 816-4555