IPS

Steering Committee
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James LaValle

RPh, CCN, MT, DHM, DHPh

James LaValle, RPh, CCN, MT, DHM, DHPh, is an internationally recognized clinical pharmacist, author, and board-certified clinical nutritionist, with over 35 years of clinical experience.  LaValle is best known for his expertise in performance health and integrative care with personally seeing thousands of clients over the years.  He has an extensive background in natural products, lifestyle, drug/nutrient depletion, and uncovering the underlying metabolic issues that keep people from feeling healthy and vital. He has developed programs for several industries including fitness, professional sports teams and health care companies. Most recently Jim was appointed the Clinical Director of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Performance Health Program

He taught for 15 years as an appointed adjunct faculty member at the University of Cincinnati College of Pharmacy pioneering the course “Survey of Natural Medicine”, served as faculty at the College of Medicine at U.C. all the while serving as a preceptorship for both physicians and pharmacy students.

He is the founder of Metabolic Code Enterprises, a cloud-based assessment tool that helps to pinpoint where the metabolic roadblocks are to person’s health based on their symptom survey, lab markers, biometric and wearable data.  The tool helps prioritize care for individuals using a point system to indicate areas of metabolism that are the most out of balance. The platform provides suggestions for dietary supplements, diet and other targeted lifestyle suggestions with the goal of building metabolic reserve, resiliency and vitality.

In 2010, Jim developed personalized weight loss and wellness programs for LifeTime Fitness using his Metabolic Code approach for health and wellness. He and his team have also developed performance health programs for professional sports car racing, football, baseball, basketball, soccer and hockey players and teams, along with Olympic athletes.

LaValle gained national recognition as National Clinician of the Year in 2012 by the Natural Products Association for his pioneering work in furthering the professional standards of integrative care. And in 2017 as Educator of the Year for American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine.

He is an appointed faculty member for the Integrative Medicine postgraduate program at George Washington University School of Health Sciences.   As the Clinical Co-Chair at the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine, he has trained thousands of health care professionals on the value of predictive health and performance and modeling health care practices to incorporate lifestyle, diet and natural therapies as part of the health equation for Americans.

He is author of more than 20 books including, “Cracking the Metabolic Code,” “Nutritional Cost of Drugs,” and his latest book, “Your Blood Never Lies”.  In addition, he has authored 16 e-Books and four databases with information on a variety of topics, ranging from natural therapeutic decision tools, herb drug interactions, drug induced nutrient depletion, and professional monographs on 240 vitamin, mineral, nutraceutical and herbal compounds. He has also authored 200 articles, as well as being published in peer reviewed literature.

Jim was named one of the “50 Most Influential Pharmacists” by American Druggist magazine and was one of nine Americans selected by Senator Tom Harkin, to participate in the inaugural Dietary Supplement Education Alliance & Dietary Supplement Information Bureau. As such, he is often called on by media for interviews on a variety of health topics due to his expertise and engaging style.

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Melissa Stefko

MBA, MS, RAC, ASQ CQA

Melissa Stefko is an experienced Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology professional with a strong background in Quality Assurance and Quality Control in aseptic sterile processing. Prior to joining Wells Pharmacy Network, Ms. Stefko served as Head of Quality with a start-up 503B Outsourcing Pharmacy and gained a strong CGMP understanding throughout previous positions within compounding pharmacies and pharmaceutical manufacturers.

Ms. Stefko is an active member of the American Society for Quality as a Certified Quality Auditor and Audit Chair for her local ASQ Chapter.  She is a member of Alliance for Pharmacy Compounding and serves on the Education Committee for APC. She is also a member of Institute of Environmental Sciences and Technology, American Society for Microbiology, Parenteral Drug Association, and IACP.

Ms. Stefko holds a Bachelors degree in Biology with a minor in Chemistry from Florida State University where she co-founded Pre-Pharmacy Informational Leadership and Learning Society (P.I.L.L.S.), a Masters in Business Administration, Masters of Science in Biotechnology, and Regulatory Affairs Certificate from University of Maryland Global Campus.

Ms. Stefko regularly engages with regulatory agencies advocating for patient access to compounded medications and innovative medicine.