I got my start as an astronomer working on various NASA cameras to detect planets around distant stars. I also spent some time studying black holes with the large radio telescope in Arecibo, Puerto Rico, but I was slowly becoming a black hole.... I was 350 lbs, suffered sleeping disorders, and had constant brain fog.

I wanted to do research that was more down to earth, so I found myself working in a Mayo Clinic lab specializing in type 2 diabetes. My research focused on insulin resistance, the pathological condition in which muscles no longer absorb glucose from the blood after a meal. I uncovered evidence that the molecular mechanisms of muscle atrophy are intimately linked to the breakdown of insulin signaling, and that these alterations are linked with genetic causes of type 2 diabetes.

After learning about the role of muscle in the disease, I began to focus my attention to the central nervous system. I learned that the critical genes behind obesity are found in the brain, and that I have many key mutations. I was able to lose 150 lbs over 4 years, but I learned firsthand that extreme diet and exercise changes are required for people like me.

So I founded Infinome, and recruited a close friend and brilliant statistical geneticist to help.