Michael Willoughby is a seasoned veteran in the laboratory sector. He started his career as a Laboratory Tech and Histologist in Nacogdoches Texas where he double majored in Nursing and Medical Technology at Stephen F. Austin. Before and during college Michael served in the armed forces as an Army Combat Medic.
After college Michael moved to Houston in 1991. There he established a small placement firm of Histologists throughout the Texas Medical Center (TMC). While building relationships in the TMC, Michael formed a solid foundation of healthcare knowledge through partnerships with the likes of MD Anderson, The DeBakey Heart Center, Baylor College of Medicine, and both Methodist and Memorial Healthcare systems.
In 1994 Michael was approached by the senior leadership team of Clinical Pathology Laboratories to help scale the company beyond the Austin borders. To make a long story short, he spent the first 10 years building business units throughout the Southwest and the second ten years as CPL’s Senior Vice President overseeing Operations and Commercial Services from the corporate offices in Austin Texas. During that time, he was successful in creating high throughput service units, created a very successful sales division, presented multiple acquisition opportunities, and lead a key role in fostering the culture of what was set by the founders of the company. CPL was ultimately purchased by Sonic Healthcare and is still one of the great success stories in the laboratory sector today.
Although many thanks were given to the folks at CPL, now Sonic Healthcare, Michael chose to leave the company in 2014 to explore global opportunities beyond the Southwest area of the country. Over the past 36 months, Michael has consulted for several laboratory companies such as Cardio Vascular Biomarker Labs, Non-Invasive Prenatal Testing Labs, and private labs looking to reorganize or develop a commercial sales force. Not to mention co-founding a new patient access service called Iggbo (an Uber like blood drawing service). All along he knew his next stop would be with a company that was innovative, service related, and had the opportunity to make a difference in people’s health.
Dr. Kendal Stewart is one of the founders and serves as the Medical Director for GX Sciences. He’s also a member of the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine. In addition, he founded and serves as Chairman for the Neurosensory Centers of America. Dr. Stewart graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a BA in Biology with Honors as well as a minor in Chemistry. He graduated with a Medical Doctorate from the University of Texas Medical School, where he also received a Distinguished Student of Clinical Medicine Award for the class of 1988. He served as a biomedical research assistant under Takahashi Yamora, PhD, in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at MD Anderson Cancer Institute. There, he researched biochemical analysis of surface protein markers in colorectal cancers.
Dr. Stewart completed his residency at University of Texas Houston Affiliated Hospitals and MD Anderson Cancer Institute. During his residency, he received multiple awards, including the Outstanding Clinical Resident Teaching Award in 1993 and the Outstanding Resident Research Award & Scholarship from the Texas Medical Association/Texas Association of Otolaryngology in 1992. He was explicitly selected for a highly sought-after Fellowship in Otology and Neurotology – Skull Base Surgery at Baylor University Center in Dallas. During this time, he also served as a Clinical Adjunctive Professor.
Dr. Kendal Stewart is a Board-Certified Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery specialist and has sub-specialty training in Otology and Neurotology – Skull Base Surgery. He served as a Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Texas Medical School at San Antonio’s Department of Otolaryngology from 1994 to 1996. He’s been tapped to speak at national conferences over 40 times as a result of his expertise. Additionally, Dr. Stewart has volunteered his time for numerous academic pursuits, including assisting in designing Masters and Doctorate candidate projects for the University of Texas Department of Kinesiology, Psychology, and Speech and Language Development, as well as assembling a patient database for these efforts. He has also participated in two doctoral candidate review boards at the University of Texas.
Dr. Stewart’s medical practice in Austin, Texas is highly sought after by patients from across the globe. Providers worldwide come to his clinic to train with Dr. Stewart and learn his protocols. He also has a successful radio show with his sister, Kara Stewart-Mullens of Neurobiologix, called “Coffee With Dr. Stewart”. With an extremely busy practice and overseeing the development of nutritional formulas and genetic testing for GX Sciences, Dr. Stewart still makes time for his family of four children and wife of 15+ years. Dr. Stewart’s family and faith in God is what he says is essential to his success.
Dr. Jim W. Jacobson has over 30 years of experience in research, development, and commercialization of research and medical products and services. He previously served as Laboratory Director for SpectraCell Laboratories, PHDx Inc., and Biophysical Corporation – high-complexity, CLIA-accredited laboratories – in Austin and Houston, Texas. He was at Luminex Corporation in Austin for ten years in a variety of positions including Chief Scientific Officer, where he founded and chaired the Luminex Scientific Advisory Board, directed external research collaborations with key academic and industry thought leaders, established an external content licensing program, and directed strategic initiatives in personalized medicine and biomarker development. Dr. Jacobson is an inventor on five patents and is the author of publications in genetics, molecular biology, medical devices, and laboratory science.
Dr. Jacobson has a Ph.D. in Population Biology (Genetics) from Washington University in Saint Louis and completed postdoctoral training at North Carolina State University and Duke University. He was also a faculty member in the Department of Biology at the University of Houston.
Mary Beth Sykes is the Director of Operations for GX Sciences where she manages daily operations of the clinical laboratory, such as overseeing quality standards and regulatory compliance. She began her career in the area of molecular genetics in 2014 after graduating from the University of Texas at MD Anderson School of Health Professions.
Her previous experience includes managing a molecular genetics laboratory which focused on commonly inherited autosomal recessive disease and molecular-based infectious disease testing. At GX Sciences, Mary Beth helps implement rigorous quality control standards, develop procedures and policies, validate new assays and instruments, and assist in the design of a custom Laboratory Information System.
Piper Gibson is a Doctor of Advanced Holistic Nutrition and is a Board-Certified Doctor of Natural Medicine specializing in children’s neurodevelopmental disorders. Additionally, she serves as the Director of Advanced Holistic Nutrition and Nutrigenomics Rockwell School of Holistic Medicine, where she is an assistant instructor. She is an expert in Nutrigenomics and is eager to step into the role of Corporate Educator for GX Sciences.
Nine years ago, Piper’s son was diagnosed with a neurological tic, and after trying many approaches, nothing seemed to be working. By chance, she found Dr. Kendall Stewart, one of GX Sciences founders, who was instrumental in using Nutrigenomics to ease her sons’ symptoms. Since then, he has been symptom-free and healthier than ever. Over the last three years, Piper has incorporated GX testing into her practice, and it has become her passion for educating others on the powerful life-changing impact of Nutrigenomics. Piper works one-on-one with practitioners to interpret genetic reports and explain ways on how to best implement the testing GX Sciences offers. Her credentials and experience are a perfect fit to bring an extensive education platform to our practitioners. She is excited to work with GX Sciences and its providers to support them in their approach to enhancing patient outcomes.
Jaclyn Parrish has over 15 years of sales and account management experience across a diverse sector of fields with the most recent focus in functional medicine and integrative healthcare. Jaclyn graduated from the University of Georgia with a degree in Journalism (Public Relations) with Dean’s list honors. She is a Certified Functional Medicine Nutrition Coach through the Functional Medicine Coaching Academy accredited within the Institute of Functional Medicine. Jaclyn has always had a passion for nutrition and helping others and decided to make a career switch in 2019 to pursue a profession in holistic healthcare. Over the past few years, she has helped wellness companies grow their revenue through business development, sales management, and strategic account management. Jaclyn is focused on helping functional medicine practitioners and integrative specialists with providing the most innovative nutrigenomic and pharmacogenomic testing solutions to their patients to assist them with overcoming their genetic weakness. She carries a vast knowledge of functional medicine practices, nutraceutical products, and lifestyle medicine.