Workouts & Activities

Justin Laube, MD, is a board-certified integrative and internal medicine physician, a teacher, and a consultant with extensive expertise in integrative health, medical education, and trauma healing.

He graduated with a bachelor's in biology from the University of Wisconsin and a medical degree from the University of Minnesota Medical School. During medical school, he completed a graduate certificate in integrative therapies and healing practices through the Earl E. Bakken Center for Spirituality & Healing. He completed his three-year residency training in internal medicine at the University of California in Los Angeles on the primary care track and a two-year fellowship in integrative East-West primary care at the UCLA Health Center for East-West Medicine.

He is currently taking a multiyear personal and professional sabbatical to explore the relationship between childhood trauma, disease, and the processes of healing. He is developing a clinical practice for patients with complex trauma, as well as for others going through significant life transitions. He is working on a book distilling the insights from his sabbatical, teaching, and leading retreats on trauma, integrative health, mindfulness, and well-being for health professionals, students, and the community.

Previously, Dr. Laube was an assistant clinical professor at the UCLA Health Center for East-West Medicine and the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, where he provided primary care and integrative East-West medical consultations. As part of the faculty, he completed a medical education fellowship and received a certificate in innovation in curriculum design and evaluation. He was the fellowship director at the Center for East-West Medicine and led courses for physician fellows, residents, and medical students.

Kara Andrew, RDN, LDN, is the director of health promotion for Memorial Hospital in Carthage, Illinois. She is also licensed as an exercise physiologist and certified in lifestyle medicine by the American College of Lifestyle Medicine. Her experience includes corporate wellness, teaching for the American College of Sports Medicine, sports nutrition, weight management, integrative medicine, oncology support, and dialysis.

She earned her master's in exercise and nutrition science at Lipscomb University.

Andrew has served as a president and board member of the Nashville Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. She was recently elected a co-chair of the fitness and medicine group in the American College of Lifestyle Medicine.

Allison Buttarazzi, MD, is board-certified in internal medicine and lifestyle medicine, and is a certified health and well-being coach. In her primary care practice, Dr. Buttarazzi focuses on lifestyle medicine to help her patients improve their health and longevity, and her passion is helping patients prevent and reverse chronic diseases (like heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes) by improving their lifestyle habits.

She is a graduate of Tufts University School of Medicine and completed a residency at Maine Medical Center. Diagnosed with celiac disease during medical school, she realized the power of improving one's health through diet and lifestyle habits, which she later incorporated into her practice.

Lynn Grieger is a registered dietitian-nutritionist, certified diabetes care and education specialist, certified personal trainer, and certified health and wellness coach. She completed requirements to become a registered dietitian at Valparaiso University in 1987 and completed a dietetic internship at Ingalls Memorial Hospital in Harvey, Illinois, in 1988. 

Lynn brings her expertise in nutrition, exercise, and behavior change to her work in helping people reach their individual health and fitness goals. In addition to writing for Everyday Health, she has also written for websites and publications like Food and Health Communications, Today's Dietitian, iVillage.com, and Rodale Press. She has a passion for healthy, nutrient-dense, great-tasting food and for being outdoors as much as possible — she can often be found running or hiking, and has completed a marathon in every state.

Jennifer Payne, MD, is a physician at Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health.

She earned her bachelor's from the University of St. Thomas, majoring in biochemistry and minoring in theology. She was the first service learning assistant for the service learning program and did extensive volunteer work with Open Arms of Minnesota during this time, including building a library on multiple sclerosis information. She obtained her MD from the Georgetown University School of Medicine, where she was part of the first class to run the Hoya Clinic for people without housing. She also completed an elective in medical writing and editing, working with American Family Physician magazine. Dr. Payne completed her residency in family medicine at Lancaster General Hospital and a primary care sports medicine fellowship at Wellspan Health in York, Pennsylvania. 

She has served on the board of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Chapter of the American College of Sports Medicine and assisted in obtaining speakers and clinical case studies for the physician portion of the conference.

She enjoys reading, all sports (particularly Olympic weightlifting), walking her dog, and spending time with her husband, sons, and their extended family.

Michael Cutler, DO, PhD, is a cardiac electrophysiologist at Intermountain Heart Rhythm Specialists in Salt Lake City, Utah. His research interests include understanding the cellular and molecular mechanisms of cardiac arrhythmia, gene therapy for cardiac arrhythmias, neural control of the circulation in sleep apnea, role of exercise in health and disease, and improving the management of cardiac arrhythmias (i.e., atrial fibrillation).

He completed his BS and MS in exercise physiology and was a member of the track/cross country team at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. Prior to attending medical school, Dr. Cutler was an adjunct clinical instructor in the College of Health at the University of Utah and also served on the Utah Governor’s Council on Health and Physical Fitness. He then attended the University of North Texas Health Science Center in Fort Worth for medical school and for his PhD in cardiovascular physiology.

After medical school, Cutler entered the highly selective ABIM Research Pathway physician-scientist training program at the MetroHealth Campus of Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. During this time, he completed his clinical training in internal medicine, cardiology and clinical cardiac electrophysiology, served as chief cardiology fellow, and received the Kenneth M. Rosen Fellowship in cardiac pacing and electrophysiology from the Heart Rhythm Society. Following residency and fellowship, Cutler accepted a position as an assistant professor of medicine at the MetroHealth Campus of Case Western Reserve University until he joined his current partners at Intermountain Heart Rhythm Specialists.

Cutler's research has received meritorious recognition from the American Physiological Society, the American Heart Association, and the Heart Rhythm Society.

Cutler has been an author on publications in journals such as Circulation, Circulation Research, Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, and Nature. He is board certified in internal medicine, cardiovascular disease, and clinical cardiac electrophysiology through the American Board of Internal Medicine.

Scott Haak, PT, DPT, has been a member of the Mayo Clinic staff since 2000. Dr. Haak serves as faculty for the Sports Medicine Fellowship program at Mayo Clinic Florida. He is certified by the NSCA (National Strength and Conditioning Association) as a CSCS (Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist), is a Certified USA Weightlifting Coach and Certified USA Football Coach, and possesses a MTC (Manual Therapy Certification) from the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences.

Haak is an exercise enthusiast and enjoys running, weightlifting, and sports performance training. He is the president and director of coaching of a youth tackle football organization, JDL Providence Football, and currently coaches high school football and weight lifting.

Grant Chu, MD, is an assistant clinical professor at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. Dr. Chu is also the associate director of education at the UCLA Center for East-West Medicine, using technology to further medical education.

He is board-certified in internal medicine by the American Board of Internal Medicine and is a diplomate of the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine.

He received a bachelor's degree in neuroscience from Brown University, where he also earned his medical degree. He has a master's in acupuncture and oriental medicine from South Baylo University and a master's in business administration from the University of Illinois. He completed his residency in internal medicine at the University of California in Los Angeles and a fellowship at the Center for East-West Medicine at UCLA.

He has held academic appointments at the University of California in Irvine and the University of Queensland in Australia.

Alonzo Sexton, MD, is a board certified orthopedic surgeon in Atlanta specializing in sports medicine who has been in clinical practice since 2006. The president and founder of ATL Orthopedics, a private orthopedic practice that focuses on representative care and new technology, Dr. Sexton specializes in the treatment of sports injuries at the professional, collegiate, and amateur levels and has particular expertise in shoulder and knee surgical treatment. He also currently serves as CEO and founder of nCight, a service that uses blockchain technology to unlock patient and physician data assets to support the activities of private, independent physicians.

Prior to his current roles, Sexton practiced at Northside Hospital in Atlanta from 2018 to 2021, where he established a new sports medicine service line for the hospital. From 2006 to 2018, he worked at the Athens Orthopedic Clinic in Georgia where, as a member of the board of directors, he was instrumental in the expansion and governance of the practice. His particular niche during this time was in evaluation and decision-making regarding the implementation of new technologies, specifically creating a risk-benefit profile of electronic medical record systems, data management systems, automated kiosks, and virtual scribe systems, to name a few. He is considered a health IT thought leader and has a deep understanding of blockchain technology, having lectured extensively on the topic and currently serving on the board of directors for Patientory, a company focused on health record interoperability via blockchain.

Along with his medical and health IT expertise, Sexton’s additional talents lie in his ability to synthesize complex technical topics into segments that can be understood by a broad audience. His medical experiences within both the world of private practice and a large healthcare system have provided him with the proper perspective to make recommendations that consider the nuanced challenges of these separate yet connected worlds. He has deep expertise in clinical practice management and culture, as well as an understanding of the motivations of private practice organization in regards to the changing healthcare landscape.

Sexton has served on the board of directors of Extra Special People and Camp Hooray in Georgia, nonprofits that work with families of children with disabilities to provide support and opportunities for the children to have experiences similar to their differently abled peers. He also served as president of his chapter of the Sigma Pi Phi fraternity, during which time he was responsible for developing an award-winning mentoring program for young African American males that focused on identifying, celebrating, and rewarding excellence.

Sexton received a bachelor's degree in human biology from Stanford University and an MD from Emory University. He served as team physician for the University of Georgia from 2006 to 2017 and for Georgia State University from 2019 to 2021. In 2021, he was selected as a fellow for the Herndon Directors Institute, which seeks solutions for the inclusion of minorities and women in corporate leadership, and is currently participating in their board preparedness program.

Sexton has been married for more than 20 years and has two children. He is an experienced traveler, having visited over 30 countries, and enjoys golf and skiing in his spare time.

Reyna Franco, RDN, is a New York City–based dietitian-nutritionist, certified specialist in sports dietetics, and certified personal trainer. She is a diplomate of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine and has a master's degree in nutrition and exercise physiology from Columbia University.

In her private practice, she provides medical nutrition therapy for weight management, sports nutrition, diabetes, cardiac disease, renal disease, gastrointestinal disorders, cancer, food allergies, eating disorders, and childhood nutrition. To serve her diverse patients, she demonstrates cultural sensitivity and knowledge of customary food practices. She applies the tenets of lifestyle medicine to reduce the risk of chronic disease and improve health outcomes for her patients.

Franco is also a corporate wellness consultant who conducts wellness counseling and seminars for organizations of every size. She taught sports nutrition to medical students at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, taught life cycle nutrition and nutrition counseling to undergraduate students at LaGuardia Community College, and precepts nutrition students and interns. She created the sports nutrition rotation for the New York Distance Dietetic Internship program.

She is the chair of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine's Registered Dietitian-Nutritionist Member Interest Group. She is also the treasurer and secretary of the New York State Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, having previously served in many other leadership roles for the organization, including as past president, awards committee chair, and grant committee chair, among others. She is active in the local Greater New York Dietetic Association and Long Island Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, too.

Kara Smythe, MD, has been working in sexual and reproductive health for over 10 years. Dr. Smythe is a board-certified fellow of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, and her interests include improving maternal health, ensuring access to contraception, and promoting sexual health.

She graduated magna cum laude from Florida International University with a bachelor's degree in biology and earned her medical degree from St. George’s University in Grenada. She completed her residency in obstetrics and gynecology at the SUNY Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York. She worked in Maine for six years, where she had the privilege of caring for an underserved population.

Smythe is also passionate about the ways that public health policies shape individual health outcomes. She has a master’s degree in population health from University College London and recently completed a social science research methods master's degree at Cardiff University. She is currently working on her PhD in medical sociology. Her research examines people's experiences of accessing, using, and discontinuing long-acting reversible contraception.

When she’s not working, Smythe enjoys dancing, photography, and spending time with her family and her cat, Finnegan.