COVID Summit 2021

Navigating the New Normal: COVID and Autoimmunity Summit

We gathered the minds of experts in the COVID long haul and autoimmunity space to share information, insight, and collaboration on the evolution of COVID-19 and how it presents as Post Acute Sequelae of COVID (PASC). Learn from this group of innovative experts about how they have pioneered in rehabilitating those suffering from this new chronic condition.

Check out the recordings from this knowledge-packed summit led by world-renowned speakers to dig into the details of:

What we know about PASC
How we can approach the symptoms of COVID long haul
More insight into how healthcare professionals dealt with COVID and virtual medicine
Emotional and Mental health concerns as it relates to COVID
and more!

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Welcome to the Navigating The New Normal: COVID and Autoimmunity Summit

Listen to Mymee Founder Mette Dyhrberg describes how the COVID and Autoimmunity Summit came to be and what to expect in the events to come over the course of the talks.

About Mette Dyhrberg
Mette Dyhrberg is a digital health innovator committed to improving the quality of life for those with chronic disease. She is the founder and CEO of Mymee, a digital program that is rethinking autoimmunity. The Mymee protocol eases the symptoms of autoimmune disease through data analytics and health coaching. As an authority on autoimmune issues, Mette is a frequent speaker at industry events and conferences such as Stanford Medicine X and Exponential Medicine. Mette holds an MS in economics and is a certified health coach. An economist turned diagnostician, she’s the Sherlock Holmes of anamnestic data. She first entered the functional medicine arena in an attempt to tackle her own chronic health issues. In her early twenties, she became severely ill. For years, Mette battled an ever-expanding array of medical diagnoses ending up with six different autoimmune diseases simultaneously. Mette took matters into her own hands, hacked her own health and in doing so, she created a tool that solved her health problems and soon began helping others do the same.

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COVID Long Haul and Chronic Fatigue:
Understanding the Disease Dynamics

The emergence of the Post COVID Syndrome as a major clinical entity in search of a pathophysiological explanation has resulted in a number of proposed explanations. There is a connection among these proposed mechanisms and what has been learned the past thirty years concerning the pathophysiology of chronic fatigue syndrome. This presentation will review the present literature describing the etiopathology of Post COVID Syndrome and its relationship to immune disorders found in chronic fatigue syndrome. This approach will be applied to the development of a personalized patient management program for the integrated management of Post COVID Syndrome.

About Jeffrey Bland
Dr. Jeffrey Bland is a personable and highly respected thought leader who has spent more than five decades focused on the improvement of human health. He is known worldwide as the founder of the Functional Medicine movement, which represents his vision for a care model that is grounded in systems biology and informed by research that he has a unique ability to synthesize. His pioneering work has created the Personalized Lifestyle Medicine Institute, as well as the Institute for Functional Medicine, the global leader in Functional Medicine education. He is the author of best-selling books and over 120 peer-reviewed research publications. Dr. Bland’s latest project is Big Bold Health, a mission to transform the way people think about the immune system. Through Big Bold Health, Dr. Bland is advocating for the power of immuno-rejuvenation to enhance immunity at a global level. It’s an ambitious and purpose-driven effort that encompasses his active stance on regenerative agriculture, environmental stewardship, and planetary health.

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Interview: The Role of Empathic Communication in Healing

Curing and healing are vital concepts when dealing with any illness but especially with poorly understood ones. The role of provider listening and communication skills, empathy warmth and professionalism are vital aspects to patient outcomes. The basis for these affects are now becoming clearer and do not rely on mere trickery but engage biologic systems in our brain and immune systems which have clinical effects.

Some have referred to this as biologic effects of the placebo response but we and others choose to call it the meaning response whereby patients are engaged to alter their mind set regarding their condition and biologically enhance their capacity to change.

About Leonard Calabrese, DO
Leonard Calabrese is a Professor of Medicine, Vice-Chair of the Cleveland Clinic’s Department of Rheumatic and Immunologic Diseases, and the Co-director of the Centre for Vasculitis Care and Research. He also serves as Director of the RJ Fasenmyer Centre for Clinical Immunology at the Cleveland Clinic. He also holds appointments in the Department of Infectious Diseases and the Wellness Institute. He has particular clinical and research interests in vascular inflammatory disease of the central nervous system, primary and secondary immunodeficiency states, and the intersection of infections and autoimmunity. He serves as the editor of Healio Rheumatology and for over the past 20 years has developed innovative programs to teach basic, clinical, and translational immunology to care providers of patients with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases. Over the course of his academic research career, Professor Calabrese has authored over 400 publications including book chapters and peer-reviewed journal articles.

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KEYNOTE: COVID, Depression and the Immune System

The unprecedented spread of SARS-CoV-2 has created a global emphasis on the immune system and its role in COVID-19 disease risk, outcomes and therapeutics. But we also understand that immunological alterations and perturbations have ripple effects far beyond infectious diseases. In particular, research highlights the overlap between mental health and immunological activation.

How does COVID-19 provide a lens through which to better understand depression and immune-based therapeutics?
What might the non-infectious effects of the virus represent as it relates to our mental health?
How could lifestyle changes help to offset this risk?

In this talk, we’ll explore the history of the immune-mood interface, the relevance of COVID-19 in this discussion, and potential next steps to integrate this information into therapeutic strategies.

About Austin Perlmutter, MD
Austin Perlmutter is a board-certified internal medicine physician, New York Times bestselling author, educator, and consultant. He received his medical degree from the University of Miami and completed his internal medicine residency at Oregon Health and Science University in Portland Oregon.His focus is on helping identify and resolve the biological basis for "stuckness" in the body and brain, especially around decision-making. He hosts the Get The STUCK OUT podcast and is a co-producer of the Alzheimer's, the Science of Prevention Docu-series. His writing is featured online on MedPage Today, Doximity, KevinMD, Medium, Psychology Today, MindBodyGreen, and DrPerlmutter.com, and his work connecting COVID-19 with immune-related depression appears in the peer-reviewed scientific literature.

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Create & Manage A Successful and Impactful Virtual Practice

You'll learn how to efficiently and successfully create a solid foundation to deliver care to patients via digital platforms, in a way that you enjoy and is accessible. We'll share exact steps to use technology, how to manage post appointment support and ways to leverage your practice to maintain its current level or to grow.You'll also learn how to articulately answer difficult questions from patients, if out of scope, so you feel confident to support them or refer them to other practitioners. And how to manage your time, ease any overwhelm and not let your own stress or self-doubt get in the way!

About Robert Notter, Certified IHWC
Robert Notter left his corporate career to follow his passion to make a difference in the lives of others. He started as a Health Coach and learned first hand how to grow a successful practice working from his home office in New York City. He quickly realized that many of his coaching colleagues were struggling to find the confidence and strategies to be successful, so he founded his Marketing & Mindset Coaching Practice. For the past 15 years, he has helped coaches and wellness practitioners understand exactly how to grow their income and know which steps to take, and when, to find clients and make a difference in the world. Robert has also taught and consulted for many organizations, including the Institute for Integrative Nutrition where he created and led the Marketing Education and Immersion Graduate Programs for 9 years. He currently teaches the Marketing Jumpstart Course for the School of Applied Functional Medicine. He’s also worked with the Swedish Massage Institute, the Maryland University of Integrative Health, Lincoln Center and the New York Open Center (among others)

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Recovery and Pulmonary Health

Join Monisha for a hybrid-style live class. We'll spend the first 10-15 minutes on Yogic Science and healing techniques, and her experience with COVID. Followed by a 30-40 min restorative class for the pulmonary system.

About Monisha Raja
Born and raised in India, Monisha Raja began her yoga practice at the age of five and has been teaching for over 20 years. After contracting COVID and recovering through the practice of Yoga, she now teaches COVID patients and students, to strengthen and maintain a healthy Pulmonary and Immune system with Yoga for COVID. Monisha lives in New York City and is the founder of LOVE IS MIGHTY, a cruelty-free fashion brand deeply rooted in the yogic principle of Ahimsa (non-harming).

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Through the Looking Glass: Key Practitioner Learnings from the Mirror of COVID

Many passionate and intelligent minds are diligently focused on characterizing and treating various post-COVID syndromes. We must also ensure that we focus on establishing a post-COVID strategy in order to minimize the incidence of debilitating disease and death in the face of future viral threats. Viruses are ubiquitous. Virology experts predict future coronavirus challenges in the not too distant future, and SARS-CoV2 may be with us for a long time. This recent pandemic has made very clear the distinction between viral infection and viral disease, and we well understand the specific, underlying disease dynamics that predispose an individual for the latter. Our healthcare "new normal" must include proactively assessing and reversing the early stages of these disease dynamics before they become severe enough to be diagnosable. Practical application of the science of functional medicine can help practitioners to customize a plan to establish resilient functional balances in our physiology. It is a fool's errand to attempt to control the nature world. But we can position ourselves with an optimal terrain that helps us to experience it with synergy and thriving.

About Tracy Harrison
Tracy Harrison is deeply passionate about transforming healthcare with the powerful combination of functional medicine and savvy clinical partnership. A scientist who left the high-tech corporate world in 2007, Tracy built a wildly successful, multi-modality practice utilizing functional medicine principles, and in 2011, she founded The School of Applied Functional Medicine™. SAFM is well-respected for its scientific rigor as an accredited continuing education program rooted in both the science and practical application of functional medicine. The school’s tribe of diverse healthcare practitioners represents 20 different clinical modalities from 70 countries around the world. Tracy is a beloved educator and prized mentor in the field. A scientist and systems engineer at heart, Tracy holds three degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and further graduate education from Bridgeport University and The Institute for Functional Medicine. She has a certification in health coaching from the Institute of Integrative Nutrition.

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PANEL: Navigating Long COVID Recovery

Join us for an in-depth live conversation with a few COVID long haulers and their road back to recovery. We will speak on topics such as:

Self-advocacy and education
Self-care
Symptom tracking
Talking to your doctor
Preparing for your appointment

About Delainne Bond, BSN, RN
Founder of the COVID Care Group, Delainne Bond, BSN, RN, has a broad spectrum of clinical experience including acute and critical care in the hospital setting, occupational medicine, community health. On a national scale, her experience includes risk management, catastrophic case management, mass casualty Incident response, critical incident management, and provider network development. Since the event of the pandemic, Delainne has devoted her clinical expertise to researching Long COVID, offering education and resources on a worldwide scale. Followers and collaborators include physicians, nurses and business leaders around the world.
About covidCAREgroup
CCG has established a truly affordable provider access plan with COVID knowledgeable Emergency Providers for group members. We will be adding behavioral health access as of 9/1/2021 as well. We are also conducting research and we have joined efforts with entities such as the University of Sydney in Australia; King’s College London, University College London, Guy’s Hospital and King’s College Hospital in the UK; the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland; and others.
We are collaborating with true pioneers forging the way through the chaos created by the pandemic, and groups such MYMEE and Resolve to Save Lives, founded by former CDC Director, Dr. Tom Frieden, in their global public health initiatives to save lives. We are seeking domestic and international partners with offerings that support our super segment of Long Haulers in their recovery and finding their new life balance. We are interested in learning more about your services to understand whether they might be a good fit with our mission and core values in helping our global Long COVID community recover from the pandemic. You are also invited to view our Facebook support community, COVID-19 Long Haulers Support, COVID-19 Nutrition for Recovery, CovidCareGroup (reddit) and LongCovid (reddit).

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SARS-CoV-2:
The Autoimmune Virus

Increasing evidence suggests a strong association between SARS-CoV-2 infection and autoimmunity. The reported inflammatory/autoimmune-related symptoms by patients, the appearance of circulating autoantibodies and the diagnosis of defined diverse autoimmune diseases in a subgroup of SARS-CoV-2-infected patients, indicate the critical and pivotal effect of SARS-CoV-2 virus on human immunity, and its capability to trigger autoimmune disorders, in genetically predisposed subjects.

About Aristo Vojdani
Aristo Vojdani, obtained his MSc and PhD in microbiology and clinical immunology from Bar-Ilan University, Israel, with postdoctoral studies in comparative immunology at UCLA and tumor immunology at Charles Drew/UCLA School of Medicine and Science. He is an Adjunct Associate Professor at Loma Linda University in California, and an Adjunct Professor at the Lincoln College of Professional, Graduate and Continuing Education at the National University of Health Sciences. His ongoing research focuses on the role of environmental triggers in complex diseases, and he has developed more than 300 antibody assays for the detection of autoimmune disorders and other diseases. He has 17 US patents, over 200 articles, and 2 books, "Neuroimmunity and the Brain-Gut Connection" and “Food-Associated Autoimmunities: When Food Breaks Your Immune System,” to his name. He is the CEO of Immunosciences Lab in Los Angeles, California, the Chief Scientific Advisor for Cyrex Labs in Phoenix, Arizona, and sits on the editorial board of 5 scientific journals. His many awards include the Herbert J. Rinkel Award (American Academy of Environmental Medicine), the Linus Pauling, PhD Award (American College for Advancement in Medicine), and the Personalized Lifestyle Medicine Institute Lifetime Achievement Award.

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Data Insights from our CLH Program - and How To Apply Them Moving Forward

Since July 2020, at the inquiry of Mt. Sinai Health Services, the Mymee coaching team hosted a population of COVID-19 patients who had not recovered from their initial viral infection. This talk will present the findings from Mymee's COVID long haul program to date, with special emphasis on demographic differences of Mymee COVID long haul clients compared to expected COVID-19 patients; as well as examining HRQoL outcomes and symptoms comparisons to autoimmune clients. Although we are not recovered from this pandemic, there is currently a call from the US government Office of Disease and Health Prevention to propose research ahead of future pandemics. In response, the Mymee team has created a public survey into pandemic preparedness seeking insights into population risk and behavior relationships, which will be expanded upon during this presentation.

About Millennia Lytle, ND, MPH
Dr. Millennia Lytle is a licensed naturopathic doctor, epidemiologist and nutrition specialist dedicated to preventing and reversing the epidemic of chronic disease. She earned her 4-year post grad ND from the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine and a Master's in Public Health (MPH) in Hamburg, Germany. She has appeared on several alternative medicine summits, podcasts and is a former radio host. Dr Lytle was central to Mymee's COVID long haul care delivery to Mt. Sinai referrals, and the real-world evidence that resulted from the collaboration. She presented these results at the Institute of Functional Medicine Annual International Conference in June.

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Clinical Care of Post-Acute COVID-19 Infection: Science and Lessons Learned So Far

Since late April of 2020, Dr Putrino's team has been managing the care of over a thousand patients with LongCOVID. In this presentation he will share his team's history of identifying LongCOVID as an emerging problem in their earliest patient population, their approach to management and the latest research in the LongCOVID space.

About David Putrino, PhD
David is a physical therapist with a PhD in Neuroscience. He studied computational neuroscience at Harvard Medical School, MIT and NYU. He is currently the Director of Rehabilitation Innovation for the Mount Sinai Health System, and an Associate Professor of Rehabilitation and Human Performance at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mt Sinai. He develops innovative solutions for individuals in need of better healthcare accessibility. He also works with high-performance partners such as Red Bull, the Brooklyn Nets NBA team, and the US Olympic team to use evidence-based technologies to improve athletic performance. He is the author of Hacking Health: How to make money and save lives in the HealthTech world. In 2019, he was named "Global Australian of the Year" for his contributions to healthcare.

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Viral Infections, Autoimmunity and Gut Microbiome

About Heather Zwickey, PhD
Heather Zwickey earned a Ph.D. in Immunology and Microbiology from theUniversity of Colorado Health Sciences Center with a focus on infectious disease and vaccine development. Dr. Zwickey went on to complete a postdoctoral fellowship and teach at Yale University School of Medicine where she worked on immunotherapy for cancer. Dr. Zwickey launched the Helfgott Research Institute and established the School of Graduate Studies at the National University of Natural Medicine. She currently co-leads an NIH-funded clinical research training program focused on training the next generation of integrative medicine researchers. She teaches at many universities and speaks at conferences worldwide. Dr. Zwickeyapplies her immunology expertise to natural medicine, with a specific interest in the gut-brain axis in neuroinflammation. Dr. Zwickey currently serves as the Director of Communication and Innovation at Thaena, Inc., a microbiome-focused company.

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Mymee Coach Roundtable: Health Coaching During the Pandemic

This webinar will cover trends in our Mymee client population, a challenging story or two and a few successes. We’ve pulled together some of our insights focusing on the nervous system and vagus nerve exercises, the myth of electrolytes and high histamine responses among our clients. We’ll also shed light on some of our findings regarding:

Veganism
Meal size and timing
Exercise intolerance
Sleep
Issues as a result of frequent medication usage

Jen and Kristen have been there since the beginning and will begin the webinar discussing the pandemonium in working with this new yet little understood health condition affecting so many. Haley, Laura and Chelsea joined the team a few months later to assist with the COVID long haulers entering the program, with the benefit of learning from the senior coaches that each case of COVID long haul is unique. They've gathered their own insights over time to share with you.

About Mymee Coaches
Mymee health coach investigators break the fourth wall on their understanding of chronic symptoms related to autoimmune disease. Each one of them was inspired to become a certified health and wellness coach in order to change their own autoimmune journey. Since working with Mymee, this group of coaches have participated in improving the lives of dozens of COVID long haulers and hundreds of autoimmune patients. They are excited to deliver the ups and downs of their time spent with COVID long haulers thus far.

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COVID Long Haul & Autoimmunity Summit: Key Takeaways

About Nicole Bundy, MD
Dr. Nicole Bundy is a board certified internist and rheumatologist and the Chief Medical Officer at Mymee. She earned her Medical Doctorate and Masters in Public Health from Yale University School of Medicine and The Yale School of Public Health, where she received distinction by being entered into Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society. She completed internship, residency, a chief resident year and rheumatology fellowship at Yale-New Haven Hospital. She had 10 years experience treating a wide variety of patients with rheumatologic diseases in both private practice and academic rheumatology settings before joining Mymee. Dr. Bundy went on to train in functional medicine through both the Institute for Functional Medicine and under the mentorship of Dr. Dan Kalish. She is also a certified yoga instructor and opened a yoga studio in her community - one dedicated to making the practice of yoga accessible to all ages and abilities. She is passionate about improving the lives of those with autoimmunity using a comprehensive approach that combines traditional treatments with diet and lifestyle medicine. In her role at Mymee, Dr. Bundy sets future clinical and research direction as well as supervising ongoing trials and staff. Her expertise allows her to provide oversight and contribute to the development of clinical protocols, inclusion/exclusion determinations, patient safety, and act as a medical expert and leader in external collaborations and trials.

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