who we are:
The Vdex Medical Advisory Board is specifically constructed to supply necessary medical expertise and guidance to the company. These impressive physicians not only bring strong backgrounds in diverse areas of medicine, but they also are “big picture” thinkers who don’t lose sight of the ultimate goal: to dramatically improve the care of people with diabetes. They are collaborative, and offer invaluable insight to help Vdex develop its services to the highest possible level.
Medical Advisory Board
Charles W. Long, MD
Dr. Long is a physician executive with extensive medical management and evidence-based practice experience within a multi-state hospital system. As a practicing anesthesiologist since 1988, Dr. Long has vast experience with diabetes patients in the pre, and peri-operative period, managing out-of-control Type 1 & 2 patients using insulin and other medications.
A 1980, Magna Cum Laude graduate from the University of Georgia with a degree in philosophy, Dr. Long went on to medical school at Medical College of Georgia graduating with his MD in 1984. From there he completed an internship and residency in anesthesiology at Weill Cornell Medical College, New York-Presbyterian Hospital and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.
Dr. Long has served as the Chief Medical Officer of Vdex since its founding and was the lead developer of the Vdex treatment protocols. He has a deep, personal interest in diabetes as his father died from the disease, and his Type 1 diabetic son is now well-controlled on the Vdex Protocol.
Dr. Long has traveled extensively and lived in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia for 2 years in the 1970s where he worked as a medical photographer at the King Faisal Specialist Hospital. He has a great respect and love for the people of the Arabian Peninsula.
Robert Huizenga, MD
Dr. Huizenga, M.D., practices Internal Medicine, with a focus on Fitness and Sports Medicine. In addition to his medical practice, Dr. H is a media personality having served as a medical expert and advisor on numerous television shows, most recently, The Biggest Loser. He was also the team physician for the Los Angeles Raiders for their eight-year stay in Los Angeles. He has made multiple appearances on reality television shows, and is the author of several books including one that was partial inspiration for Oliver Stone’s film Any Given Sunday.
Dr. Huizenga, an outstanding athlete himself, grew up in Rochester, New York and attended the University of Michigan followed by Harvard Medical School. He then relocated to Los Angeles where he did his residency at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. He also did a pulmonary fellowship before entering private practice.
His personal and professional interests in fitness and medicine, along with his experience with obesity on The Biggest Loser, naturally drew him to diabetes. Together with his diverse background, he brings a fresh perspective to the treatment of the disease. He’s not bound by convention for convention sake, but rather lets data be his guide. He is by nature, a scientist.
Through his association with Vdex in his own office in Beverly Hills, California, Dr. Huizenga has helped refine the Vdex treatment protocols. The result is better care for patients and greater patient compliance with therapy.
Paul S. McCullough, MD
Dr. McCullough is a life-long resident of the Pacific Norwest. Born in Tacoma, Washington, he attended college at Seattle University receiving his BS in Pre-Medical Studies in 1955. He studied medicine at Creighton University receiving an M.D. in 1959. He chose an Orthopedic Surgery residency through the Southwestern Branch of The University of Texas Hospitals and Clinics, including Parkland Hospital, Baylor University Medical Center (Dallas) and Texas Scottish Rite Hospital. Following that, he entered private practice in Orthopedic Surgery in Bremerton, Washington. He retired in the year 2000.
Dr. McCullough assisted in the initial product analysis, and the development of the Vdex Diabetes model of care, including the development of the Vdex treatment protocols. He provides ongoing assistance and consultation to Vdex management.
Boating, fishing, hiking are all interests of Dr. McCullough. He possesses a fertile and curious mind that generates “outside of the box” thinking that is so valuable to any endeavor.
Peter Waldstein, MD
As a third generation physician and a most distinguished pediatrician for the past 35 years, Dr. Waldstein has touched the lives of countless children and families. He is highly renowned for his professional expertise and for his long commitment to improving the quality of life for young people. Dr. Waldstein has been on staff at Cedars- Sinai Medical Center for 40 years. He is an Associate Professor at the UCLA School of Medicine. He loves to play golf and supports charities like Pediatric AIDS-Elizabeth Glaser, Safe Kids, American Red Cross, and Tower Cancer Research Center.
Diabetes presents unique challenges to children and Dr. Waldstein understands these profoundly. While most children with diabetes are Type 1, Dr. Waldstein sees the looming epidemic of Type 2 in the increasing rate of obesity among the youth of his practice. This insight is invaluable to Vdex. As the company develops, it intends to focus on earlier intervention in diabetes.
Patrick Moore, MD
Dr. Patrick Moore’s medical career began with a premedical undergraduate education at the University of Notre Dame. In 1990 he received his medical degree from the Medical College of Virginia. After a residency in General Surgery, he pursued Advanced Fellowship training in the surgical management of cancer and diseases of the colon and rectum.
Today Dr. Moore is Board Certified in General Surgery and Colon & Rectal Surgery, but he also performs numerous general surgery procedures including surgery on the gallbladder, stomach and spleen as well as hernia repair. Using the latest DaVinci Robotic Surgery Techniques, he offers many surgeries without visible scarring.
Dr. Moore brings a surgical perspective on the management of diabetes to Vdex. While many patients with diabetes can be left in an out of control state on a day-to-day basis, this is not the case with surgical patients. Elevated blood sugar in the peri-operative period is associated with much less successful surgical outcomes. Diabetic surgical patients have higher infection rates and compromised healing, to name the most obvious issues.
Dr. Moore lives in Temecula, California with his wife, 3 children and yellow lab, Gunner. In his spare time he enjoys exercising and spending time with his family.
Kristen Davis, PA-C
Kristen Davis is a certified Physician Assistant with more than a decade of experience in medicine. Her educational background includes a dual Master of Public Health and Master of Health Sciences/Physician Assistant program at the George Washington University in Washington D.C. She is a member of the AAPA, the national professional society for PAs.
Over a ten-year period as a surgical physician assistant, Kristen recognized an exponential increase in the number of patients diagnosed with diabetes. More importantly, she witnessed the far-reaching and often overlooked effects that diabetes had on an individual undergoing surgery, including delayed recovery periods, increased post-operative infections, and in many cases, postponement or cancellation of critical surgeries as a result of uncontrolled diabetes.
Kristen stepped out of the operating room to find a place where she could contribute to treating and educating people with diabetes after learning that several of her friends and family members had been diagnosed. Upon discovering Vdex, Kristen knew it was a perfect match, encompassing her desire to provide a better understanding of diabetes to patients and to offer a definitively better choice for managing their condition.
Kristen lives in Topanga Canyon with her husband and two young sons where she spends as much time as possible hiking and trail running in the Santa Monica mountains, except in the summer when the rattle snakes force her to run the hilly roads in her neighborhood.
James A. McCullough, MD
Dr. McCullough is a Renaissance man who happens to practice medicine. His specialty is anesthesiology which he has practiced in Edmonds, Washington since 1997.
He attended Seattle University obtaining a BA in Humanities in 1982 and a BS in General Sciences in 1984, both summa cum laude. Four years later, he received his MD from University of Washington School of Medicine. He has worked as an emergency physician in Troy, NC and a clinical instructor of anesthesiology at Oregon Health Sciences University before entering private practice in anesthesiology.
Dr. McCullough, the brother to Vdex Founder, William McCullough, has been a constant source of advice and guidance on medical matters generally and diabetes specifically, in the early days and pre-formation days of Vdex. Along with Dr. Long and the elder Dr. McCullough, he helped present a realistic view of the deficiencies of diabetes care as then currently practiced, and the need for the Vdex model.
The father of four grown children, Dr. McCullough now has more time to indulge in his hobbies of downhill skiing, backpacking, astronomy, hang gliding, gardening and sailing… As we said, a Renaissance man.
Courtney Mizuhara-Cheng, DO
Dr. Cheng is an American Board Certified Family Medicine Physician practicing in California. She currently serves as active medical staff at Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Hospital and Providence Saint John’s Health Center, as well as clinical faculty at Western University of Health Sciences.
Dr. Cheng received her BS in Biochemistry from the University of California, Los Angeles, followed by her DO and MS in Health Sciences as an Osteopathic Teaching Fellow from Western University of Health Sciences and complete residency through a UCLA-affiliated residency program. Dr. Cheng has years of training and has been a professional affiliate of The American Board of Family Medicine, The American Academy of Family Physicians, The American Medical Association, The American Osteopathic Association, The Cranial Academy, and The American Academy of Medical Acupuncture.
Dr. Cheng first associated with Vdex in its preclinical, assessment period as it was developing the Vdex business model. Her assistance and guidance literally resulted in Vdex opening its first facility in Canoga Park, California.