Michael D. Gershon was born on March 3, 1938 in New York, NY.  Nothing in his early life prepared him for a scientific career.  Dr. Gershon’s father was a lawyer and an accountant, did tax law, and ran the Audit Unit of the New York City Board of Education.  His mother was a high school teacher who specialized in teaching stenography to children with special needs.  After a traumatic experience at a truly awful junior high school, Dr. Gershon was offered an opportunity to join an “honors” class in Biology in high school.  His qualifications appeared to be marginal but they needed one more student to fill the class and, although it seemed to the authorities that Dr. Gershon would be hard pressed to cope with the work, they were willing to let him try if he was willing to accept the challenge.  Dr. Gershon accepted that challenge and it set his career path for life.  The Biology teacher was gifted and the subject addicted Dr. Gershon; however, the promised difficulty of the work never materialized.  He “aced” that course; work is not work when it is fun.  Sinclair Lewis’ “Arrowsmith”, read the same year, convinced Dr. Gershon that biomedical research would be his life’s work and so it has been.

Dr. Gershon received his Bachelor’s degree with distinction from Cornell University in 1958.  He went on to complete his MD degree, also at Cornell, in 1963, having taken an extra year to gain a research experience.  That year set his field as Anatomy and Cell Biology.  It also enabled him the find the right woman, Dr. Anne Gershon, to whom he has been married ever since.  After graduation, Dr. Gershon, now the father of one son, omitted clinical training and went on to do post-doctoral work, first at Cornell, and then from 1965-6, in Pharmacology, at Oxford University.  Dr. Gershon returned from Oxford to the Department of Anatomy at Cornell, where between 1964 and 1975 he rose through the academic ranks to Professor.

In December of 1975, Dr. Gershon made the crosstown move from Cornell to Columbia University where he served as Professor and Chair of the Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology until 2006 when he stepped down as Chair, but continued his research and teaching as a Professor.  His old department was fused with the Department of Pathology and is now the Department of Pathology and Cell Biology.  From the time of his graduation to the present, the National Institutes of Health has supported Dr. Gershon, providing funding for his research and for a significant portion of his salary.  

Dr. Gershon has been called “the father of neurogastroenterology” for his explication of the ability of the enteric nervous system (ENS) to function without CNS input, the roles of serotonin in gut physiology, and for his pioneering work on ENS development.  Dr. Gershon’s major discoveries include serotonin’s actions as an ENS neurotransmitter.  Dr. Gershon was also the first to identify intraenteric primary afferent neurons that trigger peristaltic and secretory reflexes and to show that mucosal serotonin activates these neurons.  Dr. Gershon identified and characterized the gastrointestinal functions of many of the enteric receptors that respond to serotonin and he was the first to demonstrate that the serotonin transporter (SERT), which terminates mucosal and ENS serotonergic signaling, is present in enterocytes and serotonergic neurons. Dr. Gershon has also shown that mucosal serotonin is proinflammatory but that ENS serotonin is anti-inflammatory.  These observations have given rise to the concept that serotonin is “the sword and shield of the bowel” driving inflammation to protect the gut from microbial invasion while, at the same time, protecting enteric neurons from inflammatory damage.  Serotonin activates adult stem cells to give rise to new neurons and acts as a growth factor during fetal neurogenesis. Dr. Gershon discovered roles in ENS development of netrins, laminin, and many growth and transcription factors that help explain the pathogenesis of Hirschsprung’s disease and other ENS birth defects.  Drs. Michael and Anne Gershon have demonstrated that varicella zoster virus (VZV), the cause of chickenpox and shingles, infects, becomes latent, and reactivates in enteric neurons, both in an animal model and in the human gut.  These observations raise the possibility that “enteric zoster” occurs and could potentially give rise to a variety of gastrointestinal disorders, the pathogenesis of which is currently unexplained. 

Dr. Gershon has received several prominent honors.  A few of those highlights include serving as president of the Cajal Club in 1994, the Association of Chairs of Departments of Anatomy in 1986, and as president of AAA from 1995-1996.  The American Association for the Advancement of Science elected him as a fellow in 1999.  In 2000, Dr. Gershon was awarded the Henry Gray/Lippincott Williams Wilkins Scientific Achievement Award, AAA’s highest scientific honor.  He was elected as a Fellow of the AAA in 2007 and to membership in the American Clinical and Climatological Association in 2011.  Dr. Gershon’s work has been recognized and honored by the Collège de France, Mayo University, the American Physiological Association, and the American Gastroenterological Association.

Eric Violette has been embraced by Americans as that cute guy down on his luck in a series of Free Credit Report dot com TV commercials.

In October 2007, the TV commercials featured Eric Violette as a man struggling with difficult life circumstances due to his poor credit score, and his ignorance of it. The commercials feature jingles written using various distinctive forms of popular music. If you watch TV, you've probably seen them all the one with Eric at the Renaissance Fair, as a pirate in a restaurant, living in the basement with his girlfriend, or driving an old beat up compact car.

Violette was born June 12, 1981 in Montreal and attended the National Theatre School of Canada in 2002. The commercials prepared by David Muhlenfeld at the The Martin Agency began appearing in October 2007. Due to Violette's Canadian French accent, his voice has been dubbed in the United States. He earlier did a Sirius Satellite Radio commercial in French.

Nigel Kerner is an author and freelance journalist. He was born in Sri Lanka, his mother from a British planting family and his father an officer in the British Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm. This international family base provided the background for an obsessive and serious interest in international human affairs and how these interface with science, religion and philosophy.

He has felt driven, from his young years, to expose the humbug and hypocrisy in modern scientific and religious and social thinking. His formal graduate education is in biomedical science and human behavioural psychology.

His fascination with the puzzling and enigmatic phenomenon of UFOs resulted in his first book The Song of the Greys published by Hodder & Stoughton in 1997. This serious work on the subject is now noted world-wide for its radical view on the phenomenon. His latest book, Grey Aliens and the Harvesting of Souls published by Inner Traditions/Bear & Company is the second in a trilogy about the UFO phenomenon and its social repercussions on humanity. His books and numerous articles have established his unique thesis as part of the canon of serious literature on the subject.

Nigel Kerner lives with his wife and family on his estate in middle England. He has a passionate interest in projects on behalf of the deprived and disadvantaged of developing nations. He is at present working with his family and a team of European friends and volunteers on a medical and agro-development project done on behalf of the rural poor in a country in the Far East. This takes up much of his spare time.

His hobbies include reading science literature and journals, wild-life videography, wildlife conservation activities, singing and song writing. His sporting passions are Cricket and Rugby Union.

Craig Farraway, Home Beer Brewer, started out at a young age playing the drums, singing, and writing songs. At age 21, he wrote and performed the title track for an album dedicated to the Calgary 1988 Olympics. The song Dream on the Horizon was featured in a CBC documentary and received regular airplay on FM stations across Canada. Craig saw an opportunity to go further with his music, but instead chose to stick close to family and the comforts of home. Amongst his many hobbies, which include video production, audio engineering, and of course music, Craig would carry on the family tradition of home brewing beer.

Motivated by the high prices of commercial beer, and his love for the beverage, Craig, age 21 at the time, started experimenting with beer kits from his local home brew shop. Well, over 20 years later, he is still at it. He now has a popular YouTube Channel, which he appropriately named...... CraigTube. He has attracted literally thousands of followers, many of which claim that they would have never started home brewing if it weren't for Craig's videos. Craig also does a variety of other things on his YouTube channel, including cooking shows, music performances, and philosophical talks, with topics ranging from the paranormal, to the nature of the universe, but the main theme of the channel is BEER.

I specialize in preventive medicine and natural therapies which are complementary (not an alternative to) your family medical doctor. Unless you are very well read on the subject of natural medicine, it is recommended you read my book, Return to The Joy of Health.

Dr. Zoltan P. Rona is a graduate of McGill University Medical School (1977) and has a Masters Degree in Biochemistry and Clinical Nutrition from the University of Bridgeport in Connecticut (1984). He is past president of The Canadian Holistic Medical Association (1987-88). He is the author of three Canadian bestsellers, The Joy of Health (1991), Return to the Joy of Health (1995) and Childhood Illness and The Allergy Connection (1997). He is co-author with Jeanne Marie Martin of The Complete Candida Yeast Guidebook (1996) and is the medical editor of the Benjamin Franklin Award winning Encyclopedia of Natural Healing (1998). He has had a private medical practice in Toronto for the past 32 years, has appeared on radio and TV as well as lectured extensively in Canada and the U.S. Latest Published Books (Healthy Living Guides Series, Alive Books, 2000): Natural Alternatives to Vaccination, Osteoarthritis Naturally, Rhematoid Arthritis Naturally, Fighting Fibromyalgia, Boosting Male Libido Naturally, Body Building Supplements, Menopause Naturally. Dr. Rona has just published his new book, "Vitamin D, The Sunshine Vitamin". All of Dr. Rona's books are available from your local health food store, major book stores or from Amazon.com.

Michael J. Murphy is a filmmaker, political activist and President of The Coalition Against Geoengineering. His work focuses on issues that go beyond the interest of the Corporate mainstream media and includes originating and Co-Producing the groundbreaking documentary “What in the World are They Spraying?” and several other short films that address chemtrails/geoengineering and other controversial political issues. Michael has also appeared on hundreds of radio and television shows around the world.

Interviews include; G. Edward Griffin, Chelene Nightingale (California Governor candidate), Jim King (California lieutenant Governor candidate), Mark Reed (California congressional candidate), Bill Hunt (Orange County Sheriff candidate), Jenny Worman (California congressional candidate), Stewart Rhodes (Oath Keepers, Founder), Actress Mariel Hemingwayand Ed Asner (Actor "Mary Tyler Moore", "Lou Grant" and "UP").

Semir Sam Osmanagich is Bosnian-born Houston (USA) resident author, researcher and businessman.

He has discovered ancient pyramidal complex in Visoko (Bosnia-Herzegovina) which consists of five colossal stone structures in the shape of the pyramid with extensive pre-historical underground tunnel network.

He has established non-profit and non-government „Archaeological Park: Bosnian Pyramid of the Sun“ Foundation to pursue the excavation and geo-archaeological work.

He teaches at the American University in Bosnia-Herzegovina as Anthropology professor, in particular Bosnian megalithic sites.

First International Scientific Conference about Bosnian Valley of the Pyramids was held in Sarajevo (Bosnia-Herzegovina) in August 25-30, 2008 (www.icbp.ba) with 55 leading experts from Egypt, Russia, China, Poland, Saudi Arabia, United Kingdom, Croatia, Austria, Montenegro and Bosnia giving full support Osmanagich's efforts and recommending establishment of the Center for Pyramid Studies in Bosnia. (Conclusions)

Osmanagich is an owner and president of the manufacturing company Met Company, Inc. and holding company Met Holding Group, LLP.  in Houston (USA).

Sam Osmanagich authored and narrated 12-epizode documentary „Search for Lost Civilization“ for the state Bosnian television FTVBiH (2007) which was based on his book: „Civilizations Before the Official History“ (2005) and filmed in Peru, Bolivia, Easter Island, Costa Rica, Mexico, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Malta, Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon. (Video clips)

Osmanagich lectures extensively and promote Bosnian Valley of the Pyramids Project and archaeological tourism in Bosnia-Herzegovina from Egypt and Jordan, to Malaysia, Canada, USA, China, United Kingdom, Switzerland, Austria, Norway, Sweden, Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia, Hungary, Italy, Macedonia, Denmark and other countries.

Osmanagich is a member of the Archaeological Society of Alexandria (est. 1895). Osmanagich has become a first “honorary citizen” of the Town of Visoko in 2006.

Daily newspaper San from Sarajevo awarded Osmanagich title Man of the Year 2007 in Bosnia-Herzegovina” for his research project Bosnian Valley of the Pyramids and affirmative promotion of Bosnia-Herzegovina in the world.
Osmanagich has been admitted as a Foreign Member of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences from Moscow, one of the most respected scientific institutions in the world.

Osmanagich holds his doctorate in Sociology of History. His PhD thesis about the Mayan civilization has been accepted at the University of Sarajevo.

Stephen Lewis, Developer of The AIM Program, Co-founder of EMC², and Co-Author of the novel Sanctuary: The Path to Consciousness has been exploring energetic balancing for more than 25 years. His path began with an interest in oriental philosophy combined with German psychiatry, specifically the work of W. Reich who believed energetic imbalance was the cause of all pathology.

Eventually Lewis was led to the healing arts. His degrees include acupuncture and homeopathy, both of which are forms of energetic healing. Lewis' extensive studies and research led him directly to the insights upon which EMC² 's spiritual energetic balancing technology is based. Lewis' energetic balancing technology, called AIM, has been used by thousands of individuals worldwide and has earned the endorsements of Dr. Wayne Dyer, Rev. Michael Beckwith, author Kevin Trudeau and many others.

EMC² 's purpose is to find imbalances in consciousness and offer energetic balancing as a way to assist living beings in the clearing and release of those imbalances in order to increase their well-being. Lewis has always made an explicit distinction between the healing that is the natural result of a shift in consciousness as compared to the medical trio of diagnosing, treating and, hopefully, curing. That medical trio is the work of medical professionals and is done TO you. Healing, on the other hand, is definitively in the realm of spirituality and must be done BY you. Lewis points out that true healers don't actually heal you, but rather teach or inspire you to find the healing power that you naturally possess. All healing is a result of your consciousness directing your Life Force. And, in that realm, because everything is energy, anything is possible! The character of Max in the novel Sanctuary: The Path to Consciousness by Stephen Lewis and EMC² co-Founder Evan Slawson is based on the life and work of Stephen Lewis.