Peloton announced the formation of a Health and Wellness Advisory Council working closely with the brand to support the physical and mental well being of its members.
Peloton will collaborate with the council, which includes five doctors, researchers and medical professionals from the fields of cardiovascular medicine, cardiopulmonary exercise, neurology, and neuroscience, and draw on their expertise to inform product and content development, community-focused and social impact initiatives, research projects and more.
“We constantly hear from our members that Peloton has not only profoundly impacted their physical, mental and emotional health, but has also helped them cope with issues ranging from neurodegenerative disease or cancer, to PTSD or post-partum depression,” said William Lynch, president, Peloton. “With the addition of this esteemed Health and Wellness Advisory Council, which includes some of the best minds in medicine, we can leverage scientific research and medical expertise to help us better serve our community through our content, products and platform.”
The Peloton Health and Wellness Advisory Council includes the following experts:
Suzanne Steinbaum, Cardiologist, specializing in prevention with a practice in New York City encompassing heart health, wellness and prevention as well as the effects of stress and inflammation on heart health. She is the founder and President of SRSHeart, a lifestyle management program using anatomy, physiology, functional data, genetics, and metabolism, along with technology to reach cardiovascular health. She has been the Director of Women’s Cardiovascular Prevention, Health and Wellness at Mt. Sinai Heart in New York City, after being the Director of Women’s Heart Health at Northwell Lenox Hill. Dr. Steinbaum is a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association. She is a National Spokesperson for the Go Red for Women campaign and chairperson of the Go Red for Women in New York City. She is on the New York City Board of the American Heart Association and on the Scientific Advisory Board of the Women’s Heart Alliance.
Richard S. Isaacson, Neurologist, Clinician and Researcher specializin in Alzheimer’s prevention and treatment. He previously served as Associate Professor of Clinical Neurology, Vice Chair of Education, and Education Director of the McKnight Brain Institute in the Department of Neurology at the University of Miami (UM) Miller School of Medicine. Prior to joining UM, he served as Associate Medical Director of the Wien Center for Alzheimer’s disease and Memory Disorders at Mount Sinai. Dr. Isaacson specializes in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) risk reduction and treatment, mild cognitive impairment due to AD and preclinical AD. His clinical research has shown that individualized clinical management of patients at risk for AD dementia is an important strategy for optimizing cognitive function and reducing risk of dementia. He has also published novel methods on using a precision medicine approach in real-world clinical practice. He has also led the development of Alzheimer’s Universe (AlzU.org) a vast online education research portal on AD with results published in the Journal of the Prevention of Alzheimer’s disease, Journal of Communication in Healthcare, Alzheimer’s & Dementia: Translational Research & Clinical Interventions, and Neurology. With a robust clinical practice and broad background in computer science, m-Health, biotechnology and web-development, Dr. Isaacson is committed to using technology and lifestyle interventions (such as physical exercise and nutrition) to optimize patient care, AD risk assessment and early intervention.
Vernon Williams, MD is the Founding Director of the Center for Sports Neurology and Pain Medicine at Cedars-Sinai Kerlan-Jobe Institute in Los Angeles, CA. Dr. Williams is a former Commissioner for the California State Athletic Commission and current Chair of Neurological Health for the Commission’s Medical Advisory Committee, as well as a former two-term Chair of the American Academy of Neurology Sports Neurology Section. He serves as a neurological medical consultant to local professional sports organizations such as the Los Angeles Rams, Los Angeles Dodgers, Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Kings and Los Angeles Sparks. He also assists local colleges and numerous high school and youth sports/club athletic teams in this capacity. Dr. Williams is a board-certified clinical neurologist with very specialized areas of subspecialty: Sports Neurology and Pain Medicine. He is actively engaged in researching and developing innovative and effective treatments and technologies that help people recognize symptoms of a neurological injury sooner so that the work of treating them can happen faster, and with less potential for permanent damage. He passionately advocates for the optimization of Neurological Health across the lifespan for his patients and peak performance clients.
Aimee M. Layton, PhD is an Assistant Professor of Applied Physiology in Pediatrics in the Division of Pediatric Cardiology and the Director of the Pediatric Cardiopulmonary Exercise Laboratory at Columbia University Medical Center/New York-Presbyterian Hospital. Dr. Layton recently joined the pediatric cardiology team after being the director of the adult pulmonary exercise laboratory for a decade. This cross-discipline experience provides Dr. Layton with knowledge of both how the lungs and the heart respond to exercise and the role of disease and sports in both adults and kids. Dr. Layton’s prior research investigated respiratory biomechanics, with publications in both diseased and healthy populations. Her new research focuses on bridging the gap between the lab and the home, in hopes of impacting kids’ behavior and relationship with exercise. Dr. Layton is a respected expert in clinical exercise physiology and has lectured internationally on the topic. Beyond her research, Dr. Layton has been performing exercise testing and counseling for both patients with lung disease and patients with heart disease. She plays an important role as one of the lead exercise physiologists for Columbia University Medical Center in testing, exercise counseling and research.
Jay Alberts, Ph.D. is a research scientist aimed at understanding the structure-function relationships within the central nervous system and evaluating the impact of behavioral and surgical interventions to improve motor and non-motor function in Parkinson’s disease, stroke, Alzheimer’s, and other neurological populations. Human studies are currently ongoing to address these basic and translational research questions. Dr. Alberts is developing and validating new methods of using exercise and augmented and virtual reality to engage patient populations remotely. He is currently leading two multi-site clinical trials investigating the role of exercise in slowing the progression of Parkinson’s disease. Dr. Alberts has led multiple successful technology initiatives aimed at better understanding patient symptoms and communicating these symptoms to providers. He is currently building AR and VR applications as prescriptive digital therapeutic systems for neurological patients. To date, Dr. Alberts has written 100 peer-reviewed articles, has had uninterrupted extramural funding since 1999, and holds 10 patents.
