Essentials for Health and Wellness

Gordon Edlin, PhD, has a bachelor's degree in physics from MIT and a PhD in chemistry from the University of Oregon. He was a professor of genetics at the University of California, Davis, for 22 years, where his research focused on the molecular biology of microorganisms. His interest in health was dramatically increased after he was tear-gassed on the Berkeley campus in the late 1960s while protesting the Vietnam War. Although his approach to health and medicine is scientific, he also has considerable experience with alternative medicines. Kelli McCormack Brown is an associate professor in the Department of Community and Family Health at the University of South Florida College of Public Health. She holds a doctorate degree in health education from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, is a certified health education specialist, is the 1993 American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance (AAHPERD) Mable Lee Award recipient for excellence in teaching, research and service, and is a Fellow of the Research Consortium of AAHPERD. Before coming to the University of South Florida, she taught for seven years at Western Illinois University (1987 - 1994) and was the chairperson of the Department of Health Sciences at Illinois State University (1994 - 1996). She is a Co-Principal Investigator of the Florida Prevention Research Center funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Back in the classroom today, she uses her educational and practical experiences to facilitate critical thinking and problem-solving skills and encourages the use of technology in obtaining reliable health information to make informed personal health decision-making.