Uploaded September 2022 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
This lecture is part of the IHMC Evening Lecture series.
ihmc.us/life/evening_lectures
In his talk entitled ‘Actual Health’ - which parallels a book that he is co-authoring with former IHMC guest, Dr. Josh Turknett - Dr. Pardi will cover fundamental questions about what health actually means and novel mind frames on how to increase one’s level of health in today’s world. In this talk, he will cover major gaps in the standard modern approach to healthcare and detail why he believes the solution will likely never be solved from within the system itself. He will also detail needed-but-absent roles in society that we must fill in order to see the progress we all want and desperately need. At the heart of his talk will be a discussion on how individuals, given the state of the world today, can best navigate their health regardless of where they currently sit on the health continuum.
Dr. Dan Pardi is the CEO of humanOS.me - a digital health training application. To create humanOS, the team has collaborated with over 100 top health-science Professors across the globe. Their podcast, humanOS Radio, is the official podcast of the Sleep Research Society, the Canadian Sleep Society, and a content partner of the Buck Institute on Aging.
He also currently serves as the Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board for Restore Hyper Wellness, the fastest-growing franchise in the United States. Formerly, he served as Chief Health Architect for Restore, where he led the Product and Health Sciences Department to establish the Performance Medicine arm of the business.
In his work, Dr. Pardi has collaborated with high-performing organizations, from Silicon Valley VCs like the Mayfield Fund and Artis Ventures to companies like Adobe, Salesforce, Workday, Pandora, Intuitive Surgical, Jazz Pharmaceuticals, and many more. He also works with several branches of the US Military including the Special Forces and Naval Special Warfare. Dr. Pardi has a Ph.D. in Cognitive Neuroscience from Leiden University in the Netherlands, and Stanford University in the United States, and he has a Masters of Science in Exercise Physiology from Florida State University in the United States. He currently lives in Austin Texas with his wife and two young boys.
This lecture is part of the IHMC Evening Lecture series.
ihmc.us/life/evening_lectures
In his talk entitled ‘Actual Health’ - which parallels a book that he is co-authoring with former IHMC guest, Dr. Josh Turknett - Dr. Pardi will cover fundamental questions about what health actually means and novel mind frames on how to increase one’s level of health in today’s world. In this talk, he will cover major gaps in the standard modern approach to healthcare and detail why he believes the solution will likely never be solved from within the system itself. He will also detail needed-but-absent roles in society that we must fill in order to see the progress we all want and desperately need. At the heart of his talk will be a discussion on how individuals, given the state of the world today, can best navigate their health regardless of where they currently sit on the health continuum.
Dr. Dan Pardi is the CEO of humanOS.me - a digital health training application. To create humanOS, the team has collaborated with over 100 top health-science Professors across the globe. Their podcast, humanOS Radio, is the official podcast of the Sleep Research Society, the Canadian Sleep Society, and a content partner of the Buck Institute on Aging.
He also currently serves as the Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board for Restore Hyper Wellness, the fastest-growing franchise in the United States. Formerly, he served as Chief Health Architect for Restore, where he led the Product and Health Sciences Department to establish the Performance Medicine arm of the business.
In his work, Dr. Pardi has collaborated with high-performing organizations, from Silicon Valley VCs like the Mayfield Fund and Artis Ventures to companies like Adobe, Salesforce, Workday, Pandora, Intuitive Surgical, Jazz Pharmaceuticals, and many more. He also works with several branches of the US Military including the Special Forces and Naval Special Warfare. Dr. Pardi has a Ph.D. in Cognitive Neuroscience from Leiden University in the Netherlands, and Stanford University in the United States, and he has a Masters of Science in Exercise Physiology from Florida State University in the United States. He currently lives in Austin Texas with his wife and two young boys.










![Episode 196: Dominic D’Agostino discusses advances in ketogenic metabolic therapy and hyperbaric ...
Today we have Dr. Dominic D’Agostino, who over the past 10 years has been a frequent guest on STEM-Talk. Today Dom joins us to give us an update on his recent research into ketogenic metabolic therapies, ketone supplements as well as hyperbaric oxygen therapy for traumatic brain injuries. Dom and his lab at the University of South Florida have published more than 20 papers since his last appearance on STEM-Talk in 2023.
Dom is an Associate Professor in the Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Physiology at South Florida’s Morsani College of Medicine. Dom has a background in neuroscience, molecular pharmacology, nutrition and physiology.
In addition to developing and testing metabolic-based therapies, Dom’s lab also investigates seizure disorders, brain cancer, neurodegenerative diseases and rare genetic-metabolic disorders.
Show notes:
[00:03:28] Dawn welcomes Dom back to the show and explaining that he has been quite busy since his last appearance (https://www.ihmc.us/stemtalk/episode-153/) , authoring or co-authoring more than 20 papers. Over the past several years, Dom has been helping to advance the science and application of ketogenic metabolic therapy (KMT) with colleagues at Moffitt Cancer Center, particularly focusing on using KMT to enhance immune-based therapies for certain types of cancers. Dawn asks Dom about this collaboration.
[00:05:04] Dawn explains that ketogenic metabolic therapy is a dietary approach that focuses on a high-fat/low-carb diet to reduce glucose availability for cancer cells, potentially slowing their growth and improving treatment outcomes. It has been explored as a complimentary treatment for a variety of cancers including gliomas by shifting the metabolism of tumor cells away from glucose. Dawn asks Dom to explain what is involved in KMT.
[00:06:58] Dawn clarifies that KMT requires less than 20-25 grams of carbohydrates per day, and that ketosis is a metabolic state in which the body switches from glucose metabolism to metabolizing fats in the form of ketones. Dawn goes on to explain that cancer cells typically consume glucose at a higher rate than normal cells. However, cancer cells are also very adaptable, and Dawn asks Dom to talk about this feature of cancer cells.
[00:09:14] Ken explains that KMT has shown the most promise in treating high-grade gliomas, or brain cancers, such as glioblastoma, which is the most aggressive primary brain tumor in adults. Ken explains that Dom was part of a massive review titled “Clinical research framework proposal for ketogenic metabolic therapy in glioblastoma,” (https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12916-024-03775-4) which proposed guidelines for the management of glioblastoma based on an understanding of cancer as a metabolic disease, particularly involving mitochondria. Ken asks Dom to talk about this review.
[00:11:21] From a patient advocacy perspective, Ken notes that the review recommends that there should be an aggressive education campaign that can arm patients with knowledge about KMT and other novel therapies. Ken asks Dom to talk about that recommendation.
[00:13:15] Ken asks about the process of cutting the review from upwards of 200 pages down to around 50 pages with 49 authors.
[00:15:04] Dawn mentions that Dom was part of another paper in 2024 titled “Targeting the mitochondrial stem cell connection in cancer treatment – a hybrid orthomolecular protocol.” (https://expose-news.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Targeting-the-Mitochondrial-Stem-Cell-Connection-in-Cancer-Treatment A-Hybrid-Orthomolecular-Protocol-ISOM.pdf) Dawn explains that this paper looked at the mitochondrial stem cell connection theory (MSCC), which argues that cancer originates from chronic oxidative phosphorylation insufficiency in stem cells. This insufficiency leads to the formation of cancer stem cells and abnormal energy metabolism ultimately resulting in malignancy. There were 16 research centers and organizations involved in this paper which introduced a hybrid orthomolecular protocol to target the mitochondrial stem-cell connection. Dawn asks Dom to give an overview of MSCC.
[00:18:26] Dawn explains that in this paper Dom and his co-authors propose a protocol that would enhance oxidative phosphorylation and inhibit the primary fuels of cancer, glucose and glutamine. This would target both cancer stem cells and metastasis. Dawn asks Dom to explain why this concept is attracting so much interest as a potential therapeutic approach for cancer.
[00:20:48] Dawn asks if Dom could discuss the orthomolecular protocol, which is an approach that focuses on preventing and treating diseases by correcting nutritional balances in the body.
[00:24:41] Ken asks if the proposed dietary intervention in the orthomolecular approach is different from a standard or typical ketogenic diet.
[00:26:48] Ken shifts the discussion to talk about ketone supplements, explaining that Dom recently published a paper title... Episode 196: Dominic D’Agostino discusses advances in ketogenic metabolic therapy and hyperbaric ...](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/JgbzSoR0CDs/mqdefault.jpg)