Dr. Rashmee Patil, CEO and Medical Director at South Texas Research Institute, completed her undergraduate education in History and Pre-medical studies at Yale University. She played on the varsity tennis team during her time there. She then completed her medical degree at St. George’s University School of Medicine in Grenada where she spent two years learning basic sciences abroad and two years of clinical clerkships in New York City. She then went on to a three-year Internal Medicine residency at New York University in Brooklyn, NY where she was awarded a clinical research award for investigator-driven work. Dr. Patil worked in New York City as an academic hospitalist at Mount Sinai Health Systems before pursuing a fellowship in Hepatology and Liver Transplantation at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. Following her fellowship, she took a position at the Transplant Institute and Liver Specialty Center in McAllen, Texas where she led the Hepatology department and cultivated a research program dedicated to finding treatments for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. As the co-founder and leader of South Texas Research Institute, she is excited to take her dedication to identifying and treating liver disease to the next level for the people of the Rio Grande Valley and beyond. In her spare time, Dr. Patil enjoys spending time with her family and pups, writing, and traveling to new places.

Dr. Wesley McWhorter is an Assistant Professor in Health Promotion and Behavioral Sciences and the Director of Culinary Nutrition for the Nourish Program at the Michael and Susan Dell Center for Healthy Living at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) School of Public Health (SPH). Dr. McWhorter is appointed as a faculty member at McGovern Medical School, serves as a national spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, and is an advisory council member for the Teaching Kitchen Collaborative. A professional chef, Dr. McWhorter focuses on interprofessional nutrition education through hands-on culinary medicine courses. He also is a certified strength and conditioning specialist with experience in fitness and corporate wellness. His research interests include closing the divide between culinary literacy and nutrition education and policy. Dr. McWhorter graduated from Kansas State University, earned a master’s degree from the University of Texas Medical Branch and a doctorate in Health Promotion and Behavioral Science from UTHealth SPH.

Terri Milton is a motivational speaker, patient advocate, and ambassador. In 2017, Terri was diagnosed with NASH Cirrhosis. Since then, she was also diagnosed with HCC (liver cancer) and has been treated four different times. She is currently on the transplant list waiting for a second chance of a life giving liver. In 2018, she was invited to speak on a panel of NASH warriors at Liver Meeting in San Francisco. She then became a regular Patient Voice at several of Intercept Pharmaceutical events. She is also a Patient Ambassador with Snow Company. She has been featured in HEP magazine and has participated in a Satellite interview event with Intercept Pharmaceuticals. Currently she admins a large Cirrhosis Group on social media, is Creator and admin for CNU (Clean Nutrition University) also on social media, and several other smaller groups that deal with specific details of her journey with Fatty Liver disease and Liver Cancer. Terri is a Texas native and enjoys exploring her state. She has been married to her husband Doug for 35 years. They have three adult children and seven grandkids. She enjoys gardening and reading. She and her husband also collect antiques and enjoy finding small shops in odd places.