Meet The GenoPalate Team
Your nutritional needs are unique to you and crucial to your health and wellness. That’s why we’ve compiled a nutrition team at GenoPalate with specialized backgrounds and complementing healthcare expertise.
The People Behind the Best Personalized Nutrition Company
Our nutrition team has vast experience in molecular biology, genetics, clinical nutrition, population genetics, obesity, metabolic syndrome, and nutritional sciences. The team works closely together, focused on advancing the field of nutrigenomics and personalized nutrition. It’s this work that turns your DNA test kit results into specific guidance designed to improve your health outcomes and general well-being.
Chief Executive Officer
Dennis Hodges is the Chief Executive Officer of GenoPalate. As an executive experienced across multimillion-dollar, global brands, Dennis has a track record of strengthening businesses by driving brand success via strategic marketing campaigns while using his leadership abilities to coach and lead teams. He has been instrumental in applying revenue-driving practices to delivering successful projects and services across diverse industries such as technology, entertainment, education, and the arts. He holds an MBA from Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management.
Dennis' Inspiring Vision
As a self-proclaimed health nut, Dennis knows first-hand the truth about “food as medicine”, having successfully changed his lifestyle more than a decade ago to one founded on healthy eating.
Founder & Chief Science Officer
Dr. Sherry Zhang is a mother, a molecular geneticist, and the founder of GenoPalate. Sherry has a bachelor’s degree in Microbiology from Nankai University and a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from Marquette University. She received a Spirit of Marquette Award from her alma mater, a Milwaukee Business Journal 40 Under 40 Award, and was named a HealthTech Innovator of Wisconsin.
Dr. Zhang’s Inspiring Vision
From the moment Sherry saw living creatures under the lens of a microscope, she has been in love with biology. She grew that passion and launched a startup that became GenoPalate. Today, Sherry is still excited to learn more about how life works and what the best fuel is for each of our bodies.
Vice President of Research and Analytics
Dr. Hector Guillen is the Director of Research at GenoPalate. Hector obtained his Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Notre Dame. He trained as a Post-doctoral Fellow at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. Before joining GenoPalate, he worked as a Staff Scientist at Texas Biomedical Research Institute and as an Assistant Professor for the Center for Precision Medicine at Wake Forest School of Medicine. Hector‘s research efforts have included gene expression in colorectal cancer, genetics of hearing loss, and developing tools to study DNA-protein interactions.
Dr. Guillen’s Inspiring Vision
Hector is interested in understanding how genetics affect nutrition and how this knowledge can be applied to improve health outcomes and general well-being.
Director of Nutrition Sciences
Dr. Kristin Ricklefs-Johnson is an RDN who also earned her Ph.D. in Nutrition from Arizona State University with an emphasis on insulin resistance, lipid metabolism disorders, and obesity. She completed her post-doctoral fellowship at Mayo Clinic, where she focused on nutrition-related proteomic and metabolic research. Her interests include understanding the exact mechanism of action of various genetic biomarkers underlying an individual person's predispositions to nutrition-related health outcomes.
Dr. Ricklefs-Johnson’s Inspiring Vision
Kristin’s goal is to provide nutrition advice, nutrition plans, and nutrition solutions that help all individuals prevent chronic diseases and achieve long, healthy lives through eating well.
Clinical Dietitian
Frankie O’Brien is a registered and licensed dietitian who received her master’s degree in nutrition and dietetics from the University of Illinois at Chicago, where she also completed her dietetic internship. Frankie is passionate about helping others with mindful eating, lifestyle changes, weight management, and performance nutrition. Frankie has experience helping others make sustainable changes to help them reach their long-term goals. During her career, she has helped others find a healthy relationship with food, so they feel empowered to ditch diets and trust their bodies.
Frankie’s Inspiring Vision
Frankie focuses on helping clients improve their relationship with food and navigate the misinformation in the media.
