The Physicians Behindthe Science
MyProgressMD programs are shaped by ongoing input from physicians and clinical specialists across bariatric surgery, metabolic health, and cardiometabolic care.
Educational, Not Employment
Our programs are informed by clinicians who bring decades of surgical, metabolic, and cardiovascular expertise to the questions our community asks most. Their involvement is educational they are not employees of MyProgressMD, and their contributions reflect their own professional perspectives.
Educational contributorsleading the ecosystem
Our founding Medical Education Contributor cohort providing research-based metabolic wellness education across bariatric, GLP-1, cardiometabolic, and lifestyle wellness domains
Ariel Ortiz Lagardere is a bariatric and metabolic surgeon and professor at UABC, and founder of the Obesity Control Center and Hospital CYNTAR. He holds the Master Surgeon of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery certificate from the Surgical Review Corporation and is a Fellow of both the American College of Surgeons and the American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery. He co-founded the International Bariatric Club and directs its broadcast education platform, IBC-TV. His contributions to MyProgressMD focus on protein-first nutrition, post-bariatric metabolic support, and GLP-1 wellness integration.
Robert Cywes is dual board-certified in general surgery and pediatric surgery, and holds a PhD in liver carbohydrate metabolism. With more than 35 years of experience and over 8,000 bariatric procedures performed, he combines surgical expertise with a behavioral approach to obesity and metabolic disease. He is a founding member of the Society for Metabolic Health Practitioners and serves on committees for both the American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery and the American Pediatric Surgery Association focused on childhood obesity. His contributions to MyProgressMD focus on the behavioral and metabolic dimensions of nutrition, particularly around carbohydrate management.
Christian Assad-Kottner is a board-certified interventional cardiologist who completed a fellowship at Mayo Clinic in Arizona and a residency at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. He has practiced cardiology for more than 20 years, with research interests spanning heart failure and cardiovascular immune response. His contributions to MyProgressMD focus on the cardiometabolic dimensions of long-term wellness how nutrition and metabolic health intersect with cardiovascular risk.
Helmuth Billy is a bariatric and laparoscopic surgeon who received his medical degree from the University of California, Davis School of Medicine. He currently serves as Director of Bariatric Surgery at St. John's Regional Medical Center and Medical Director of Community Memorial Hospital, both recognized Bariatric Centers of Excellence. He has trained and proctored dozens of surgeons in bariatric techniques and has been a contributing author to the SAGES Bariatric Surgery Manual. His contributions to MyProgressMD focus on long-term surgical outcomes and post-operative metabolic support.
Interested in educational collaboration?
How we select Medical Contributors
Medical Contributors are invited based on their clinical expertise, publication record, and relevance to the metabolic, bariatric, and cardiovascular topics our programs address. They review and inform program content but do not treat MyProgressMD customers directly through this relationship.
Contact Our Team