About the
Wellness
Science
Initiative
The Wellness Science Initiative grew out of the Molecular Hydrogen Institute’s experience teaching scientific literacy, critical thinking, and evidence evaluation in an area where scientific research, commercial claims, and public enthusiasm often develop at different speeds.
We recognized that the same challenge extends throughout the broader wellness landscape. People have access to more health information than ever, but information alone is not enough. Understanding scientific concepts, evaluating evidence, recognizing uncertainty, and examining our own reasoning are skills that must be learned and practiced.
Organized by the Molecular Hydrogen Institute, a 501(c)(3) science-based nonprofit, WSI expands this educational mission to the broader wellness community. We do not tell people what to think, which products to use, or whom to follow. We help people develop the knowledge and reasoning skills needed to evaluate claims consistently and make informed decisions suited to their own goals, values, and circumstances.
The Wellness Science Initiative grew out of the Molecular Hydrogen Institute’s experience teaching scientific literacy, critical thinking, and evidence evaluation in an area where scientific research, commercial claims, and public enthusiasm often develop at different speeds.
We recognized that the same challenge extends throughout the broader wellness landscape. People have access to more health information than ever, but information alone is not enough. Understanding scientific concepts, evaluating evidence, recognizing uncertainty, and examining our own reasoning are skills that must be learned and practiced.
Organized by the Molecular Hydrogen Institute, a 501(c)(3) science-based nonprofit, WSI expands this educational mission to the broader wellness community. We do not tell people what to think, which products to use, or whom to follow. We help people develop the knowledge and reasoning skills needed to evaluate claims consistently and make informed decisions suited to their own goals, values, and circumstances.
About the Wellness
Science Initiative
The Wellness Science Initiative grew out of the Molecular Hydrogen Institute’s experience teaching scientific literacy, critical thinking, and evidence evaluation in an area where scientific research, commercial claims, and public enthusiasm often develop at different speeds.
We recognized that the same challenge extends throughout the broader wellness landscape. People have access to more health information than ever, but information alone is not enough. Understanding scientific concepts, evaluating evidence, recognizing uncertainty, and examining our own reasoning are skills that must be learned and practiced.
Organized by the Molecular Hydrogen Institute, a 501(c)(3) science-based nonprofit, WSI expands this educational mission to the broader wellness community. We do not tell people what to think, which products to use, or whom to follow. We help people develop the knowledge and reasoning skills needed to evaluate claims consistently and make informed decisions suited to their own goals, values, and circumstances.
The Wellness Science Initiative grew out of the Molecular Hydrogen Institute’s experience teaching scientific literacy, critical thinking, and evidence evaluation in an area where scientific research, commercial claims, and public enthusiasm often develop at different speeds.
We recognized that the same challenge extends throughout the broader wellness landscape. People have access to more health information than ever, but information alone is not enough. Understanding scientific concepts, evaluating evidence, recognizing uncertainty, and examining our own reasoning are skills that must be learned and practiced.
Organized by the Molecular Hydrogen Institute, a 501(c)(3) science-based nonprofit, WSI expands this educational mission to the broader wellness community. We do not tell people what to think, which products to use, or whom to follow. We help people develop the knowledge and reasoning skills needed to evaluate claims consistently and make informed decisions suited to their own goals, values, and circumstances.
Advancing scientific literacy through interactive learning
Learn how to separate what the scientists say from institutional dogma, and how to differentiate between emerging and promising therapies & completely unsubstantiated claims by joining the wellness science initiative. This could be joining the community or competing in the Wellness Science Challenge or the Wellness Science Olympiad events.
94%
Build the knowledge needed to understand wellness.
5000+
Enrollments in an MHI course or community
17+
Years of education and research by MHI founder
1M+
People reached via educational podcasts, online courses, or in-person seminars
Our Mission
WSI’s mission is to advance scientific literacy, strengthen critical thinking, and encourage thoughtful decision-making throughout the wellness community. We help people build the scientific foundations needed to understand health information, evaluate evidence and reasoning, and apply what they learn in light of their individual circumstances, goals, values, and responsibilities.
What WSI Does
WSI develops educational resources, quizzes, challenges, community discussions, and live activities that allow people to learn and practice scientific reasoning. Our programs combine foundational science, evidence evaluation, and thoughtful decision-making rather than rewarding memorization alone.
Meet the People
Behind the Iniatiative
Participation Does Not Impy Endorsement
WSI welcomes participation from people with different backgrounds, perspectives, and views on health and wellness. A person’s involvement reflects a specific role, contribution, or expression of support for WSI’s educational mission.
Participation in WSI does not mean that WSI or MHI endorses everything a person has said, published, sold, promoted, or supported. Likewise, participation does not mean that any advisor, reviewer, contributor, supporter, sponsor, partner, speaker, or participant endorses the views, claims, products, affiliations, or conclusions of any other person involved.
This distinction allows WSI to bring together people who may disagree strongly while still asking everyone to engage respectfully, evaluate claims carefully, and apply common standards of evidence and reasoning.
Leadership & Operations
WSI leadership is responsible for organizing the initiative, coordinating contributors, developing programs, maintaining educational standards, and bringing the project together across educational content, community activities, challenges, and events.
Tyler W. LeBaron, MSc., PhD.
Founder
Chairman
Executive Director
Contributor
Tyler W. LeBaron, MSc, PhD is a is a researcher and educator who translates complex science into practical insight on health, performance, and human potential. He is the Founder and Executive Director of the Molecular Hydrogen Institute (a science-based 501(c)3 nonprofit) and an adjunct professor of exercise physiology and chemistry at Southern Utah University.
Tyler is known for evidence-based, engaging presentations that challenge assumptions, clarify emerging science, and inspire high-performing individuals and organizations.
He has 80+ peer-reviewed publications, 2,000+ citations, top 0.5% recognition in oxidative stress, and has delivered invited talks on six continents.
Executive Director, Molecular Hydrogen Institute
Vice President, International Society for Hydrogen Medicine and Biology
President, American Hydrogen Health Association
Adjunct Instructor, Southern Utah University
PhD in Physiology
MSc in Exercise and Sports Conditioning
BSc in Biochemistry
David T Stevens
WSI Event Director
David T. Stevens WITT-AP is the WSI Event Director, Chair of the Global Wellness Institute’s Meetings & Events Initiative, Co-Founder of Olympian Meeting, and Host of Return on Wellness. With more than 20 years in meetings, events, and experiential design, he focuses on helping the industry apply wellness with intention rather than treating it as a bolt-on amenity. His work includes tracking consumer wellness behavior, spending, emerging trends, and modalities, then separating credible evidence from hype and translating those shifts into practical event strategy. David also contributes to industry standards and education, helping planners, destinations, hotels, and organizations understand how wellness can support well-being, connection, learning, engagement, human performance, and measurable outcomes.
Chair, GWI Meetings & Events Initiative
Co-Founder, Olympian Meeting
Host, Return on WellnessEvent Wellness Strategist & Market Analyst
Keynote Speaker & Educator
WITT Standards Advisor
May Anderson, PE
Operations and Education Director
May Anderson is an integrated engineer, operations strategist, and systems thinker passionate about helping make better decisions for the lives and communities. With a background in engineering, product development, and organizational leadership, May has worked across research, education, and technology to bridge the gap between science and everyday life. Her passion is connecting people, ideas, and disciplines to help individuals and communities make more informed decisions about health and well-being.
Professional Engineer (PE)
Director of Operations & Education, Molecular Hydrogen Institute
Secretary and Board Member, American Hydrogen Health Association
Founder, Working Moms Connection
Former Utah Department of Transportation Engineer
Cindy Baldwin
MHI Administration Director
Cindy has extensive experience in nonprofit leadership and administration. She has led the building and scaling of nonprofit operations, with a strong focus on nonprofit startups, administrative structure, compliance, and sustainability. Her background includes managing contracts, developing and implementing policies, and overseeing required filings and organizational compliance with federal and state laws. She brings a detail-oriented, operations-focused perspective that supports organizational stability and long-term growth.
Director of Administration, Molecular Hydrogen Institute
Board Member and Treasurer, American Hydrogen Health Association
Founder and Director, Peaceful Possibilities
Alex Tarnava
WSI Competitions Strategist
Sponsor Outreach
Event Liason
Alex Tarnava is a biomedical innovator, inventor, and researcher known for his work in molecular hydrogen therapy, cellular health, and emerging biohacking technologies. His work sits at the intersection of biomedical science, human performance, and health optimization, with a focus on developing practical tools that improve resilience, recovery, and overall well-being.
Inventor of open-cup hydrogen tablets
Co-inventor of the inhaleH2 unit
Author and Philosopher
Kamie Christian
MHI Marketing Associate
Kamie Christian is a dynamic creative leader with a unique background as both a Marketing Director and Art Director. Operating at the intersection of visual storytelling and data-driven strategy, she leverages this dual expertise to ensure beautiful design always serves a larger business purpose. Passionate about innovative problem-solving and brand development, Kamie seamlessly merges striking creative with high-level objectives to consistently elevate the brands she partners with.
Marketing Specialist, Molecular Hydrogen Institute
Founder, Design Labs Marketing & Design Agency
Volunteer Marketing Director & Graphic Designer for multiple nonprofit organizations
Different Perspectives. Shared Respect. Common Standards.
WSI is intentionally designed to include people from different disciplines, communities, experiences, and schools of thought, including individuals who may strongly disagree about particular health and wellness questions.
Why Different Perspectives Matter
Critical thinking is strengthened when people engage seriously with perspectives that challenge their own. Productive disagreement can reveal hidden assumptions, expose weaknesses in reasoning, improve the questions being asked, and clarify which conclusions are most consistent with the available evidence.
Why Common Standards Matter
Welcoming different perspectives does not mean treating every claim as equally credible or deciding scientific questions by compromise. Claims must still be evaluated according to the quality of the evidence, the strength of the reasoning, the transparency of the methods, and the degree of uncertainty involved.
Everyone involved in WSI is expected to engage in good faith, treat others with dignity, distinguish evidence from personal conviction, and remain willing to reconsider a position when stronger evidence becomes available.
Participation Does Not Impy Endorsement
WSI welcomes participation from people with different backgrounds, perspectives, and views on health and wellness. A person’s involvement reflects a specific role, contribution, or expression of support for WSI’s educational mission.
Participation in WSI does not mean that WSI or MHI endorses everything a person has said, published, sold, promoted, or supported. Likewise, participation does not mean that any advisor, reviewer, contributor, supporter, sponsor, partner, speaker, or participant endorses the views, claims, products, affiliations, or conclusions of any other person involved.
This distinction allows WSI to bring together people who may disagree strongly while still asking everyone to engage respectfully, evaluate claims carefully, and apply common standards of evidence and reasoning.
Scientific Advisors & Curriculum Reviewers
WSI Scientific Advisors and Curriculum Reviewers help develop, review, and refine educational questions, learning modules, scientific explanations, and evidence-evaluation standards. Their role is to support scientific accuracy, intellectual humility, and fair evaluation of health and wellness claims.
Participation as a Scientific Advisor or Curriculum Reviewer reflects a specific contribution to WSI’s educational process. It does not imply endorsement of every WSI participant, sponsor, contributor, or viewpoint represented in the broader initiative.
Tyler W. LeBaron, MSc., PhD.
WSI Scientific Advisor
Dr. LeBaron is a researcher and educator who translates complex science into practical insight on health, performance, and human potential. He is the Founder and Executive Director of the Molecular Hydrogen Institute (a science-based 501(c)3 nonprofit) and an adjunct professor of exercise physiology and chemistry at Southern Utah University.
Executive Director, Molecular Hydrogen Institute
Vice President, International Society for Hydrogen Medicine and Biology
Adjunct Instructor, Southern Utah University
PhD in Physiology
MSc in Exercise and Sports Conditioning
BSc in Biochemistry
Dr. Sergej Ostojić, MD., PhD.
WSI Scientific Advisor
Dr. Ostojic is deeply committed to mentoring and education, with a strong record of supervising undergraduate students, graduate students, and postdoctoral fellows. His teaching and mentorship emphasize rigorous methodology, translational thinking, and innovation in human metabolism, clinical nutrition, and bioenergetics.
Professor, Texas Tech University
Editor-In-Chief, Clinical Bioenergetics (MDPI)
Series Editor, Translational and Applied Bioenergetics (Elsevier)
Prof Leonidas G Karagounis, PhD.
WSI Scientific Advisor
Professor Karagounis has over 20 years of experience investigating the effect of nutrition and lifestyle on muscle metabolism, aging, physical activity, and metabolic disease with a strong track record of peer reviewed publications. His work includes landmark trials in dietary protein intake and nutraceutical research across age groups, several patents, and translation of his research into the development and commercial launch of scientifically proven nutritional products in the areas of childhood growth & development, healthy aging and metabolic health.
Professor of Research Translation & Enterprise, Mary MacKillop Institute for Health Research (MMIHR)
Chief Scientific Officer, Neat Science
Adjunct Professor, Institute of Social and Preventative Medicine (ISPM)
Recognized Contributors & Participating Voices
WSI is a community-based educational initiative, and anyone may participate in the community, submit questions, and engage with WSI activities. However, public listing on this page is reserved for individuals who have made a recognized contribution, participated in a defined WSI role, or publicly supported WSI’s educational mission.
Recognized Contributors and Participating Voices may include question contributors, public supporters, critical reviewers, event participants, educators, practitioners, scientists, science communicators, influencers, and others who support the goal of improving scientific literacy, critical thinking, and constructive dialogue in wellness.
Listing someone here reflects their specific role or expression of support. It should not be interpreted as a general endorsement of their views, products, claims, affiliations, or conclusions.
Question Contributor Recognition
Anyone may submit questions to WSI. Submission does not guarantee acceptance, publication, public listing, or endorsement. Questions are reviewed for accuracy, clarity, educational value, relevance, and alignment with WSI’s standards for evidence, reasoning, and respectful dialogue.
Public recognition as a Question Contributor is generally reserved for individuals who have had at least 25 questions approved through the WSI review process, or who have made another substantial approved contribution to WSI educational content.
Tyler W. LeBaron, MSc., PhD.
WSI Chairman
Dr. LeBaron is a researcher and educator who translates complex science into practical insight on health, performance, and human potential. He is the Founder and Executive Director of the Molecular Hydrogen Institute (a science-based 501(c)3 nonprofit) and an adjunct professor of exercise physiology and chemistry at Southern Utah University.
Executive Director, Molecular Hydrogen Institute
Vice President, International Society for Hydrogen Medicine and Biology
Adjunct Instructor, Southern Utah University
PhD in Physiology
MSc in Exercise and Sports Conditioning
BSc in Biochemistry
Alex Tarnava
WSI Competitions Strategist
Alex Tarnava is a biomedical innovator, inventor, and researcher known for his work in molecular hydrogen therapy, cellular health, and emerging biohacking technologies. His work sits at the intersection of biomedical science, human performance, and health optimization, with a focus on developing practical tools that improve resilience, recovery, and overall well-being.
Inventor of open-cup hydrogen tablets
Co-inventor of the inhaleH2 unit
Author and Philosopher
Dr. Sergej Ostojić, MD., PhD.
WSI Scientific Advisor
Dr. Ostojic is deeply committed to mentoring and education, with a strong record of supervising undergraduate students, graduate students, and postdoctoral fellows. His teaching and mentorship emphasize rigorous methodology, translational thinking, and innovation in human metabolism, clinical nutrition, and bioenergetics.
Professor, Texas Tech University
Editor-In-Chief, Clinical Bioenergetics (MDPI)
Series Editor, Translational and Applied Bioenergetics (Elsevier)
Prof Leonidas G Karagounis, PhD.
WSI Scientific Advisor
Professor Karagounis has over 20 years of experience investigating the effect of nutrition and lifestyle on muscle metabolism, aging, physical activity, and metabolic disease with a strong track record of peer reviewed publications. His work includes landmark trials in dietary protein intake and nutraceutical research across age groups, several patents, and translation of his research into the development and commercial launch of scientifically proven nutritional products in the areas of childhood growth & development, healthy aging and metabolic health.
Professor of Research Translation & Enterprise, Mary MacKillop Institute for Health Research (MMIHR)
Chief Scientific Officer, Neat Science
Adjunct Professor, Institute of Social and Preventative Medicine (ISPM)
Vadim Gershteyn, PhD
Challenge Contributor
I am PhD-trained philosopher who has written 21 books and edited 15 others. I have also edited hundreds of papers intended for publication in scientific journals. I worked in health sciences research. I am a content expert in American pragmatism (philosophy), the philosophy of Nietzsche, and other Humanities topics. I have tutored on-and-off for 13 years, most recently intensively for 1 year. I can tutor English, reading, and other Humanities topics.
Writer and Philosopher
Author of 21 books
Editor of 15 additional books
Shary Mitidieri, PhD
Challenge Contributor
Shary Mitidieri holds a PhD in International Studies from the University of Naples "L'Orientale," where she continues to teach a seminar on Eastern European history, politics, and society. She also holds an MPhil in International Strategic-Military Studies from the Centro Alti Studi per la Difesa (CASD) in Rome.
Shary works as an academic and non-fiction editor and serves as a freelance Political Advisor for European think tanks and international organizations. Her editorial work spans peer-reviewed research, policy analysis, and long-form nonfiction, with a focus on bringing rigorous, evidence-based thinking to a wider audience.
Seminar Instructor, University of Naples "L'Orientale"
Academic and Non-Fiction Editor
Freelance Political Advisor
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does WSI include people who hold very different or opposing views?
Scientific literacy is not strengthened by speaking only with people who already agree with us. WSI intentionally brings together individuals from different disciplines, communities, and perspectives. This includes people who may reach sharply different conclusions on subjects such as vaccination, nutrition, pharmaceuticals, complementary medicine, public health, or emerging wellness interventions.
The goal is not to manufacture controversy or imply that every position has equal evidentiary support. The goal is to encourage good-faith dialogue, identify assumptions, examine competing explanations, and determine which conclusions are better supported by the available evidence. Participants are expected to engage respectfully, represent opposing views fairly, disclose relevant conflicts, and remain willing to revise their conclusions.
Does WSI endorse the views of its contributors, advisors, sponsors, or partners?
No. Participation in WSI reflects a specific role or contribution and does not constitute endorsement of everything an individual or organization has said, supported, sold, or published. WSI also does not expect every participant to agree with every WSI conclusion or with one another.
WSI evaluates claims individually and applies the same standards regardless of whether a claim comes from a scientist, institution, company, practitioner, sponsor, influencer, critic, or member of the WSI community. Inclusion creates an opportunity for examination and dialogue; it does not establish scientific validity.
About MHI
MHI (Molecular Hydrogen Institute) is a 501(c)3 science based nonprofit focused on the research, education, and awareness of H2 as a potential therapeutic gas. MHI has certification pathways that teach about critical thinking, scientific literacy, and the foundations of molecular hydrogen. Our work is made possible by our MHI Community where community members get monthly updates from MHI, Q&A’s directly with Dr. LeBaron, an extensive resource library, and opportunities to advance our mission and get involved with our programs.
MHI and WSI do not endorse, promote, or recommend any specific wellness products. Although accepting sponsorship and financial support from companies may appear as a tacit endorsement, we would encourage you to ask questions and be skeptical when evaluating any product proportional to the amount of sacrifice, whether of time or money, being asked, to ensure it is right for you. When trying to determine if you should try something, follow the principles learned from WSI.
