Mari is a Physician Assistant (PA) with an Associates Degree from Albany Medical Center Hudson Valley Physician Assistant Program. Mari is currently training in Functional Medicine through the Institute for Functional Medicine (IFM). Prior to joining The UltraWellness Center, Mari worked as a Clinical Research Coordinator in the Division of Rheumatology at Albany Medical Center working on clinical trials in Rheumatoid Arthritis, Scleroderma and Systemic Lupus Erythematosus. She and her colleagues contributed to publications regarding the use of disease modifying drugs used in the treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis and were part of the clinical trials of then novel biologics.

After completing her PA training in 2000, she joined a Rheumatology practice and during her 21 years in Rheumatology she recognized that although patients were noted to have the same labeled condition, each individual had a unique journey and outcome associated with his/her underlying diagnosis. These significant differences led Mari’s curiosity about other factors beyond pharmaceutical treatments which contributed to her patients’ successes. Though the pharmaceutical treatments made significant positive impacts on her patients’ quality of life, Mari came to understand that all aspects of a patient’s life led up to and affected their physicality including but not limited to spirituality, trauma, motivation, stressors, diet, lifestyle, etc. She began her exploration and discovery of Functional Medicine and during her coursework at IFM was fortunate to be able to work with a Life Coach offered through the IFM. The exploration of her life’s mission and goals with her Life Coach led to actionable steps which resulted in her career change and employment at The UltraWellness Center.

Mari is thrilled to be a part of the Functional Medicine paradigm at The UltraWellness Center which aligns with her own sense of importance in addressing the root cause of illness and optimizing health while working with a collaborative team providing compassionate evidenced based care.