More About Dr. Mel Sotos

Credentials

Dr. Maryelaine (Mel) Sotos is an integrative family medicine physician with specialized training in genomics. While her path to her current practice wasn’t a straight line, it helps to clarify how she got here. Starting with a master’s degree in architecture, Mel has always been drawn to design, specifically the structures that lie beneath the surface that give shape to what is seen. But designing buildings wasn’t enough. She quickly understood that the form she found most interesting was the human body. She desired to go deeper.

Focusing on the fuel of the human body, she became a registered dietitian and worked with Dr. Amy Myers in Austin, Texas as the first dietitian in her patient facing practice. Then she worked with the renowned Dr. Mark Hyman in Lenox, Massachusetts while simultaneously teaching at Kripalu, a yoga institute, also located in the Berkshires of Massachusetts. While she saw the critical benefits delivered through better nutrition, she knew that wasn't all.

This led to medical school and becoming an integrative family medicine physician, meeting Dr. Sharon Hausman-Cohen, and joining Resilient Health, where she honed her specific interests in health optimization ("biohacking"), women's health and fertility, and neurodivergence. It was here that she was formally trained in genomics and finally got to the deepest level, the core of who we are, and where the most truly personalized health care can change peoples lives: The elegant machine inside each one of us.

Sociology

Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology from Pepperdine University, Malibu, California

Architecture

Master of Architecture degree from University of Texas, Austin, Texas

Nutrition

Master of Science, Nutrition + Dietetic Internship from Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas

Physician

Doctor of Osteopathy degree from University of North Texas Health Science Center - TCOM, Fort Worth, Texas

Family Medicine Residency at University of Texas at Austin, Dell Medical School, Austin, Texas

Board certified in Family Medicine

Affiliations

Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Member

Texas Medical Association, Member

Texas Academy of Family Physicians, Member

American Academy of Family Physicians, Member

Licensing

Texas, Kansas, Colorado, Missouri and Florida medical licenses with ability to obtain others

Full unrestricted national DEA license

More About IntellxxDNA

Dr. Sharon Hausman-Cohen,
co-founder, chief science officer & medical director of IntellxxDNA

Whereas most commercial tests focus on just a few alleles or single SNPs, our technology and proprietary methodology dives into the interplay within multiple SNPs, as well as the role that minor alleles play in gene function. IntellxxDNA™’s reporting provides analytics on SNP variables and pairs these findings with odds ratios, a critical factor in clinical decision-making.

IntellxxDNA™’s data and analytics look at the complex intricacies of a patient’s genomic profile and how small variations within their DNA affect their quality of life and health risks. We include evidence-based, well-researched potential intervention strategies – encompassing environment, lifestyle, nutrition, supplements and medications. These components make our reports accessible and actionable for ease-of-use in clinical decision-making.

*IntellxxDNA is responsible for this content. For more information, please visit www.intellxxdna.com.

Consumer vs. Clinical Testing

Direct-To-Consumer Genotype Tests

You may have seen commercials for companies that provide DNA tests and health reports to the general public, often piggybacking on the public’s interest in genealogy and ancestry. We appreciate that their marketing efforts have brought the concept of genomics and health into the public eye, however the tests and reports that they deliver to the public are not medically comprehensive. These tests only show variants relayed through selected, single SNPs, which don’t tell the whole story from a clinical perspective.

Commercial Exome Tests

Some companies conduct whole genomic or exome sequencing – meaning they sequence all of your genes. Exome sequencing is a good choice if you are looking for a rare genetic illness, and you need to identify very large deletions or insertions. Examples of genetic illnesses include Huntington’s disease or genetic forms of breast cancer (i.e. BRCA). However, current exome reports do not tend to highlight gene interactions, role of variants, or potential modulation strategies. They are also cost prohibitive for routine use.

Clinical Genomic Tests

Created by clinicians for clinicians, IntellxxDNA™ is a clinical decision support tool that provides genomic data and analytics based on gene-to-gene and gene-to-environment interactions through SNP ("snip") technology. We include evidence-based, well-researched potential intervention strategies – encompassing environment, lifestyle, nutrition, supplements and medications. These components make our reports accessible and actionable for ease-of-use in clinical decision-making.