Medical Advisory Board

All board members serve in an advisory capacity only

William T. Harvey, M.D., MPH
Geoffrey S. Ames, M.D.
Robert C. Bransfield, M.D., DFAPA, PC
Rebecca M. Ricchi, RN, ARNP, B.C.
Ginger Savely, RN, FNP-C
James L. Schaller, M.D., MAR
Raphael B. Stricker, M.D. 
Todd M. Warden,M.D

If you are medical practitioner seeing patients with Morgellons Disease and would like to know more, please see our "To Physicians" section. 

Some of the symptoms and physical structures associated with this disease are unusual and may lead physicians to assume that the patient is misinterpreting their situation. Many adults with the symptoms of this skin disease report having received a diagnosis of DP or Delusions of Parasitosis.

Various organisms may be found on the skin of individuals with this disease, but are not currently the focus of this investigation. The only consistencies observed by laboratories affiliated with this foundation, have been the fibers, black specks, and granule-like structures. These consistent findings are the main focus of our investigation into the primary cause of Morgellons Disease.
 

Health Care Professional’s Statements

“I’m a physician with varied backgrounds… Bachelor’s Degree in Astronautical Engineering from the USAF Academy, Masters Degrees in Public Health and Electrical Engineering, an MD from Case Western Reserve University. I’m Board Certified in Aerospace Medicine and Board Eligible in Emergency Medicine…a 23-year career in the US Air Force, much of which was in space science, space medicine and space medicine research at the School of Aerospace medicine, Brooks AFB….Medical Director for the Space Station Program for Lockheed Corporation, then for Wyle Life Sciences at Johnson Space center. …solving medical problems in spaceflight where no knowledge or texts existed before has been my career. The Morgellon’s phenomenon is real. It is also clearly devastating, life-shortening, and infectious. I have observed the herald lesions microscopically with their central fibers in dozens of patients. Virtually all have lost both income and medical insurance, and are now a significant drain on the medical system, the federal budget and their immediate social system. …international link up with physicians in Europe and most other English speaking countries has resulted in a crescendo in awareness of the illness, and collection of large amounts of publishable data. Tragically, the roots of the illness now appear to be global….” - William T. Harvey, MD, MS, MPH San Antonio, Texas

"It's a very bizarre kind of symptom… because you can see them coming through the skin. I think it's been trivialized in the past….people are starting to pay more attention because there are more and more patients who seem to have it. There's a large proportion who are either nurses or teachers. There is always something that we don’t understand and we’re constantly coming up with new things that we don’t really understand yet… The CDC has no program to test Morgellons…They're being a little disingenuous.” - Raphael Stricker, MD San Francisco, California

“…I now have over 50 patients who fit the criteria for Morgellons disease… As Nurse Practitioners, we must strive to look beyond what we have been taught when confronted with new and puzzling symptoms in patients. Rather than being quick to pigeonhole these patients into a psychiatric diagnosis, we owe it to them to thoroughly investigate the cause of their symptoms. Morgellons disease is a reminder that we have much to learn by really listening to the patient.” - Ginger Saveley, NP-F Austin, Texas