Dr. Mark Mellow is a celebrated author/co-author of over 50 clinical research studies, several of which have been cited in the New York Times, USA Today and the Economist. In additione has been named one of the “Best Doctors in the Central United States” on several occasions. Ahead of his time in the field of Gastroenterology, Dr. Mellow made his mark as the lead investigator, and one of the first to report on the successful transplantation of healthy bacteria into the colons of patients suffering from recurrent C difficile infections (the colon “superbug”). For this, he was honored with the “Best Clinical Research Study” award at the 2013 Annual American College of Gastroenterology meeting. While this research was cutting edge at the time, this type of transplantation is now being studied for use in the treatment of many diseases in a variety of medical specialties. Most recently, he was published in the American College of Gastroenterology Magazine , writing about the power of faith and spirituality in medicine, both for physicians and their patients.

In addition to his medical achievements, Dr. Mellow was proud to receive the Humanitarian Award from the Oklahoma State Medical Association, for being founder and president of a ride service for seniors that provided them with transportation to and from medical visits, food shopping and other vital necessities. A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and New York Medical college, he served in the US Navy Medical Corps and completed his fellowship at Boston University, after which he pursued a career in academic medicine at Columbia University and Georgetown. When he moved to Oklahoma City, he was able to combine his two passions, patient care and clinical research at the University of Oklahoma School of Medicine.

Dr. Mellow has always been both a scientific and spiritual advocate, but his interest in the physical and mental health benefits of faith and spirituality grew from a personal challenge he undertook to read the Bible, cover to cover, in a year. Fascinated by the ancient dietary and health laws he uncovered, he marveled at both their accuracy and value as health preserving measures despite being written at a time when there was no scientific basis or knowledge for these measures. Dr. Mellow identified the core biblical message as being one of compassion, leading him to study the emerging scientific field of epigenetics and the biological effects of compassion on our health, as well as one’s emotions such as depression, anger and optimism. These revelations became the inspiration and guiding force behind his recent book, “A Case For Faith.”

Currently, Dr. Mellow lives with his wife Patti (43 great years and going). He is incredibly proud of his daughter, Skye, a pediatric ICU nurse, who just volunteered for several months aboard the SS Mercy hospital ship. He misses his son spencer, who succumbed to bi-polar disease as a young man. In the Mellow household, dogs, cats , deep love and strong faith abound.