Hi. I'm Thomas Bowman.
How did I come to bring
SupportSupp to the world?
kept a handwritten
notebook full of physics notes from one of his
college classes..
My father
Those were his own notes, saved all those years. His thinking was sop clear that even I could follow it when I was about 15. I admired my father for his brilliance as a rocket scientist. That notebook taught me that science doesn't have to hard to understand.
From an early age, it hooked me.
High school Chemistry classes with Mr. David Fredenberg at San Pasqual High School in Escondido, California
were a highlight. I was always interested in how things work That curiosity still has me reading the scientific literature.
Chemistry
Did you or any of your friends have a home chemistry set?
Yes, I look like my father.
Yes didn't we all want to be a mad scientist for at least one night?
After high school, I double-majored in Chemistry and Biology, mostly because I was increasingly interested in human biochemistry. After college, I worked as a chemist studying potentially toxic contaminants in waste water.
My father Bob Bowman
Did I have a date for graduation?
A visit with a podiatrist introduced me to a profession that appealed to my curiosity about the human body. I went on to earn my first doctorate in podiatric medicine, followed by hospital residency training. Then came clinical practice: running a foot surgery clinic, making house calls, and traveling to rural health clinics. I loved my patients. However, I wanted to learn more about how the body works. Authoring my first clinical journal article helped draw me toward research.
After selling my practice, I enrolled in the Medical College of Ohio, which later became part of the University of Toledo. There, I joined the laboratory of Sonia Najjar, Ph.D., director of the Center for Diabetes and Endocrine Research.
I earned my Ph.D. in biomedical sciences with a concentration in cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. My research explored how diet, fasting, and aerobic capacity affect insulin resistance and metabolism in the liver
Receiving my PhD
next to my science mentor,
Sonia Najjar, Ph.D.
Dr. and Mrs. Bowman
I then moved to Boston for a postdoctoral position in the obesity and metabolism laboratory of Andrew Greenberg, MD, at Tufts University. There I studied how lipid droplets, the tiny structures that store fat inside cells, help regulate metabolism. From my doctoral and postdoctoral work,
I coauthored 18 additional journal articles.
Do I look like a chemist now?
Discoveries
During my postdoctoral research, I discovered a genetic switch that completely changes how the body responds to dietary fat.
Ultimately, my work found that metabolism depends on more than calories. In mice, we deleted a gene for a protein that activates fatty acids in the gut and liver. Changing how the body handles fat produced powerful hormonal signals that dramatically altered energy metabolism, including a 13-fold increase blood levels of FGF21, a major energy hormone
Supplements
Jarrow Rogovin
During my eight years as Senior Scientist at Jarrow Formulas and Natrol, I had the privilege of working with excellent scientists inside and outside the company, including Anthony Thomas, Dallas Clouatre, Emily Ho, Luca Tiano, Michael Grandner, Helen Burgess, Anne Talash Likimani, and William Lagakos. This role granted me a front-row seat to the thinking of the company’s founder, Jarrow Rogovin. Jarrow was an industry pioneer, and I valued the opportunity to travel, meet, and collaborate with him regularly.
Long before it was standard practice, Jarrow stressed the vital importance of building collaborative partnerships with suppliers who sold premium, clinically backed, branded ingredients. He understood that true market differentiation came from mutual respect and shared scientific integrity with ingredient innovators. He didn't want commodities; he wanted verified efficacy.
Jarrow was light-years ahead of his time. He continuously pushed the envelope, introducing sophisticated formulations, unique delivery systems, and early probiotics to the public long before mainstream retail caught up. He fought fiercely for the industry's right to innovate, always grounding his products in a desire to genuinely improve consumer health.
Working in that environment taught me that scientific advancement and a genuine commitment to people can go hand in hand. Jarrow proved that you can build an iconic, globally recognized supplement brand by prioritizing scientific truth, building strong, lasting relationships with suppliers, and fiercely protecting your employees.
My published work includes fundamental research on gut and liver health, as well as a collaborative paper on improving the research system and career opportunities for young scientists.
In recent years, I've led Science at Vytalogy Wellness and now serve independently as Director of Science and Regulatory for SuppsPhD, providing scientific guidance and regulatory audits to “clarify credible science for credible supplements.”
Radical Innovation Grounded In Truth
I follow Jarrow's path, pushing the boundaries of supplement formulation and delivery systems based strictly on hard biochemistry, not passing marketing trends.
I'm truly bemused, fascinated and sometimes horrified by the way some supplement companies market their products.
So with SupportSupp, I'm going to do it all differently.
I’m bringing years of clinical discipline and discovery to support the cognitive function, focus and mood of children who need it most.
I'm also doing it for a very personal reason.
Meet my granddaughter Heidi, who is autistic.
And who is a precious, beautiful girl.
