About us

“I saw a man get hit by a car when I was 6 years old, and I remember wondering, ‘Why is no one helping him?’”

Who knows whether Russ’ early childhood memory set him on his path of medical research pioneer? Everyone is the sum of his or her experiences and for Russ Scala, all roads eventually pointed to the field of personalized medicine.

In the 1950’s, his father developed and managed a medical maintenance program for employees of a major New Jersey food distribution company. A prime focus of this program was dealing with the effects of stress and alcoholism. Russ’ uncle, Dr. Ray Scala, was a pediatrician in Central Florida for 30 years. His leadership within the local Rotary Club established the Harbor School, a school for children with learning disabilities.

At age 14, Russ was granted working papers to do grunt jobs at a New Jersey hospital and he continued to do so when his family relocated to Central Florida. Dr. Francis Covelli (to whom a wing of Winter Park Memorial was dedicated) and Dr. Frederick Wertzel brought him on their rounds like an intern. Russ reveled in the kinetic energy of the ER.

At age 18, Russ was encouraged by his mentors to enter the new paramedic program in Central Florida—where the ER was brought to the streets—and where telemedicine was born. Paramedics administered live-saving drugs on the scene and were the eyes and hands of physicians. They used the specialized equipment of the day to send EKGs and communicate with doctors.

Russ’ career path included becoming a paramedic in the fire department. He was the youngest paramedic ever promoted to lieutenant in the fire service in Central Florida. He went on to the police academy in order to become a paramedic serving the Orlando SWAT team. Russ also earned a Master’s Degree from Rollins College, with a course of study that focused on the aging workforce.

In 1995, Russ wrote a book called Critical Seconds, which instructed people what to do once they hung up the phone from their 911 call and awaited the paramedics. It sold 10,000 copies. He detailed what could be done immediately to take advantage of the critical seconds that can save someone’s life. Even in your life, there are actions you can take immediately when you are diagnosed with an illness.

Russ generally doesn’t tell stories about his work as a paramedic, only to say that he’s been covered in blood and brain matter, and witnessed the worst graphic scenes you can imagine. However, through this experience, he developed the ability to quickly size up a situation and a person’s state in order to make life and death decisions.

It was also during his emergency runs that he noted certain people responding differently—or oppositely—to treatment protocols than his manuals indicated. This, along with his patients’ differing recovery rates, piqued his curiosity.

Almost reminiscent of his 6-year-old-self, Russ recalls, “I kept wondering what makes one person recover while another does not.”

Russ noticed that members of emergency teams often resorted to unhealthy stress relievers like drugs and alcohol (not unlike victims of PTSD). This imprinted a big lesson that remains top-of-mind when dealing with clients today:

“If you’re in a high-stress environment, you must take care of yourself.”

Triathlons were a novelty in the early 80’s and this was where Russ decompressed. He was fortunate to associate with Jeff Cuddieback, a national Iron Man champion and triathlon coach; exercise physiology professors Dr. Jerry Gergley and Dr. Don Ardell, and Alec Rucosev, a pro triathlete from Russia who was featured on the front cover of Iron Man Magazine in 1996.

His destiny followed him around as he met more and more athletes—supposedly in the best shape of all—with adrenal fatigue, thyroid problems, and heart arrhythmias! Russ experienced the same symptoms and went to four cardiologists himself, looking for answers. Being in this group put Russ at the “tip of the spear” for medical research. Triathletes were often the first to try anything to improve performance and recovery. Remember, there were no books written about triathletes yet!

When asked about his big take-away during this phase of career, Russ says:

“Never treat systems in isolation.”

In 1995/1996, Russ served as president of Denovo Health Solutions, a company that developed and formulated customized nutritional products. During this time, Russ worked with the leaders in nutritional biochemistry at Metametrix Research Lab: founder and molecular biologist, Dr. Alexander Brailey; Terri Pollock, a leading nutritionist; and Dr. Jim Lord, PhD in biochemistry, who conducted advanced nutritional testing. This core group published white papers detailing how environmental toxins cause nutritional deficiencies.

Because he had immersed himself in the worlds of the police, firemen and endurance athletes, he was curious about what was going on in their bodies. No one was testing the outliers, those who performed up against human limitations and experienced extreme stress every day. Testing included blood, urine, and saliva to reveal nutritional deficiencies and adrenal/hormone/thyroid dysfunction. Russ and his colleagues discovered that the damage caused by stress, running 20 miles a day and sleep deprivation elicited the same stress responses (and physical manifestations) in the body.

Russ eventually left competitive sports, but his work with athletes led him to become the Director of Research at Signature Pharmacy from 2004 to 2008, a time when the company’s revenue grew from $4 million to $26 million.

He became known for spearheading advanced formulations and protocols for athletic performance enhancement. New York Times sports writer, David Epstein, often called upon Russ as a source. Russ trained over 200 physicians in anti-aging protocols and helped them set up anti-aging centers. The human genome was unlocked in 2003, but only recently has science made its secrets available to everyday people.

Which brings us to present day, and to you.

Russ is still responding to emergency calls—yours. Only now he has a research lab, testing facilities, state-of-the-art imaging center, pharmacy and cutting-edge research at his disposal. That—along with his undying curiosity—are what Russ Scala brings to you and your health team through Scala Precision Health.

Russ has been working with the same advanced research lab since 1995. They currently have a 100,000 sq. ft. facility with 20 PhDs on staff. He also consults with 4 different compounding pharmacies on the next generation of formulations. Russ currently works with a number of doctors including George A. Stanley, MD, MBA, owner and Medical Director of University Diagnostic Institute with 3 imaging centers in Central Florida and Dr. Iris Ayala, MD here in Central Florida.

“Russ Scala is the epitome of a key influencer. He has the rare gift of extrapolating data and converting it into results. Mr. Scala’s research team has brought evidence and discoveries to the table that have improved the health care industry, medical community  and patients’ rights forever. His passion and commitment to improving the health and wellness of others will add to our quality of life for generations to come.”

— Dr. Glenn Toby