Get to know the woman behind the brand.

Martha Carlin, BiotiQuest CEO & Citizen Scientist

What’s different about the BiotiQuest brand is Martha. Martha Carlin’s passion for solving complex health problems comes from the heart as well as her mind. Her relentless pursuit to understand our growing health challenges has led her on the path to becoming a respect citizen scientist in the microbiome and Parkinson’s fields. Her passion for helping people feel better is genuine. In 2014, Martha Carlin was inspired by groundbreaking research that found the connection between gut bacteria and the two phenotypes of Parkinson’s Disease (PD). This insight is the foundation and core philosophy that led her to develop a special probiotic formula (now called Sugar Shift®) for her husband, John, who has PD. After tracking John’s improved health while taking Sugar Shift, Martha knew it was her responsibility to bring the product to market, motivate people to own their own health and begin creating a knowledge base for people to easily find helpful information to feel their best.

She's obsessed with gut-health and wants you to know about it, too!

The passion she has for helping people feel better is evident from the moment you engage with her. Carlin helps people find their way to better health by restoring the natural function in their gut. BiotiQuest®, the line of premium probiotics she has developed helps boost and rebuild your body’s ability to function at its optimal level. Her probiotics target known triggers that plague the quality of our daily lives like sugar cravings, constipation, unstable blood sugar levels, low-energy, metabolic issues, etc. The probiotics help with specific problems that can be addressed by restoring mucosal surfaces and balancing the relationships between good and bad bacteria in the gut. Carlin believes that the secret to whole-body wellness is a healthy gut. If you try her product for 30 days and are unhappy for any reason the company with refund the purchase price. She’s confident it will help and wants you to see for yourself. Martha encourages you to gather your own data and measure your improvements in your health.

The backstory

In 2002 when John was just 44 years old, the Carlin’s were told that John had Parkinson’s. The Carlins to on John’s diagnosis of Parkinson’s first following all the recommendations mainstream medicine could offer. But there was no search for root cause in this approach. It wasn’t enough. Over the years John had his ups and downs often improved by changes in diet, exercise and stress management. 2016 was a stressful year with a major move and their last child leaving for college. These stressors took their toll on the PD and John was starting to have trouble walking through crowds. Some of the traditional approaches and medications often made John’s symptom worse. Not willing to settle, Martha began immersing herself in the latest research, holistic solutions, etc. trying to find a way, any way to help John. But that was just the beginning of her quest to defeat Parkinson’s. After years of re-learning the sciences, pouring over research (and commissioning work at the University of Chicago), Martha decided to leave a successful career as a systems-thinker and business turnaround expert to start The BioCollective in 2015.

“I used to have a career that was all about making money and moving up the ladder. When I started doing this and seeing how much I can help people—even the little interactions on the phone; that human connection and really being able to make a difference in somebody’s life—that is what motivates me to get up in the morning. I am so much happier doing this and working to help people live healthier, happier lives.?  – MARTH CARLIN

The BioCollective’s mission is to accelerate discovery and further understand the impact of microbiome gut-health on human health, including Parkinson’s. Her vision for the company is to propel the industry further

“It’s not important who makes the discoveries. We just need to feed research and foster fresh thinking so we can improve the lives of everyday people as quickly as possible.�?

— MARTHA CARLIN

The company is known for creating one of the first fecal banks in the world. Collecting and studying fecal samples is the most direct way to uncover the innerworkings of the microbiome in the gut. To simplify the collecting fecal samples at home the company saw a need and received a patent for The BioCollector®. The BioCollector is the industry’s only complete sample collection system for whole stool. Today, The BioCollective offers superior fecal samples, TruMatrix®, to elevate microbiome research with validated, quality-controlled reference. The research team at The BioCollective fuels the formulations of BiotQuest probiotics. 

Sharing the story

Martha was a speaker at The White House 2016 Microbiome Initiative launch, challenging the scientific community to “think in a broader context?. She is frequently a featured guest on various podcasts, especially author Dr. Bill Davis’ well-known Undoctored podcast. Life's Best Medicine Podcast with Dr. Brian Lenzkes, the Keto Kamp Podcast with Ben Azadi, Paula Vargas, President and Founder of PARK4U, Robert Rodgers, PhD, on Blog Talk Radio, 7th Annual Kick Sugar Summit and more.


At the age of 60, her systems-thinking background and experience has led to multiple collaborations across the scientific spectrum from neuroscience to engineering to infectious disease. She is an entrepreneur, innovator and respected out-of-the-box problem-solver in the microbiome field and always brings a unique perspective to helping others understand the connections from the soil to the food to our guts and our brains.

 

“I taught myself chemistry, physics, biochemistry, microbiology, soils biology, genetics and much more that has gained me the respect of many scientists in a highly-educated industry,? she said. Carlin now describes herself as a self-taught citizen scientist.?  – MARTHA CARLIN

But there’s more…

If that’s not enough, Carlin has become an industry thought-leader and regularly blogs about her latest insights and fresh-thinking about health, the microbiome and environmental issues on the BiotiQuest website. 


You can also follow her personal ideas on her blog called Martha’s Quest. This is an ?unplugged? platform where you can get to know more about the personal health journey Martha and John have been on. The hope is to someday build this blog into a forum for other like-minded individuals to exchange ideas. Now recognized as an industry expert, Carlin routinely speaks at Microbiome Conferences such as Global Engage San Diego and Future of Food London events, as well as Translational Microbiome Boston, NutrEvent France, ISBER China and don’t miss her TedX Talk.



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On personal level, Martha enjoys adventuring in the great outdoors and spending time with her family. She’s a self-admitted wellness junkie and Parkinson’s warrior.