Our Team
Meet Our Team
Dr. Matthew Willis, DC, DABCI - Founder
Board-Certified Diplomate Internist
Dr. Willis is a nationally board-certified diplomate internist (DABCI), and has completed over 9 years of post-doctorate education and holds advanced degrees and certifications in functional medicine, functional nutrition, internal medicine, clinical laboratory diagnosis, nutrigenomics, specialty laboratory testing, & natural treatment of internal disorders.
Dr. Willis believes that we all deserve a life of great health—and that we can create it for ourselves. That’s why he is dedicated to treating the root causes of chronic disease by using the dynamic model of Functional Medicine, which has been transforming the way healthcare is practiced in today's world as patients demand healthier and more effective alternatives to traditional drug therapy.
He is a practicing doctor, a recognized leader, speaker, author, educator, and advocate in his field. In 2020 and 2021, Dr. Willis was selected by the prestigious Marquis Who's Who in America, and also awarded one of America's Top Doctors for professional integrity, innumerable contributions to society, and outstanding achievement in his respective field.
Dr. Willis is the founder and director of Advanced Functional Medicine of San Diego (awarded best medical clinic in San Diego 4 years consecutive), Advanced Functional Medicine of Orange County and Los Angeles; a speaker for the nonprofit group Doctors for Health and Wellness; has been a regular medical contributor on many functional medicine and integrative health websites around the country. He has been featured on the Discovery Health Channel, KUSI news, and iHeart radio, and is also the author of the best-selling online book The Truth About Type 2 Diabetes. In 2019, Dr. Willis founded Advanced Functional Formulations, a nutraceutical brand of professional-grade supplements created in an FDA-approved facility to help patients overcome a variety of chronic illnesses.
He is a member of the nationally recognized Institute for Functional Medicine, the Council on Diagnosis of Internal Disorders, an active member of the Alzheimer's Family Organization, the Cancer Control Society, as well as a professional member of the American Diabetes Association.
Dr. Sonia Mohan, MD
Co-founder, Director
Dr. Sonia Mohan has years of research experience in pathology at the renowned Cedars Sinai Medical Institute in Los Angeles, CA.
This was followed by post-graduate residency training in the field of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Loma Linda University Medical Center. She is now an apprentice of Dr. Willis.
Most recently, seeking a transition from the confines of traditional medicine and learning about the many advantages of a whole-body approach, Dr. Mohan has partnered with the mission of Dr. Willis and now dedicates her career to healing using the latest research in functional medicine.
It is Dr. Mohan’s full intention to target the root causes of illness and embrace the patient’s true path to long-term well-being. Serving as co-owner and medical director of Advanced Functional Medicine has enabled Dr. Mohan to fulfill her patient’s needs in a more comprehensive and fulfilling manner than typical conventional medicine allows.
Vanessa Smith
Admissions Director
Vanessa Smith serves as Clinic and Admissions Director at Advanced Functional Medicine. She has years of experience in health and patient management in ER\Urgent Care, family practice, and cosmetic surgery. While perseverance and integrity earned a lot of success and respect with helping others, the cost was her own health. For her it manifested in severe migraines, weight gain, Autoimmune hypothyroidism, extreme fatigue, and loss of function and strength in her body. Navigating in the conventional system of drug therapy as the only insurance option was unsuccessful, as it is for many. After discovering Functional Medicine and getting to the root cause of her issues, she is now happy, healthy, and completely symptom free!
Functional Medicine saved her life and prompted a complete overhaul of her career. She began to study outcomes when the focus is on identifying the root cause. A holistic approach, not a one size fits all model is the difference it takes. To further her passion for contributing to the science behind a global shift in the way we see health care, she has studied the practical application of Data Science. She earned an Applied Data Science Certification through MIT’s professional certification program. Science is paving the way to build a new understanding of root cause medicine.
As her research progressed, she began to fully understand the power we all are gifted to create vibrant health! As a compliment to a functional approach to healthcare she trained under an MFT as an EFT practitioner and coach and in addition, she is working with a San Diego State University research team with a focus on the impact of meditation on the body. Holding initial discovery consultations at Advanced Functional Medicine, she is able to help potential patients discover if they would be a good candidate for Functional Medicine.
Dr. Susanne Macsay, DDS, NMD, ND
Naturopathic Physician
Dr. Susy is a board-certified and licensed Naturopathic Physician in California, Arizona, Oregon, as well as Puerto Rico.
As a former Dentist—still licensed in her home country of Denmark—she was transitioning over the years to a more comprehensive and holistic system of healthcare and was very happy to discover Naturopathic and Functional Medicine early in her career.
Dr. Susy’s years of practicing have been shared between her helping patients with chronic disease with a focus on research-based natural cancer care, including Gerson Therapy and advanced Integrative Cancer care uniting Traditional & Modern Naturopathic Medicine with Acupuncture & Oriental Medicine.
Dr. Susy was also a professor at the Naturopathic Doctoral program in Puerto Rico, teaching clinical/medical sciences as well as supervising general care, acupuncture, and physical medicine clinic, educating medical students at the doctorate level.
Dr. Susy’s passion is to help people feel their best, reduce pain, improve and maintain their health and well-being, and her guidance is focused on self-care as the key that incorporates Mind-Body Medicine.
Dr. Susy is also a certified Upledger CranioSacral Therapist since 1995, as well as a certified Yoga teacher, and she has practiced, taught, and lived in Denmark, Greece, Turkey, and the United States, including Puerto Rico.
Furthermore, due to her background as a Dentist, Dr. Susy pays specific attention to the dental health of her patients. Science is revealing on an almost daily continuum that dental health is paramount to overall health, and that mouth and body are inseparable.
Dr. Susy believes that prevention and daily personal practice is the best cure, and that nature and laughter are some of our greatest healers. She loves nature in all its glory, the beach, and the mountains, and is very excited to be exploring San Diego and SoCal, the salsa dance scene, culture, and the performing/arts while enjoying being close to her grown children, one of which is a Naturopathic Doctor as well.
Dr. Grace Victor, ND
Naturopathic Physician
Dr. Grace is a CA Licensed Naturopathic Doctor. She earned her Doctorate in Naturopathic Medicine from Bastyr University in San Diego, CA. Her journey to Naturopathic Medicine began after completing her undergraduate degree with a desire to find a model of medicine that focuses on chronic disease management and prevention, and a patient-centered healthcare model that allows patients to heal from the inside—not just mask symptoms with pharmaceuticals.
Dr. Victor was drawn to the success of the Functional Medicine healthcare model at Advanced Functional Medicine. Her passion is to support patients on their healthcare journey through utilizing nutrition, botanical medicine, homeopathy, lifestyle, and nutrient supplementation. Outside of the office, Dr. Victor enjoys spending time with her family, and enjoying the sunny SoCal weather!
Sara Leckman, BSN, RN, HHC
Registered Nurse, Functional Health Coach
Sara is a Registered Nurse and Board-Certified Health and Wellness Coach originally from Washington State where she completed her Bachelor’s degree in the Science of Nursing at Seattle Pacific University. Before joining the team at Advance Functional Medicine, Sara worked as a Nurse Clinician at a Community Health Clinic in Seattle, where she practiced chronic disease management and led diabetes education programs. Early on in her career, she recognized that the conventional-medicine model fails to identify and treat the root cause of disease, and often leaves patients desperate for more help. Sara decided that she could no longer be a part of the ineffective and costly medical system that simply “manages chronic disease”. In search of something greater, Sara discovered the power of Functional Medicine. Since then, Sara has completed additional training in Nutrition, Holistic Nursing, and Functional Medicine.
Sara believes the human body is innately intelligent and fully capable of healing given the right environment. As an RN Health Coach, Sara sees her patients as active participants in their care, as they are supported in creating lasting-lifestyle change. Sara’s mission is to educate and empower patients to take back control of their health. What Sara loves most about her role here at Advanced Functional Medicine, is seeing patients get off numerous prescription medications while they continue to reverse disease and live more fulfilling lives.
Dr. Kris Larson, MSOM, DACM
Doctor of Chinese and Oriental Medicine
Dr. Kris has a Master's in Oriental Medicine and is a Doctor of Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine. Her journey toward becoming a medical professional was an uncommon one. She started having her own personal health struggles in her early twenties—nagging, unexplained symptoms that would not go away. After several years, she finally turned to alternative and natural forms of medicine for healing, and like many, her life was forever changed! This started her journey of becoming a doctor that could fully embrace the patient, healing from the inside out, breaking the confines of the traditional drug-therapy model.
She is passionate about Functional Medicine by helping patients heal through nutrition, supplements, modalities like acupuncture, and a positive mindset. She is a believer that educating and empowering her patients to live a clean, non-toxic lifestyle combined with healthy eating can be the key foundations to optimal health and aging.
Leslie Katousky, BS, CN
Clinical Nutritionist
Leslie started her health journey when she was just in high school. After seeing incredible results with changes to her diet she decided to pursue a career in nutrition. Leslie attended San Diego State University and received her Bachelor of Science in Foods and Nutrition. After graduation, she began working at Palomar Hospital then a Skilled Nursing Facility as a Dietary Supervisor. She loved working with patients but wanted to help prevent these illnesses. She went on to work for a weight loss company and then found her way to Advanced Functional Medicine where her passion for preventative and natural medicine was able to expand and be used.
With over 10 years of patient experience, Leslie has been a part of our team for many years and has enjoyed learning from Dr. Willis and getting to work with patients to transform their health. She enjoys continuing her education in her spare time, cooking, and spending time with her husband and daughter enjoying the beautiful city of San Diego.
Lauren Ciavarella
Director of Operations
Kelly Vanderveen
Medical Esthetician
Alyssa Lugo
Certified Functional Medicine Wellness Coach
Dr. Bianca Snead, ND, JD
Dr. Bianca is a board-certified and licensed Naturopathic Doctor in California. She obtained her doctorate at Bastyr University in San Diego, California. Prior to that, she was a graduate from Stanford Law and spent a large portion of her career helping fostered youth receive the services they needed while they were in the dependency system. Dr. Bianca made her way back to her passion medicine after encountering her own health struggles. She found that taking a whole body approach to treatment gave her the most successful results, and she wanted to share this approach with others. She strongly believes that healing the body should begin with finding the root cause. Once that is determined, then we can support the body's ability to heal itself using diet, nutrition, supplement therapy, and simple lifestyle modifications.
The patient success stories at Advanced Functional Medicine continue to confirm that the model of finding the root case and treating the whole person (mind, body and spirit), is the best way to approach patient care. She loves working with patients and seeing incredible results using this approach.
In her free time, Bianca enjoys spending time with her husband and son, either playing board games or exploring the many gems of San Diego. She also enjoys dancing, pilates, and going to movies, musicals and concerts. She is also a former Zumba instructor and is certified in Reiki.