METAMOR INSTITUTE - Key Persons

Amanda Perron, RD, LDN, NSCA-CPT, earned her bachelor's degree in nutrition from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Over the last 20 years, she has worked as a Registered Dietitian counseling medical weight loss patients. Amanda has provided her weight management expertise during health fairs, nutrition seminars, personal training and weight loss support group sessions. She holds a certificate in adult weight management by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and is also a Certified Personal Trainer. (CPT).

Dr. Allain earned his medical degree from the LSU School of Medicine in New Orleans, where he also completed his internship and residency in general surgery. He is Fellowship trained in advanced laparoscopic and bariatric surgery and is Board Certified in general surgery. Dr. Allain performs a wide variety of operations using minimally invasive surgical techniques, including robotic surgery via the da Vinci Surgical System. He has a special interest in weight loss surgery, including gastric sleeve, gastric bypass and gastric balloon. His additional interests include anti-reflux surgery (including the LINX procedure), gallbladder surgery, hernia surgery, colon surgery, and surgery to treat excessive sweating.

Brian Saunders, MD, earned his medical degree and completed his residency in Emergency Medicine from Louisiana State University School of Medicine in New Orleans. Dr. Saunders is Board Certified in Emergency Medicine and is Board Eligible in Obesity Medicine. He is a member of the Obesity Medicine Association and the Obesity Society.

Carmen Pulido PhD MP, is a Medical Psychologist who describes her career's mission as that of supporting her clients in improving their lifestyle and mental health. She obtained her Bachelor of Science in Psychology from the University of California San Diego. She then continued her education at San Diego State University and the University of California San Diego earning her Master's and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in Clinical Psychology. Dr. Pulido also received a Post-Doctoral Master's degree in Clinical Pharmacology from the California School of Professional Psychology at Alliant International University. Dr. Pulido is licensed in Louisiana, Texas and California.

Holly Edmonds, PA-C, received her bachelor of science degree in microbiology from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, LA. She then went on to earn an advanced degree to become a physician assistant from Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center School of Allied Health in Shreveport, LA. She is licensed and has worked in Louisiana since the beginning of her career in 2003. She has worked in the field of Bariatric surgery her entire career, and has 1st assisted on over 7000 Bariatric surgery cases. She has also served as International Faculty for Johnson & Johnson and ASMBS teaching surgical techniques and instructing surgeons and PAs on critical pathways for metabolic and bariatric programs. She also served locally as an officer for the LA Chapter of the ASMBS. Not only has she fulfilled her clinical role as a PA-C, but she has also been the Bariatric Program Coordinator for OLOLA for the last 12 years. The hospital was awarded and has maintained multiple designations for providing excellent care in Bariatric surgery, including being named an MBSAQIP facility as well as a Blues Distinction facility. Her specialized care in the Bariatric industry is beyond impressive, and her experience is unmatched.

Jean Domercant, MD, earned his medical degree from the Medical University of the Americas in St. Kitts. He completed his residency at Chabert Medical Center in Houma. Dr. Domercant is fluent in English, Creole (Haitian) and French.

Dr. LeBlanc earned his medical degree and completed his residency in general surgery at the LSU School of Medicine in Shreveport. He is the past president of the American Hernia Society. Dr. LeBlanc is the co-author or editor of five textbooks and has published more than 125 articles in surgical literature. He holds other positions in both national and international organizations and has lectured extensively within the U.S. and abroad. He has a special interest in hernia, bariatrics and robotic surgery.

Ms. Boyer brings more than 30 years of nursing experience to her role as administrative director of Metamor. In addition to caring for patients, Ms. Boyer oversees the operations of the clinical program. During the first half of her nursing career, she spent almost 20 years caring for patients in oncology, perioperative, and critical care specialty areas. In 2001, Ms. Boyer changed her focus to the treatment of obesity and obesity-related chronic illnesses and has developed a true passion for improving the quality of life for individuals who suffer from chronic diseases. Ms. Boyer was among the first group of certified bariatric nurses and has served as faculty for the CBN review courses. She graduated from University of Louisiana at Lafayette in 2018 with a Family Nurse Practitioner degree. Ms. Boyer served on the executive board of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS) and is a past president of the Integrated Health section of the ASMBS. She has also served in many conference faculty and committee roles in the organization. Ms. Boyer has been an active member of the American College of Surgeons Bariatric Surgery Quality Improvement Committee and served as the integrated health column editor for Bariatric Times. She is a member of the Louisiana Association of Nurse Practitioners and the Louisiana state chapter of ASMBS.

Dr. Hausmann earned his medical degree from LSU School of Medicine in New Orleans. He completed his internship and residency in general surgery at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson and is Board Certified in general surgery. Dr. Hausmann has special interest in advanced Minimally Invasive Surgery including robotic surgery, particularly focusing on acid-reflux surgery and bariatric (weight loss) surgery, as well as surgery for benign and malignant colon diseases, hernia, gallbladder and endocrine (thyroid, parathyroid, adrenal) pathologies. He serves as a proctor to other surgeons across the country, teaching advanced surgical techniques including robotic surgery with the da Vinci Surgical System and the LINX procedure for the treatment of GERD.

Dr. Schauer earned his medical degree at Baylor College of Medicine and completed his residency at the University of Texas Health Science Center - San Antonio. He is Professor of Metabolic Surgery and Director of Metamor at LSU's Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He is formerly Professor of Surgery at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine. He is past president of the American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS). He is former Chair and founder of Obesity Week (2012-present) and Co-Chair of the Diabetes Surgery Summit (2007, 2015, 2019). Dr. Schauer's clinical interests include obesity, diabetes and metabolic surgery. He has performed more than 8,000 operations for severe obesity and diabetes. His research interests include the pathophysiology of obesity and type 2 diabetes, and outcomes of metabolic surgery. He has authored more than 350 scientific papers, 60 textbook chapters, and 3 textbooks related to obesity, bariatric/metabolic surgery and gastrointestinal surgery with more than 20,000 citations. He is past chairman of the Bariatric Surgery Section of The Obesity Society (TOS). He has been a member of the editorial board of the International Journal of Obesity, Surgery for Obesity and Related Diseases and Obesity Surgery as well as 3 other scientific journals. He has been an invited speaker for more than 200 international lectures on the subject of metabolic surgery. He is the founder of the Minimally Invasive Surgery Symposium (MISS) now in its 20th year.

Vance L. Albaugh earned his medical degree from Penn State University College of Medicine. Dr. Albaugh then completed his general surgery residency at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and his Fellowship in advanced laparoscopic and bariatric surgery at Cleveland Clinic. He serves as Assistant Professor of Metabolic Surgery at Pennington Biomedical Research Center and Louisiana State University, as well as an Assistant Professor of Surgery at the LSU Health Sciences Center in New Orleans. In addition to being certified by the American Board of Surgery, Dr. Albaugh has completed extensive scientific training, earning his PhD in the physiology of metabolism, with emphasis on control of body weight and diabetes. Dr. Albaugh's research interests include the investigation of the mechanisms of weight loss surgery, identification of patients who benefit most from surgical weight loss, as well as investigation of other lifestyle, dietary and medical treatments for weight loss and diabetes. Dr. Albaugh is the co-author of more than 40 scientific articles, including numerous invited editorials, book chapters and reviews within the medical and surgical literature.

Victoria Harris, MS, RDN, LDN, CPhT, received her bachelor's degree in nutritional sciences/dietetics from Louisiana State University. She then completed her master's degree in nutritional sciences - dietetic internship program at Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady University in Baton Rouge. As a registered dietitian, Victoria conducts nutrition assessments, group classes, and implements a nutrition care plan based on each patient's individual needs. She has volunteered and worked in a variety of care settings and continues professional development through education to provide the best care possible to bariatric patients.