Nelson Vergel

Nelson Vergel (born 12 February 1959) is a Venezuelan chemical engineer, serial entrepreneur, and author. He is the founder of ExcelMale.com, an internet company that provides a safe and moderated platform where men can exchange evidence-based health information, and DiscountedLabs.com, a platform that offers affordable blood tests to consumers across the United States.
Vergel is a highly recognized pharmaceutical consultant and community advisory board member who has worked on numerous projects and offered salesforce training in the launch of HIV specialty products. He was a Scientific Member of the DHHS HIV Treatment Guidelines Panel for 5 years and author of five health-related books that focus on the clinical use of hormone treatments.
Vergel is regarded as a leading advocate for sports nutrition, supplementation, and the promotion of wellness in the HIV-positive community. He is the recipient of the Environmental Excellence Award while working at Shell Oil and has been featured in several media outlets including STAT News, POZ, and multiple podcasts & conferences. 
==Early life and education==
Vergel was born on 12 February 1959 in Maracaibo, Venezuela. 
He studied chemical engineering school at McGill University in Montreal, Canada, with a full scholarship, graduating in 1981. In 1987, Vergel went to the University of Houston, where he pursued a master’s degree in Business Administration, with a specialization in Marketing. 
==Career==
Vergel started his career in 1982 when he joined the Venezuelan oil company Lagoven as a process engineer. He worked for over three years at this firm, during which he was responsible for the design, start-up, and maintenance supervision activities of 14 secondary offshore oil recovery water injection plants in Lake Maracaibo. Vergel led a crew of 25 operators and was even selected to be part of an accelerated training program. 
In 1985 Vergel joined Aqua Process in Houston as a sales engineer, where he worked for over three years. During his tenure at this firm, he was responsible for selling industrial water and wastewater treatment chemicals to refineries and chemical plants along with maintaining accounts totaling over 2 million dollars.
Vergel became a project engineer at Quantum Chemicals in Houston in 1988, where he worked for over three years. During his time at this firm, he was responsible for managing design, installation, start-up, and troubleshooting activities of a utility section of an ethylene plant in Houston and leading a team of 75 operators.
In 1990, Vergel joined Shell Oil Company as a senior environmental project engineer. He worked for over three years at this firm managing multi-million dollar projects at six refineries, two chemical plants, and several service stations around the United States. He was also awarded the Environmental Excellence Award for preventing EPA fines in several refineries.
In 1994, Vergel founded Program for Wellness Restoration, a non-profit organization to help HIV+ patients survive the disease. Since its inception, he offered over 600 educational programs and CME programs in collaboration with AIDS Service Organizations all over the United States in English and Spanish. He has also assisted several research groups at the AIDS Clinical Trials Group and pharmaceutical companies in designing community-sensitive research protocols.
In 1995, Vergel became a freelance pharmaceutical consultant and community advisory board member. Since then he has provided input in the drug development process to 12 companies through the work of the Drug Development Committee of the AIDS Treatment Activists Coalition (ATAC), a non-profit organization that he co-founded.
In 1998, Vergel founded Body Positive Wellness Clinic that offered treatment education programs, exercise and physical therapy, nutritional counseling, hormonal treatments, stress management techniques, and research protocols for people with HIV. He left this venture after working for over five years.
In 2007, Vergel became a development and research director at Research Access Network in Houston to provide research studies for HIV+ people living with multi-drug resistance. In 2013, he founded ExcelMale.com, a safe and moderated platform where all men can exchange evidence-based health information. Two years later, Vergel also created DiscountedLabs.com to provide affordable access to lab tests to consumers in the United States.
During his career, Vergel has been a contributing editor at OutSmart Magazine, The Texas Triangle, POZ magazine, Test Positive Aware, Medibolics.com, Powerusa.org, FacialWasting.org, SalvageTherapies.org, and TheBody.com.
==Memberships==
* Scientific Member, DHHS HIV Treatment Guidelines Panel, 2010-Present 
* Member, Organizing Committee of the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) 2006-2012
* Founding member of ATAC (AIDS Treatment Activists Coalition), 2003-Present 
* Council Member, Ryan White Planning Council, Houston, 2001-2002
* Creator and Director of the Body Positive Wellness Clinic in Houston 1998-2001
* Member of the Metabolic Disorders Group at the AIDS Clinical Trials Group (ACTG),1995-1998
* Member Of The University of Texas - Galveston Community Advisory Board, 1996-1998 CDC Certified HIV Counselor,Montrose Clinic,Houston, 1989-1999
==Books==
* What You Need to Know About Your Man's Testosterone, published in 2011
* Testosterone: A Man’s Guide, published in June 2010
* Built to Survive: HIV Wellness Guide, Published in 2004
* Co-author of BuilttoSurvive: A Comprehensive Guide To The Medical Use of Anabolic Therapies,Nutrition and Exercise, released on January 2000
* Co-editor of the book How to Manage Side Effects, published in 2001
==Recognitions==
Vergel is the recipient of the Vision and Advocacy Award by the Body Positive Wellness Clinic (1997) and the Environmental Excellence Award by Shell Oil (1992). Not only that, Houston’s Mayor Lee Brown proclaimed September 13, 2001, as Nelson Vergel Day for his contributions to the community in Houston. 
Vergel was also named one of the top 100 activists in the world by POZ Magazine and was also featured on the cover and main article in HIVPlus in Sept 2005 for his work to advance salvage therapy access. He was also interviewed by CNN, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and other media outlets.
==Conferences==
Vergel has addressed several non-profit organizations, CME programs, pharmaceutical training sessions, and other educational organizations such as International AIDS Conference, Conference on Adverse Events and Lipodystrophy In HIV, International Conference HIV Wasting, and others. 
==In the media==
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==References==
==External links==
* Official website
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Category:1959 births
Category:Chemical engineers
Category:Author
Category:University of Houston alumni
Category:McGill University alumni