Erika Klus (type A+ secretor) was born and raised in Mason City, IA. As a kid she was always getting sick. Her tonsils were out by age 2 and she was hospitalized for pneumonia by age 5. Despite those high fevers, she still turned out to be a smart cookie. She would whip out the World Book encyclopedias and obsessively study the butterflies, the human body, and maps of the Hawaiian islands. She loved music and dancing, but unlike those type O kids, she just never had the stamina or endurance for other sports. Even today, when she attempts to jog, her heart rate goes up to 200 beats per minute!

In high school she was a cheerleader (that did require some athleticism) and she sang in the school choir. She was a 4.0 student, but drove her parents crazy with her questionable choice in boyfriends and lots of other typical growing-up experimentations and experiences. Chemistry was one of her favorite subjects. Naturally with her interest in the medical field, pharmacology seemed like a great choice. It also seemed like a great career for a woman. She knew she didn't have the stamina nor the interest to get through the trials and tribulations, let alone the fierce competition, involved in the medical school application process, but soon learned that pharmacy school at Creighton University was as tough as medical school (ask anyone who has completed both degrees).

She also learned that many of the subjects she learned in the Pharm.D. program did not seem innate to her despite her aptitude. Knowing the tricks the pharmaceutical industry plays on the healthcare business left her jaded. As she began paying attention to the polluted corporate world around her, she gradually found herself eating mainly vegetarian foods such as Amy's kitchen frozen meals and buying other organic products during pharmacology school. And after graduation, she developed an intense passion for learning about naturopathic healing. She spends hours per week reading about alternative healing when not working full-time at the dispensary. She hopes to someday return to school to become a naturopathic physician. In the meantime, her goal is to become certified in 2005 among other health care professionals as a fellow of the Institute for Human Individuality.