Meanwhile, in 1976, McDaniel was introduced to the medical value of aloe vera gel and was ultimately recruited to be the physician member of a research team that developed the active glyconutrient principle of aloe vera. He was a co-inventor on the patents for this glyconutrient, aloe polymannose (manapol®), and in 1996, the American Naturopathic Association awarded his work Advance of the Year.

As the medical director for MannaRelief Ministries, a company that makes micronutrients available to chronically ill children whose families could never afford them, McDaniel worked with both patients and researchers on how dietary supplements affect hundreds of diseases and disorders. He is now the founder and Director of Research for Fisher Institute for Medical Research; a clinical research design consultant at University of Miami Miller School of Medicine Division of Integrative & Complementary Medicine; and CEO and Co-Founder of Nutraspace.com

McDaniel recently co-published a paper on Alzheimers Disease with John Lewis, an associate professor at the University of Miami, which led to funding for a study on the effects of micronutrients on Alzheimers and dementia patients. The results of the study showed participants to have statistical and clinical improvement, as well as reductions in inflammation and proliferation of adult stem cells.

A close friend of McDaniel says that his work has had a dramatic impact on the lives of many people suffering with HIV, cancer, diabetes, dementia, stroke, gene defects in children, and more. He believes that McDaniel’s life has changed as a result of his study of dietary supplements and nutrition, and has likely had a profound effect on many more lives than if McDaniel had remained a “traditional” pathologist.

McDaniel is described by friends and colleagues as highly intelligent, passionate, extremely dedicated, generous, unbiased, and blunt … but with a good heart. He has always chosen to fight the good fight, doesn’t take no for an answer, and continues to push forward to educate people about nutrition and alternatives to conventional medicine.

A former student worker in McDaniel’s pathology lab describes him as a man of strong Christian faith and high moral standards; generous with his time and resources; tolerant of others and always reluctant to find fault; loyal to friends, family and colleagues; and passionate in his mission to serve others.

Through his continuing and intense efforts to help people improve their health, McDaniel has been responsible for bringing hope and encouragement to many who had no hope of recovering from chronic, debilitating, and sometimes terminal illnesses. Very simply, McDaniel will help anyone anywhere if it is within his power to do so, with no expectation of anything in return other than to see a life encouraged and improved. One friend says he has firsthand knowledge of the many letters McDaniel has received from surviving grateful patients and parents of children who were told they had no hope of survival through the use of conventional medical resources.

Many know that McDaniel has worked selflessly, tirelessly, and often to his own detriment to try to help people in order that their suffering might be eased and their quality of life enhanced. He has touched and helped people around the world who will never have the privilege of knowing him or being able to shake his hand and say thank you. A close friend believes that when McDaniel’s work on this earth is done, he will be greeted in Heaven with the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

It is for McDaniel’s exhaustive work in the field of alternative medicine, his mission to help any and all, and his willingness to give another the shirt off your back that The Association of Southwestern University Alumni presented him with a 2014 Distinguished Professional Award.