Our Mission
Our mission is to provide relationship-based, personalized care that begins with listening. We take the time to understand each patient’s symptoms, health history, lifestyle and goals, then build a plan that can evolve with them over time. Through honest guidance and ongoing support, we help women and men feel better and achieve results that last.
Our Team
Alan McCool, MD, FACS
Founder, ICONA Health
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Dr. Alan McCool is a board-certified urologist and Menopause Society Certified Practitioner with specialized experience in hormone and sexual health. A graduate of the University of Alabama School of Medicine, he completed his urology residency at Indiana University, where he trained under one of the pioneers in the surgical treatment of erectile dysfunction.
With more than two decades of experience, Dr. McCool presently serves as Chief of Surgery and Chairman of the Robotics Committee at Baptist Health Medical Center in Jasper, Alabama. He also served two terms as President of the Medical Staff. His expertise includes hormone health, sexual wellness, aesthetic urology, erectile dysfunction, robotic surgery, and male and female incontinence.
As a principal investigator and early adopter of advanced technologies such as the Titan® Touch penile prosthesis and Virtue® male sling, Dr. McCool has been recognized internationally for his contributions to urologic innovation, performing hundreds of complex procedures across the U.S., Europe, and Australia.
His journey into hormone health began when he observed how men often received proactive treatment for low testosterone, while women navigating perimenopause or menopause were frequently overlooked. Motivated to change that, Dr. McCool pursued advanced certification in women’s hormone health through the Academy for Advanced Women’s Health Medicine and became a Menopause Society Certified Practitioner.
Today, as the founder of ICONA Health, Dr. McCool provides relationship-based, personalized care for women and men experiencing changes in hormone health and sexual wellness. He takes the time to listen, explain treatment options clearly, and build plans around each patient’s health, lifestyle, and goals.
Outside of medicine, he finds joy in strength training with his wife, spending time with his family, and cheering on UAB football and basketball.
Mary Margaret Manzella, CRNP
Nurse Practitioner, ICONA Health
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Mary Margaret Manzella, MSN, CRNP, FNP-C, is a Family Nurse Practitioner at Icona Health with specialized training in hormone optimization, sexual medicine, weight management, and holistic wellness care. She is passionate about helping people feel confident, energized, healthy, and truly heard through individualized treatment plans tailored to each patient’s unique lifestyle and goals.
Mary Margaret earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Prevention Health and Wellness from Auburn University before completing an accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing at the University of South Alabama. She went on to earn her Master of Science in Nursing and Family Nurse Practitioner degree from the University of South Alabama.
Her clinical background includes experience in high-acuity trauma and burn intensive care, as well as emergency medicine during the COVID-19 pandemic. She later transitioned into community health as a Nurse Practitioner before pursuing advanced specialty training in sexual medicine.
Mary Margaret was selected as the first participant to complete Baylor College of Medicine’s Sexual Medicine Fellowship in Houston, Texas, where she received advanced training in hormone therapy, sexual wellness, and evidence-based approaches to men’s and women’s sexual health. Upon completing the fellowship, she worked in urology as an advanced practice provider for three years with a focus in HRT and sexual dysfunction. She is deeply passionate about preventing and slowing the progression of chronic diseases and is committed to helping others maintain the highest possible quality of life.
At Icona Health, Mary Margaret focuses on hormone replacement therapy (HRT), GLP-1 weight management, sexual wellness, erectile dysfunction treatment, perimenopause, and menopausal care. She believes healthcare should never be one-size-fits-all and takes a deeply compassionate, collaborative approach with every patient she treats.
Known for her empathy and ability to genuinely connect with patients, Mary Margaret considers the emotional, physical, and lifestyle factors affecting overall wellness — including stress, busy schedules, relationships, beliefs, personal goals, and past trauma. She works alongside her patients as a team to create realistic, sustainable wellness plans that help them feel their best long-term.
Above all, Mary Margaret strives to make every patient feel cared for, supported, respected, celebrated, and empowered throughout their health journey.
Amy McCool
Co-Founder, ICONA Health
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My journey into perimenopause was not what I expected or what I felt prepared to handle.
For a long time, I didn’t even realize that what I was experiencing had anything to do with perimenopause. I only knew that something inside me felt deeply off. What began as middle-of-the-night anxiety, a racing heart and intrusive thoughts, slowly turned into a quiet depression during the day. I would wake up exhausted, unmotivated and feeling empty, yet tell myself I had no excuse. I had a great life. I should be able to push through.
So I did. I faked it through another day. And then another.
After nearly a year of struggling silently, I reached a point where I couldn’t carry it alone anymore. I confided in my husband, Alan. He listened, and as we talked, it became clear that what I was experiencing wasn’t a personal failure or something I needed to simply “tough out.” It was a side of perimenopause that people didn’t talk about nearly enough: the effect it can have on mental health.
As Alan began doing more research, he felt that antidepressants weren’t the right answer for me. He believed hormone replacement therapy could make a meaningful difference. It took some trial and error to find the right dose and delivery method, but within a couple of weeks of starting estrogen, I began to feel like myself again.
When progesterone was added to protect my uterus, I noticed the benefits right away. I started sleeping deeply and stopped waking in the middle of the night with a racing heart and anxious thoughts. I woke up refreshed and motivated, and that familiar afternoon crash was gone.
Later, testing revealed that my testosterone was low, so we added it to my treatment. That change took longer to notice. After a few months, though, my energy returned in a way I hadn’t felt in years. I could push harder in my workouts. I felt stronger. And yes, a renewed libido was a welcome bonus.
I never imagined that the right treatment could change my life so profoundly. I had no idea how much the changes in my body were affecting my mind and the way I moved through each day. With the right care, I became myself again.
Through this experience, Alan and I began to see how many other women were quietly struggling in similar ways and how often their concerns were dismissed. Alan had spent decades treating men with low testosterone, and he pursued additional education and certification so he could confidently and responsibly care for women entering perimenopause and menopause. What he discovered was how meaningful this work could be, not only for women themselves, but also for their relationships and their quality of life.
Together, we created ICONA Health to support women and men through the changes that can happen in midlife and beyond.
We believe hormone health is both an art and a science. There is no one-size-fits-all answer. At ICONA, we take the time to understand your full story, including your symptoms, goals, lifestyle and health history. Then we create a plan designed to help you feel like yourself again, and maybe even better.
If any part of my story feels familiar, you’re in the right place.
Thank you for trusting us to be part of this next chapter of your life.