Prof. Kelly Swanson, PhD, is Director of the Division of Nutritional Sciences and the Kraft Heinz Company Endowed Professor in Human Nutrition at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He is also an Excellence in Nutrition Fellow of the American Society for Nutrition (ASN). His laboratory studies the effects of nutritional intervention on health outcomes, identifying how nutrients impact host physiology and gut microbiota, with primary emphasis on gastrointestinal health and obesity in dogs, cats, humans, and rodent models. Much of his lab’s work has focused on dietary fibers, prebiotics, probiotics, synbiotics, and postbiotics. Over the past 2 decades, he has established an internationally recognized research program, highlighted by over $27 million in research support, 170 invited lectures at scientific and professional meetings, 275 peer-reviewed journal articles, and 18 research and teaching awards. He has trained over 55 graduate students and post-doctoral fellows, hosted 18 international visiting scholars, and mentored over 40 undergraduate research projects. In addition to research, Kelly teaches a couple classes each year to undergraduate and graduate students and has been named to the university’s ‘List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent by Their Students’ over 35 times. He also serves on advisory boards for many companies in the human and pet food industries as well as non-profit organizations, including the Institute for the Advancement of Food and Nutrition Sciences (IAFNS).