D. Brent Polk, M.D., chairman, Department of Pediatrics, Keck School of Medicine University of Southern California and vice president of academic affairs, Children’s Hospital, Los Angeles. He is also director of the Saban Research Institute. Dr. Polk has conducted extensive research on digestive diseases in children. He was formerly affiliated with Vanderbilt University where he was chief of the Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, director of the Digestive Disease Research Center and a tenured professor of pediatrics and cell and developmental biology.

Todd Klaenhammer, Ph.D., North Carolina State University (Raleigh, NC) distinguished University Professor and William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor in the Department of Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Sciences. He is an elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and member of the National Academy of Sciences, honored for “distinguished international contributions to research and for leadership in the fields of microbiology and genomics of lactic acid bacteria used beneficially in bioprocessing and health.” His recent research efforts have investigated the molecular mechanisms responsible for the survival and activity of probiotic bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract and then used that information to develop live bacterial delivery systems for oral vaccines.

Gail Czarnecki-Maulden, Ph.D., senior research nutritionist at the Nestle Purina Research Center in St. Louis, where she investigates optimal animal nutrition. She is a member of the AAFCO dog and cat nutrient profiles subcommittee, which sets nutrient standards for dog and cat foods in the US and is a member of the NAS/NRC Committee on evaluating the safety of dietary supplements for horses, dogs and cats. She is also a member of the Scientific Advisory Board for the International Probiotics Association.

Jose Saavedra, M.D., is an associate professor of Pediatrics at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, where he has been on the faculty for 20 years. A native of Peru, he spent the early part of his career studying and treating digestive diseases of the Amazon, to later become a pediatric gastroenterologist in the U.S. He founded and developed the Johns Hopkins University Children’s Nutrition Center in Baltimore, which he directed for ten years. Dr. Saavedra’s seminal research at Johns Hopkins in the early ’90s received worldwide attention as the first ever to document the clinical benefits of regular ingestion of probiotics in infants.

Robert Martindale, M.D., Medical Director for Hospital Nutrition Services and Professor of Surgery and Oregon Health Sciences University. Dr. Martindale specializes in gastroenterological surgery. He has conducted extensive research on post-surgical gastrointestinal health. Dr. Martindale is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons.

Eli Friedman, M.D., distinguished professor, physician and researcher at SUNY Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn is known worldwide for his work in diabetic nephropathy. Dr. Friedman is credited with helping save and extend the lives of many patients suffering from renal disease. He is the recipient of the 2010 Barney Clark Award from the American Society for Artificial Internal Organs (ASAIO). The International Society for Hemodialysis and the Alumni Association of Downstate Medical Center have awarded Lifetime Achievement Awards to Dr. Friedman for his work.

Martin Floch, M.D., Clinical Professor of Medicine (digestive diseases) and Director of Ambulatory Gastroenterology Services at Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT. Dr. Floch has employed probiotics in the treatment of a variety of gastroenterological diseases, including irritable bowel syndrome inflammatory bowel disease and antibiotic associated diarrhea.

Mary Ellen Sanders, Ph.D., is an internationally recognized consultant on probiotic microbiology. She works extensively with manufacturers, academicians and regulators through her company, Dairy and Food Culture Technologies, Centennial, CO. Dr. Sanders believes success with probiotics will be sustained only if products are scientifically validated, responsibly produced and accurately labeled. Dr. Sanders offers a comprehensive perspective to those interested in the continued emergence of the probiotic industry.

Glenn Gibson, Ph.D., professor of Food Microbiology, University of Reading, England. He leads a multi-disciplinary research program in gut microbiology, primarily related to the bacteriology of human health and disease. Dr. Gibson has conducted research projects on pro/prebiotic mechanisms, the molecular genotyping of gut bacteria, diet and cancer, metabolomics of the gut, obesity, autism, ulcerative colitis, irritable bowel syndrome, colorectal cancer, peptic ulcers and colonic homeostasis.

Tri Duong, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Poultry Science at Texas A&M University, College Station, TX. Dr. Duong’s research interests focus on the use of functional genomics to understand the probiotic functionality of lactic acid bacteria and their applications in health and food safety. He has conducted work in the development of probiotic cultures for oral delivery of vaccines and biotherapeutics, including an experimental oral anthrax vaccine with the U.S. Army.

Simin Meydani, D.V.M, Ph.D., director of the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Center and a senior scientist and director of the Nutritional Immunology Laboratory at Tufts University in Boston. She is also a professor of nutrition sciences and immunology at Tufts. Dr. Meydani’s research focuses on age- and nutrition-induced changes in immune related diseases and their underlying mechanisms.