Nikos Kyrpides

Nikos Kyrpides is a leading expert in microbiome genomics, currently heading the Microbiome Data Science at the Joint Genome Institute, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. With a background in biology and bioinformatics, he has held roles in academia, national labs, and industry. His research focuses on microorganisms and data science, with over 700 publications and 90,000+ citations. Recognized globally, he has received numerous scientific honors and serves on editorial and advisory boards supporting microbiology, genomics, and biotechnology research worldwide.

Michael Liss

Dr. Michael A. Liss, MD, Ph.D., MAS, MBA, FACS, is a tenured Professor in the Department of Urology. He is a leader in clinical trials and innovative research, particularly in prostate cancer detection and microbiome studies related to urologic cancers. He is a fellowship-trained urologic oncologist with a Ph.D. in Translational Science from the University of Texas, Austin College of Pharmacy. He practiced for 10 years at the Mays Cancer Center at the University of Texas, San Antonio, where he led the National Clinical Trials Network (SWOG) as the site’s principal investigator to achieve high-performing status and served as the Medical Director of the Clinical Trials Office. Dr. Liss has earned multiple accolades for his contributions to medical science, including prestigious awards from the National Cancer Institute. His scholarly work comprises over 200 peer-reviewed publications, which he attributes to phenomenal team science. He has received funding from the Department of Defense and the National Institutes of Health. Additionally, he is an entrepreneur with three patent applications in the last two years. He is currently the Medical Director of the UCSD Center for Microbiome Innovation.

Denise Kelly

Professor Denise Kelly joined Seventure Partners, a European Leader in Venture Capital, in 2015 as an Investment Advisor to the Life Sciences Team and is focused specifically, on Human Microbiome investment opportunities, globally. Prior to joining Seventure, Denise was Head of her Research Lab at the World-renowned Rowett Institute, University of Aberdeen, where she acquired over 20 years experience in gut microbiology and immunology. She was the (former) Founder Director, CEO and CSO of GT Biologics Ltd, one of the first translational spinouts, developing Innovative Microbiome-based Therapies. She is the main inventor on numerous EU and USA patent applications and during her career has collaborated with pharmaceutical and healthcare companies on several translational projects.Denise holds a BSc and PhD from Queens University, Belfast and an Emeritus Professorship from the University of Aberdeen.

Meghan Azad

Dr. Azad is a Professor of Pediatrics and Child Health at the University of Manitoba, focusing on human milk science and the infant microbiome, with cross appointments to Immunology, Human Nutritional Sciences and Community Health Sciences. She holds a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Early Nutrition and the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease. She Directs the THRiVE Discovery Lab where her team studies how early experiences shape lifelong health, with a focus on breastfeeding and the microbiome. Dr. Azad is also the co-founder and Director the Manitoba Interdisciplinary Lactation Centre (MILC). She is the former Deputy Director and current Knowledge Mobilization Chair of the CHILD Cohort Study, a national pregnancy cohort following 3500 children to understand how early life experiences shape lifelong health. She has led two randomized clinical trials evaluating different feeding regimes for premature infants and was recruited by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to develop and direct the International Milk Composition (IMiC) Consortium.

Elizabeth Grice

Elizabeth A. Grice, Ph.D. is the Sandra Lazarus Professor and Vice Chair of Basic Science Research in the Department of Dermatology, with a secondary appointment in the Department of Microbiology, at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Grice’s scientific training began as an undergraduate at Luther College, followed by a Ph.D. in Human Genetics from Johns Hopkins University. Her post-doctoral work at the NIH pioneered sequencing-based approaches to profile the topographic and temporal diversity of the healthy human skin microbiome. Since 2012, Dr. Grice leads a multi-disciplinary team of scientists and trainees, integrating genomics, microbiology, skin biology, and immunology to investigate the skin microbiota. Dr. Grice is Director of the Penn Skin Biology and Diseases Resource Center and Co-Director of the Penn Dermatology Research Training Program. She serves on the Board of Directors of the Society of Investigative Dermatology, and on the editorial boards of Genome Research and Microbiome. Dr. Grice has received numerous awards for her work and is a fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology.

Cheri Chu

Dr. Cheri Chu is currently an Associate Director of R&D and Microbiome Science Leader at Unilever. Since joining the company in 2012, Dr. Chu has held roles across R&D hubs in China and the U.S., leading projects focused on fundamental microbiome research for skin and scalp. She drives scientific strategy and global innovation in microbiome science, translating research into impactful consumer products.
Dr. Chu holds a B.S. in Life Sciences from National Taiwan University, an M.S. in Immunology from Imperial College London School of Medicine, and a Ph.D. in Immunology from King’s College London School of Medicine.

Asa Waldstein

Asa Waldstein is principal of the consulting company Supplement Advisory Group, a boutique group focusing on marketing risk analysis and practical marketing solutions for the web and social media. He is the founder and principal of the award-winning compliance software company Apex Compliance, which identifies and replaces risky marketing phrases on websites, videos, social media, and pre-published content. Waldstein has helped oversee three FDA GMP inspections with no 483s and is the winner of the 2023 AHPA Herbal Hero Award and the What’s Up Supps 2024 Policy and Change Agent Award. He also chairs the American Herbal Products Association’s (AHPA) Cannabis Committee.

Danielle Rendina

Eric Chun-Ming Huang

Professor Eric Huang’s research with 128 peer-reviewed research articles has been focused on therapeutic microbiome where microbes are used for development of vaccines, probiotics and other therapeutics.

Jared Kehe

A passionate, innovative biotechnologist with expertise in microbial ecology, microbiome science, and microfluidics, Jared is an original inventor of Concerto’s platform technology, kChip. As a co-founder of Concerto, Jared oversees all product discovery and ongoing technological development of kChip. Jared applies a meticulous and rigorous approach to all of Concerto’s scientific pursuits. He holds a PhD in Biological Engineering from MIT (NSF Fellow, Presidential Fellow), where he worked with Prof. Paul Blainey to develop kChip and apply it to foundational questions in microbial ecology.

Jessica O’Connell

Jessica O’Connell co-chairs Covington & Burling’s market-leading global Food, Drug, and Device Practice Group. Drawing from nearly twenty years of experience working at FDA and in private practice, Jessica provides strategic advice to a broad range of companies and trade associations in navigating regulatory frameworks and engaging with food and drug regulatory bodies and Congress. She works closely with clients to develop product strategies that are low-risk from both a regulatory and litigation perspective while also meeting marketing goals and objectives. She also regularly counsels clients regarding potential crises, such as recalls, regulator investigations, and other unanticipated regulatory attention. Jessica previously held the position of Associate Chief Counsel for Food at FDA. Jessica received a bachelor’s degree in biology and physics from the University of Virginia, an MPH from Johns Hopkins University, and a JD from Georgetown University Law Center.

Pedro J. Torres

Pedro is a bioinformatics and data science leader with deep expertise in microbiome research and multi-omics analysis. His contributions to the microbiome field include research on the oral microbiome’s role in early cancer detection, the gut microbiome’s connection to polycystic ovarian syndrome, and the use of AI-driven microbiome insights to advance precision nutrition and probiotic development. At Persephone Biosciences, he leads a cross-functional team developing microbiome-based therapeutics for cancer patients and infant health. Through large-scale patient cohort analysis, biomarker discovery using machine learning, and the development of scalable cloud-based data infrastructure, his team focuses on translating microbiome insights into real-world applications that improve human health.

Angela Poole

Angela C. Poole completed her bachelor’s degree in Engineering and Applied Science at the California Institute of Technology. She earned her PhD in Genome Sciences at the University of Washington in Seattle. After completing her postdoctoral research in the laboratory of Dr. Ruth Ley, she became a faculty member in the Division of Nutritional Sciences at Cornell University. Dr. Poole’s lab characterizes the host and microbial factors that contribute to interindividual variability in the response of oral and gut microbes to carbohydrate consumption. This knowledge will be used to develop precision nutrition therapeutics that promote oral and metabolic health.

Edna Coryell

Edna Coryell is co-founder and CEO of Mother Science, focused on pioneering new technologies to reshape the beauty industry. With expertise in technology commercialization and scale-up, she has successfully guided the development and launch of breakthrough skincare innovations from lab concept to market success. Her strategic approach combines deep operational knowledge with brand development, enabling brands to rapidly scale while maintaining premium positioning and product excellence.
Under her leadership championing innovative product development and scientific advancement, Mother Science has garnered widespread recognition, 10 awards, and has been named one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies in 2024.

Erin Klipstein

Erin is currently the Product Management Innovation Director with Kerry ProActive Health, where she lead the product management function and drives strategic direction of product development, market entry, and innovation initiatives, working closely with cross-functional teams to translate market needs into value-added solutions. She brings 18 years of experience in the probiotics and other nutritional ingredients industry spanning quality, process development, project management, and product management. She holds a Masters Degree in Biotechnology from the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health.

Vincent Charron-Lamourex

Vincent Charron-Lamoureux is a Postdoctoral Fellow at UC San Diego in the labs of Drs. Pieter Dorrestein and Manuela Raffatellu. He earned his Ph.D. in Microbiology from Université de Sherbrooke (Québec, Canada) and then relocated to the West Coast to study host–microbe interactions using mass spectrometry–based untargeted metabolomics. His research combines microbial culturing with mass spectrometry techniques to discover and characterize microbial metabolites that influence health and disease. He also develops computational tools to integrate microbial metabolites with host biological data. Through this interdisciplinary work, he maps the chemical dialogues between microbes and their hosts, aiming to uncover novel biomarkers.

Jonathan Jacobs

Dr. Jacobs is a gastroenterologist and microbiome scientist who serves as co-Director of the Goodman-Luskin Microbiome Center at UCLA and Director of its Microbiome Core, which provides a comprehensive suite of microbiome-related services. His research investigates host-microbiome interactions in gastrointestinal, metabolic, and inflammatory disorders. He has published over 100 original research articles and reviews in scientific journals including Gut, Gastroenterology, Microbiome, Gut Microbes, Cell Host & Microbe, Genome Medicine, Cellular and Molecular Gastroenterology and Hepatology, and Proceedings of the National Academy of Science. His ongoing projects employ multi’omics analysis of patient cohorts and gnotobiotic experimental models to characterize microbes and microbial products that promote obesity and inflammatory bowel disease.

Arpana Church

An accomplished investigator in medical research focusing on the brain, gut, and microbiome, Dr. Church has a PhD degree in psychology after completing an APA accredited clinical internship at Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical Center. Her current research focuses on the interactions between environmental and biological factors in shaping brain-gut microbiome signatures associated with stress-based diseases such as obesity and cognitive decline. Broadly defined, this ground-breaking research aims to integrate two systems (the brain and the gut) in order to better understand the underlying mechanisms associated with obesity, cognition, and altered consumption behaviors. This focus is key to a deeper understanding of the risk factors for many chronic diseases. Backed by the National Instituted for Health (NIH), foundation and industry, Dr. Church’s goal is to develop a comprehensive model that provides a powerful biomarker that will increase diagnostics around obesity and cognition in an effort to improve overall health outcomes.

Oliver Liu

Oliver is a seasoned scientist/entrepreneur/executive with over 24 years of experience building and commercializing cutting-edge biotechnologies.  Over the past 13 years, his work has focused on developing metagenomic technologies that enable deep, high-quality access to complex microbiomes such as the soil, as well as bioinformatic and molecular approaches to mine this unique diversity for commercially valuable applications across drug discovery, agriculture, industrial enzymes, and consumer care.

Prior to Topaz Biosciences, Oliver co-founded Radiant Genomics, a metagenomics discovery platform company that was acquired by Zymergen, Inc. in 2018, as well as Slingshot Biosciences, a synthetic cell technology company.  Oliver also served as VP of Metagenomics at Zymergen where he led a team of 65 scientists that built and leveraged metagenomic approaches across Zymergen business lines.  Oliver graduated from Harvard University with a Ph.D. from the University of California San Francisco.

Ivana Lokobauer

Amina Bouslimani

Dr. Amina Bouslimani is an Associate Principal Scientist and Project Leader at L’Oréal North America Research & Innovation. A leading expert in skin microbiome research, she brings over 14 years of experience to L’Oréal, driving innovation in this critical area of skincare research. She leads several key projects focused on developing novel microbiome-based technologies to address skin and scalp conditions. Her work also aims to translate cutting-edge microbiome science into innovative skincare solutions. Dr. Bouslimani earned her Ph.D. in biochemistry and biomedical sciences at the University of Montpellier in France where she developed metabolomics tools for clinical research. She further honed her expertise during seven years at the University of California San Diego in Prof. Pieter Dorrestein laboratory, advancing the omics-based analysis of skin metabolites and their associated microbes. Dr. Amina Bouslimani’s work in skin microbiome research and her dedication to advancing the field make her a distinguished figure in her profession. Her work continues to impact and shape our understanding of skin health and beauty.

Dan Brownell

Dan Brownell is the Senior Director of Research and Development at AOBiome Therapeutics, responsible for leading their preclinical and R&D programs since joining in 2018. Dan brings 20 years of scientific experience, with a focus on the use of microorganisms to achieve positive outcomes. At AOBiome, Dan leads a high-performing team of scientists responsible for better understanding the mechanisms of action of Ammonia Oxidizing Bacteria and their use as a treatment for inflammatory disease. Prior to AOBiome, Dan held diverse roles within the biotech community, including in the fields of rapid diagnostics, synthetic biology, and biofuels.

Feranmi Aboderin

Feranmi is a Scientist I at Arcaea, working on the Skin Microbiome team. Passionate about microbiome research and bioinformatics, he has been an integral part of multiple projects aimed at innovating personal care products through microbiome science. His work focuses on developing methods for modulating the skin microbiome community in vitro and in-vivo, and investigating the composition and functional capacity of the skin microbiome for axillary and scalp applications. He holds a Master of Science degree in Biology with a concentration in Molecular Genetics and Biochemistry from Georgia State University and a Bachelor of Science in Microbiology from Obafemi Awolowo University.

Xochitl Morgan

Xochitl C. Morgan, Ph.D., is Senior Research Scientist in Biostatistics and Director of the Microbiome Analysis Core at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. She leads a team that delivers multi-omic data processing and analysis for over 30 clinical and industry partners each year, and processes tens of thousands of metagenomes. Dr. Morgan’s research spans population-scale microbiome epidemiology, computational tool development (bioBakery, BAQLaVa, Anpan), and mechanistic studies linking microbial communities to inflammatory bowel disease, metabolic disorders, and cancer. She has authored more than 60 peer-reviewed publications and has served as Associate Editor for Microbiome since 2017.

Kasey Schalich

Kasey Schalich, Ph.D. is a postdoctoral researcher at UC Davis in the Department of Food Science and Technology, co-advised by Drs. David Mills and Ameer Taha. Her work focuses on how milk-derived bioactives, particularly the milk fat globule membrane (MFGM), interact with select gut microbiota to promote cognitive resilience during aging. Kasey earned her Ph.D. in Nutrition from Cornell University and completed her first postdoctoral fellowship in Pediatric Gastroenterology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where she studied host-microbe interactions and prebiotic therapies for ulcerative colitis.
Kasey is also a 2024 Innovation Institute for Food and Health (IIFH) Innovator Fellow, gaining hands-on experience in venture capital in translating academic research into impactful food-tech ventures. Her long-term goal is to bridge science and business to develop nutrition-based solutions for brain and gut health. She was recently awarded the 2025 Global Prebiotic Association Young Researcher Award for her contributions to prebiotic science and health innovation.

Dmitry Rodionov

Maya Ivanjesku

A visionary formulation scientist and QA/QC specialist with nearly 30 years of experience spearheading product development and quality control initiatives, specializing in pharmaceutical, biotech, and cosmetic products. Renowned for pioneering innovative solutions in probiotic skincare formulations, OTC, Rx and drug delivery technologies. Proven ability to implement robust quality systems, ensure regulatory compliance, and drive market success in competitive landscapes. CEO of ABN Consulting Group, NSF Advisory Board Member, Speaker and Educator.

Elsa Jungman

Dr. Elsa Jungman is a leading expert in skin health and microbiome innovation. With a Ph.D. in skin barrier function, she has worked with major companies like L’Oréal, K18, and AOBiome. Her research into the skin microbiome led her to see its potential in transforming the consumer health and beauty industry, prompting her to launch her own company. In 2020, she introduced a microbiome-friendly skincare line and a direct-to-consumer microbiome test kit, available at retailers like Credo Beauty and FaceHaus. By 2022, she founded HelloBiome, a B2B AI platform that leverages microbiome data to support innovation in clinical research and personalized care. Dr. Jungman’s achievements have been recognized with the French-American Entrepreneurship Award, and she is the editor of the fifth edition of the Handbook of Cosmetic Science and Technology. She currently lives in San Francisco with her family.

Malcolm Kendall

Malcolm Kendall is a co-founder and CEO of Microbiome Insights, Inc., a leading global provider of end-to-end services for microbiome DNA sequencing, including state-of-the-art bioinformatic analysis. With over 30 years of operational management, entrepreneurial, venture capital investment and leadership experience, he has focused his professional career on company creation and building value in technology and biotechnology companies. Before founding Microbiome Insights, he was the co-founder and CEO of Indel Therapeutics Inc., a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to developing new drugs to address the global health crisis caused by antibiotic resistance. Prior to this, Malcolm was an investment professional with life science venture capital firms MDS Capital (now Lumira Capital), BioVista Capital (now Hatteras Venture Partners) and Intersouth Partners. Before entering business, he served in the U.S. Army as an Infantry and Special Forces officer. Malcolm has been an advisor and board member to numerous companies and organizations and is currently a member of the board of directors of SemiosBio Technologies, a mentor for the entrepreneurship@UBC program and an adjunct professor at the MBA program at Simon Fraser University. He earned his undergraduate degree from Washington and Lee University and an M.B.A. from the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina.

Grace Liu

Ishita M. Shah

Ishita M. Shah, PhD, is the CEO and co-founder of Matrubials, a spin-out from UC Davis Foods for Health Institute. Previously, as the Associate Director (Microbial Programs) at FFHI, Dr. Shah has investigated the benefits of milk components towards human health, specifically human milk oligosaccharides and peptides relevant of infectious diseases. Earlier, she has worked at Genentech (Senior Researcher, Infectious Diseases) validating critical targets in an antibacterial drug discovery program. Her postdoctoral work at Columbia University (Department of Microbiology) led to the identification of cell wall fragments released from growing bacteria as signals for exit from dormancy, leading to vegetative growth. As a PhD student at UMBC, she discovered a new mechanism of transcription activation in bacteria and received the Nat. Sternberg thesis prize (2005) in the field of prokaryotic molecular genetics. Dr. Shah is a recipient of several awards (PhD thesis prize (UMBC’05)/ key researcher/ speaker).

Abinaya Balasubramanian

Abinaya Balasubramanian holds a PhD in biochemistry and microbiology from the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, India. Currently, she is a senior innovation scientist at Sensient Bionutrients, USA. She supports the optimization of fermentation processes and media formulations catering to improve yields and stability of microbial products produced by global businesses in the human, animal and plant nutrition segments. She is also involved in method development, product characterization and post-fermentation analysis, in addition to providing support on innovation and application work associated with bringing new yeast extracts and hydrolyzed vegetable proteins products to market to support fermentation processes.

Erika Tajra

Dr Erika Tajra is a physician and researcher specialising in personalised medicine, functional nutrition, and the microbiome. She trained in medicine in the UK and completed a Master’s in Personalised Medicine & Novel Therapies at UCL’s Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health. Her clinical and academic work bridges genetics, functional foods, and mental health, with a focus on how parental health, nutrition, and the microbiome shape childhood development, fertility, and lifelong wellbeing.
Dr Tajra is the founder of Rejuven Health, a global health startup providing genetic and microbiome-based counselling and AI-driven clinical support. She also teaches at University College London, Oxford University, and Great Ormond Street Hospital. Her current projects explore the integration of multi-omics data, functional medicine, and digital tools to make personalised health accessible worldwide. She is passionate about reducing human suffering through innovation, education, and evidence-based care from parents to children.

Rotem Gura Sadovsky

Rotem is a data science leader and the head of data strategy at Corundum Systems Biology, a VC with major stakes in the microbiome field. Previously, Rotem operated in computational biology and product management functions in early stage biotech startups. As one of the first data scientists at Finch Therapeutics, he played a leading role in developing Live Bacterial Products for clinical use. Rotem’s domain expertise spans biomolecular omics technologies, clinical data from human cohorts and biomarker discovery. He holds a PhD in computational and systems biology from MIT.

Gilberto Flores

Gilberto Flores is a Professor in the Department of Biology at California State University, Northridge. He earned his PhD in Biology from Portland State University and his MS in Environmental Science from the University of Idaho. His lab studies the ecology of the human gut microbiome at various levels of biological organization. Currently, they are focused on understanding how select members of the gut microbiota interact with each other and their host to impact human health. To carry out this research, his lab merges traditional microbiological techniques with multi-omic approaches. In his free time, Gilberto enjoys spending time with his family, fishing, hiking, and coaching his daughter’s basketball teams.

Sara Dick

Sara Dick is the Innovation Manager at Synbiotic Health with 15 years of experience in the probiotic industry. Her work focuses on strain optimization and scale-up of innovative microbiome products, with expertise in fermentation, freeze-drying, and formulation. At Synbiotic Health, she leads laboratory optimization of new strains, commercialization efforts, and special projects that bring new probiotic solutions to market. Prior to this role, Sara spent over a decade at IFF, where she honed her skills in probiotic fermentation, lyophilization, and process scale-up. She is especially passionate about finding creative ways to translate scientific ideas into practical, high-quality products for the dietary supplement industry.

Alexander Buko

Dr. Alexander M. Buko brings over 50 years of expertise in proteomics, lipidomics, and metabolomics, beginning with his graduate work in the mid-1970s. His distinguished career includes roles as a Staff Fellow at the NIH Bureau of Biologics (4 years), Head of Structural Biology at Abbott Laboratories (18 years), Senior Director of Translational Biology at Biogen (10 years), and Vice President and Senior Analyst at Human Metabolome Technologies (12 years). Dr. Buko’s extensive experience in biomarker discovery and data analysis offers a unique perspective on deciphering the metabolomic language of the microbiome and its impact on human health.

Ingmar van Hengel

Ingmar is a biomedical scientist and engineer. He holds a PhD from TU Delft (Netherlands) with 7 first-author publications, and finished two master degrees cum laude in biomedical sciences (Leiden University) and biomedical engineering (TU Delft).
At Cryptobiotix he is responsible for study design: starting from a research question he drafts the experimental setup for gut microbiome and/or digestion studies.

Jennifer Boyd

Jennifer Boyd is the Vice President and Head of Global Regulatory Affairs at IFF, where she leads the Global Regulatory Team for Health Sciences and Crop Biologics. She joined IFF following seven successful years at Nestlé Health Science.
With over 21 years of global regulatory experience across both B2B and B2C organizations, Jennifer has worked in a wide range of categories including dietary supplements, infant formula, medical foods, conventional foods, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals. Her academic background in biology, chemistry, and neuroscience provides a strong scientific foundation for her regulatory leadership.
Jennifer’s deep passion for nutrition and its impact on health has been a driving force throughout her career. She is committed to advancing science-based innovation and ensuring regulatory excellence in support of better health outcomes worldwide.
She has been actively engaged in numerous industry organizations for more than 15 years, contributing to advocacy efforts and staying ahead of the evolving regulatory landscape. Jennifer currently serves on the Board of the International Probiotics Association (IPA) and participates in several committees within leading industry groups.
Her enthusiasm for working in global environments is rooted in her international upbringing as the child of a diplomat, which instilled in her a lifelong appreciation for diverse perspectives and cross-cultural collaboration.

Lada Rasochova

Lada Rasochova, PhD MBA is the Founder & CEO of Dermala, a consumer dermatology company developing patented, science-backed microbiome treatments for acne, eczema, and skin health. Previously spent 15+ years in biotech and pharma before joining UC San Diego’s Rady School of Management, where I founded and led the Rady Venture Fund and the Sullivan Center for Entrepreneurship.