Todd Callaway is a Professor in Ruminant Nutrition and Gastrointestinal Microbiology in the Department of Animal and Dairy Science at the University of Georgia. Todd received his B.S. and M.S. in Animal and Dairy Science from the University of Georgia, and Ph.D. in Microbiology from Cornell. Dr. Callaway joined the Agricultural Research Service of the USDA (USDA-ARS) in the Food and Feed Safety Research Unit in College Station, Texas for 18 years. His research focuses on the role of the gut microbiota in the nutrition of cattle, and how the complex environment of the cattle gastrointestinal tract can impact food safety and production efficiency.

Theodoros Varzakas serves as Full Professor at the Department of Food Science and Technology, University of the Peloponnese, Greece since 2019 specializing in issues of food technology, food processing/engineering, food quality and safety. Section Editor in Chief Journal Foods in Food Security and Sustainability (2020-). Ex Editor in Chief Current Research in Nutrition and Food Science (2015-2019). Series Editor for contemporary Food Engineering, CRC. Reviewer and member of the editorial board in many international journals such as (International Journal of Food Science & Technology, Journal of Food Engineering, Waste Management, Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition, Italian Journal of Food Science, Journal of Food Processing and Preservation, Journal of Culinary Science and Technology, Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, Journal of Food Quality, Foods, Microorganisms, Current Research in Food Science). Has written more than 200 research papers and chapters in books and has presented more than 160 papers and posters at national and international conferences.

Dr. Nico Jehmlich is a researcher in proteomics and environmental microbiology at the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) in Leipzig, Germany. His research focuses on how complex microbial communities function in natural and host-associated environments. By integrating metaproteomics, stable isotope probing, and systems biology, his research reveals the metabolic activities and interactions of microorganisms in complex ecosystems. Dr. Jehmlich’s work contributes to advancing microbiome research and addressing key questions in environmental and microbial ecology.

Dr. Hermann J. Heipieper is Environmental Microbiologist and since July 1999 head of the group Microbial Adaptation and Contaminant Degradation of the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Leipzig, Germany.