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. Clarissa J. Nobile is the Kamangar Family Chair in Biological Sciences and Professor of Molecular and Cell Biology at the University of California, Merced. She is also co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer of BioSynesis, Inc., a Bay Area biotechnology company focused on developing biofilm-specific diagnostics and therapeutics for difficult-to-treat hospital-associated infections. Dr. Nobile’s research focuses on understanding the molecular and mechanistic bases of microbial community formation, with particular emphasis on biofilms, their transcriptional regulation, evolution, and interactions with host and microbial environments. Her laboratory combines molecular genetics, genomics, imaging, and systems-level approaches to understand how microbial communities are established, maintained, and dispersed, with the broader goal of identifying new strategies to control harmful biofilms and harness beneficial microbial communities. She has received numerous honors for her research, including being named a Pew Biomedical Scholar in 2015 and a Pew Innovation Fund Investigator in 2022.

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. Shilev is an experienced researcher in agricultural and environmental biotechnologies at the Agricultural University of Plovdiv, Bulgaria. He received his PhD in Microbiology from the University of Córdoba, Spain. His recent work focuses on circularity in agriculture and the role of the soil microbiome in soil and plant health. He serves as a reviewer and guest editor for various MDPI journals. Over the course of his professional career, he has held various administrative positions at university, municipal, regional, and national levels.

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.