Kelly S. Swanson, PhD (he/him/his)

Director, Division of Nutritional Sciences
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Urbana, Illinois, United States

Kelly Swanson is the Director of the Division of Nutritional Sciences, Kraft Heinz Company Endowed Professor in Human Nutrition, and Professor in the Department of Animal Sciences and Division of Nutritional Sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. His lab 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 companion animals and humans. Over the past 2 decades, he has established an internationally recognized research program, highlighted by over $27 million in research grants and gifts, 270 peer-reviewed journal articles, and 165 invited lectures at scientific and professional meetings. He has trained 55 graduate students and post-doctoral fellows, hosted nearly 20 international visiting scholars, and mentored over 40 undergraduate research projects. Kelly has also taught over 3,300 undergraduate, graduate, and veterinary students in approximately 70 courses on campus. He has been named to the university’s ‘List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent by Their Students’ 36 times and received 18 distinguished research and teaching awards as a faculty member. He has served on the editorial board of several journals, served on Academic Program Review Panels, chaired over 20 international symposia, and served on several program steering and award selection committees for the American Society for Nutrition (ASN) and American Society of Animal Science (ASAS). 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) and the International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics (ISAPP).

Presentation(s):

• Recent Advances in Nutrition, The Gut Microbiome and Health (Sponsored Satellite Program)

  Saturday, May 31, 2025
  12:00 PM – 1:30 PM ET

  Disclosure(s): Bramble, Inc.: Advisory Committee/Board Member (Ongoing)
  Champion Petfoods: Advisory Committee/Board Member (Ongoing)
  Freshpet: Advisory Committee/Board Member (Ongoing)
  Kerry: Grant/Research Support (Ongoing); Speaker/Speaker's Bureau (Ongoing)
  Petsmart: Advisory Committee/Board Member (Ongoing)
  Phileo: Speaker/Speaker's Bureau (Terminated, July 21, 2024)
  Tom & Sawyer: Advisory Committee/Board Member (Ongoing)

• Overview of ‘Biotic’ Definitions and Scope - Recent Advances in Nutrition, The Gut Microbiome and Health (Sponsored Satellite Program)

  Saturday, May 31, 2025
  12:05 PM – 12:25 PM ET

  Disclosure(s): Bramble, Inc.: Advisory Committee/Board Member (Ongoing)
  Champion Petfoods: Advisory Committee/Board Member (Ongoing)
  Freshpet: Advisory Committee/Board Member (Ongoing)
  Kerry: Grant/Research Support (Ongoing); Speaker/Speaker's Bureau (Ongoing)
  Petsmart: Advisory Committee/Board Member (Ongoing)
  Phileo: Speaker/Speaker's Bureau (Terminated, July 21, 2024)
  Tom & Sawyer: Advisory Committee/Board Member (Ongoing)

• Panel Discussion / Questions and Answers - Recent Advances in Nutrition, The Gut Microbiome and Health (Sponsored Satellite Program)

  Saturday, May 31, 2025
  1:05 PM – 1:30 PM ET

  Disclosure(s): Bramble, Inc.: Advisory Committee/Board Member (Ongoing)
  Champion Petfoods: Advisory Committee/Board Member (Ongoing)
  Freshpet: Advisory Committee/Board Member (Ongoing)
  Kerry: Grant/Research Support (Ongoing); Speaker/Speaker's Bureau (Ongoing)
  Petsmart: Advisory Committee/Board Member (Ongoing)
  Phileo: Speaker/Speaker's Bureau (Terminated, July 21, 2024)
  Tom & Sawyer: Advisory Committee/Board Member (Ongoing)

• Experimental Animal Nutrition GEM Forum: Now and the Future - Focusing on the Microbiome in Animal Research

  Sunday, June 1, 2025
  7:00 AM – 8:00 AM ET

  Disclosure(s): Bramble, Inc.: Advisory Committee/Board Member (Ongoing)
  Champion Petfoods: Advisory Committee/Board Member (Ongoing)
  Freshpet: Advisory Committee/Board Member (Ongoing)
  Kerry: Grant/Research Support (Ongoing); Speaker/Speaker's Bureau (Ongoing)
  Petsmart: Advisory Committee/Board Member (Ongoing)
  Phileo: Speaker/Speaker's Bureau (Terminated, July 21, 2024)
  Tom & Sawyer: Advisory Committee/Board Member (Ongoing)

• (AL05-01-25) Fiber’s Utilization for Energy and Life (FUEL): A Randomized, Controlled Feeding Trial Assessing Metabolizable Energy of the Diet With and Without High Fiber Cereal

  Monday, June 2, 2025
  11:00 AM – 11:15 AM ET

  Disclosure(s): Bramble, Inc.: Advisory Committee/Board Member (Ongoing)
  Champion Petfoods: Advisory Committee/Board Member (Ongoing)
  Freshpet: Advisory Committee/Board Member (Ongoing)
  Kerry: Grant/Research Support (Ongoing); Speaker/Speaker's Bureau (Ongoing)
  Petsmart: Advisory Committee/Board Member (Ongoing)
  Phileo: Speaker/Speaker's Bureau (Terminated, July 21, 2024)
  Tom & Sawyer: Advisory Committee/Board Member (Ongoing)

• Nutritional Microbiology GEM Forum: Thinking Outside the Host - Strengths and Limitations of In Vitro Models to Explore Diet and the Microbiome

  Monday, June 2, 2025
  12:30 PM – 1:30 PM ET

  Disclosure(s): Bramble, Inc.: Advisory Committee/Board Member (Ongoing)
  Champion Petfoods: Advisory Committee/Board Member (Ongoing)
  Freshpet: Advisory Committee/Board Member (Ongoing)
  Kerry: Grant/Research Support (Ongoing); Speaker/Speaker's Bureau (Ongoing)
  Petsmart: Advisory Committee/Board Member (Ongoing)
  Phileo: Speaker/Speaker's Bureau (Terminated, July 21, 2024)
  Tom & Sawyer: Advisory Committee/Board Member (Ongoing)