It’s common for people to focus on their health at the start of the year. But few consider the well being of the microbes that live inside the human gut – the microbiome – which are vital to an individual’s good health.

Amanda Klekowski Von Koppenfels, Ph.D. a.k.von-koppenfels@kent.ac.uk University of Kent Senior Lecturer in Migration and Politics Director, MA in International Migration Director, Graduate Studies (Taught) Amanda Klekowski von Koppenfels received her PhD in Government and MA in Germany and European Studies from Georgetown University, Washington, DC and an AB from Harvard University. She has been Visiting Scholar at Harvard University’s Center for European Studies 2012-13 and Visiting Professor at the

Mark Cook mark.cook@towerswatson.com Willis Towers Watson – Global Services and Solutions Group Director, Global Services and Solutions Mark Cook is a Director in Willis Towers Watson’s Global Services and Solutions group based in London and advises on a range of international employee benefits issues. He is an international benefits expert and has worked at Willis Towers Watson for over 20 years. Mark leads Willis Towers Watson’s benefit financing group

Philippe Viénot BNP Paribas Risk Manager Philippe was trained as an aerospace engineer with a MBA. He worked 6 years with Astrium (EADS) as satellite architect and system’s engineer. In 1996, he joined Marsh France, managing the space practice for 6 years, before becoming deputy head of FINPRO. He was hired by AIG France in 2006 to manage the Financial Institutions and the Professional Liability lines, then he managed

James W. Reid MetLife Global Employee Benefits Executive Vice President James W. Reid is the Executive Vice President for MetLife’s Global Employee Benefits (GEB) business and is responsible for expanding MetLife’s employee benefits business in more than 40 countries, broadening relationships and fueling growth across the globe via partnerships with multinational corporations as well as through distribution relationships with financial institutions. Prior to this role, James led the U.S.

Laura Healy Nottingham Trent University Senior Lecturer in Sport Coaching Dr. Laura Healy is a Lecturer/Senior Lecturer in Coaching Science and teaches on the BSc Coaching and Sports Science programme. She supervises undergraduate and postgraduate research projects in areas related to sport psychology. Dr Healy joined Nottingham Trent University in September 2017. She successfully defended her Doctorate in Sport Psychology from the University of Birmingham in July 2015, which

Onil Bhattacharyya onil.bhattacharyya@wchospital.ca University of Toronto Frigon-Blau Chair in Family Medicine Research, Women’s College Hospital Dr. Onil Bhattacharyya is a family physician and the Frigon-Blau Chair in Family Medicine Research at Women’s College Hospital. He is also an associate professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine and an assistant professor at the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto. He received his medical degree

Libby Richards Purdue University Associate Professor of Nursing Dr. Richards’ research efforts focus on understanding and intervening on the individual, interpersonal, and environmental influences on physical activity behavior. Past studies have focused on the use of dog walking to increase physical activity and included the implementation and evaluation of two randomized controlled trials (funded by the American Kennel Club and the Human Animal Bond Research Initiative). These interventions demonstrated effectiveness

Carly Wood University of Westminster Lecturer in Nutrition and Exercise Science I am a lecturer in Nutrition and Exercise Science at the University of Essex and have both a BSc (hons) and PhD in Sports and Exercise Science. I am also a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. My research interests are focused on the role of natural environments in facilitating physical activity and whether being active in green spaces (Green Exercise) can

Sven Roelandt roelandt@geb.com GEB – Generali Employee Benefits Regional Manager WEMEA Sven Roelandt joined the Generali Employee Benefits Network as Area Manager for the Nordics and Benelux back in 2012. He is currently holding the position of Regional Manager with responsibility for the Brussels Regional Office team, which overlooks the WEMEA region. Sven holds a degree in mathematics and physics, but has been active in the field of Employee

Ruchika Pal pal.ruchika@outlook.com Talent Root Consulting Founder Ruchika Pal is the founder of Talent Root Consulting, which specializes in areas of Talent Rewards, Performance and Analytics. She is an experienced talent management and total rewards professional, with a good understanding of the talent landscape of Southeast and South Asia, including India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Vietnam, Singapore, Philippines, Indonesia, South Africa and Sri Lanka. She has more than 16 years of

Darrell Cockburn Assistant Professor of Food Science Pennsylvania State University Our interests center around the processing of dietary fiber by the human gut microbiome. This fiber is composed primarily of the undigested carbohydrates in our diet. Humans can really only directly use the polysaccharide starch (mostly, see below), the disaccharides lactose, sucrose and maltose and their constituent monosaccharides glucose, galactose and fructose. All other carbohydrates are untouched by human

Alda Dhingra alda.dhingra@prudentbrokers.com Prudent Insurance Brokers Pvt. Ltd. (India) Vice President – International Business Practice Alda’s 28-year career has spanned investment banking in the United States, training and instructional design in India, and entrepreneurship in insurance broking at Prudent Insurance Brokers. Alda co-founded the Delhi branch of Prudent Insurance Brokers Pvt. Ltd. in 2005 and has been part of the senior leadership that has grown the company to over 650

Connie Rogers Pennsylvania State University Associate Professor of Nutritional Sciences My research focuses on the role of changes in energy balance and related nutritional factors on inflammation, immune regulation and cancer risk using both animal models and human subjects.

Hal Sosabowski University of Brighton Professor of Public Understanding of Science Professor Hal Sosabowski holds a Chair in the Public Understanding of Science at the University of Brighton in the UK. He has an international reputation for performing high-end exhibition science, most recently at the All Russia Science Festival in Moscow and the Abu Dhabi Festival of Science. He has also toured Europe extensively. He was the first scientist

Anja Shortland anja.shortland@kcl.ac.uk King’s College London Reader in Political Economy Dr Anja Shortland is Reader in Political Economy and Director of Postgraduate Research in the Department of Political Economy. Her current research projects are in peace science and the economics of crime. Although largely based on data analysis, her work usually cuts across disciplinary boundaries adopting techniques and insights from sociology, engineering, geography, politics, international relations and economics. Anja

Sara Jo Nixon University of Florida Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry Dr. Nixon’s work uses comprehensive behavioral assessments including neuropsychological testing, brain electrophysiology (electroencephalography and event-related potentials), and clinical research interviews. Her team is currently conducting a NIAAA funded R01 directed to clarifying the intersection of cognitive and emotional processing in men and women who are either seeking treatment for a substance use disorder or do not meet these criteria

Shira Jeczmien sj@lystechnologies.co.uk LYS Technologies Writer, Editor and Head of Content Shira Jeczmien is a writer, editor and head of content for LYS Technologies. Her writing focuses on technological advancements, trends and their impact on society.

Marc Reinhardt reinhardt@geb.com Generali Employee Benefits Director of the Americas region Marc Reinhardt has the equivalent of a combined post-grad/master degree in economics and insurance from the University of Frankfurt. He has worked for Generali since 1991 with postings in Germany, Italy, and the U.S. While in Germany, Marc specialized in tax and Labor Law as well as actuarial aspects of employee benefit plans for international companies. Moving to Italy,

Wendy Wood University of Southern California – Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences Provost Professor of Psychology and Business Wendy Wood is a social psychologist whose research addresses the ways that habits guide behavior – and why they are so difficult to break – as well as evolutionary accounts of gender differences in behavior. Professor Wood has been Associate Editor of Psychological Review, Journal of Personality and Social

Hugo Starrsjo hs@lystechnologies.co.uk LYS Technologies Co-Founder and COO Hugo Starrsjo is LYS Technologies’ Co-Founder and COO. With a background in Biomedical engineering, Hugo is passionate about the interpretation of data. With a vision to track the influencing factors on light and its effect on the circadian rhythm, LYS Technologies provides a data-driven approach to improving sleep and productivity in the workplace.

Sarah Tottle Lancaster University Business psychologist Sarah Tottle is a doctoral candidate at the University of Lancaster, researching organisational health and wellbeing. She is conducting qualitative research into the return to work phase post burnout. The aim of the research is to look at the narratives and stories people tell about their experiences of returning to work after burning out, with emphasis on giving participants a voice to share

Genevieve Shanahan @GenShanahanm Grenoble École de Management (GEM) Etudiante PhD Genevieve Shanahan is a PhD student at the Grenoble Ecole de Management, where her research concerns alternative forms of markets and organizations. She is currently working on projects regarding the platform workers and cooperative networks.

Ian Hamilton University of York Associate Professor, Addiction and Mental Health Ian investigates the impact drug use has on individuals and populations. Focusing on the social, health and political issues related to drug and alcohol use. He writes a regular column for The Independent, provides opinion pieces for the British Medical Journal as well as publishing academic papers. Prior to becoming an academic Ian worked as a mental health

Mark Smith @smithmj Grenoble École de Management (GEM) Professor of Human Resource Management Mark Smith is a Professor Human Resource Management and Dean of Faculty at the Grenoble Ecole de Management, France. As Dean he leads 150 permanent faculty. He was previously Director of the Doctoral School and Associate Dean (2013-16) when he managed one of the largest doctoral schools for management sciences in Europe. He previously worked at Manchester Business School

Sally Marlow King’s College London Addictions Researcher Sally Marlow is a research scientist based at King’s College London with a particular interest in the relationships between addiction, mental health and the arts. She is also a broadcaster, and recently developed and presented The Science of Addiction for BBC Radio 4.

Bandy X. Lee Yale School of Medicine, Yale University Assistant Clinical Professor Dr. Bandy Lee is a forensic psychiatrist and an internationally recognized expert on violence. She is the editor of “The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump: 37 Psychiatrists and Mental Health Experts Assess a President,” published in 2017 and updated in 2019. Trained in medicine and psychiatry at Yale and Harvard Universities, and in medical anthropology as a