Jill Castle, M.S., R.D., is one of the nation’s premier childhood nutrition experts. Known as a paradigm shifter who blends current research, practical application, and common sense, Jill inspires audiences to think differently about childhood nutrition and feeding kids. A sought-after speaker, advisor, and media contributor, Jill serves on the Board of Advisors of Parents Magazine, and is an advisor to a handful of child nutrition companies. Castle is the author of Eat Like a Champion, co-author of Fearless Feeding, pens The Nourished Child blog, and regularly contributes to US News & World Report for Parents.

Susan Carlson, Ph.D., is the AJ Rice Professor of Nutrition at the University of Kansas Medical Center. Dr. Carlson’s research seeks to understand the role that docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), an omega-3 fatty acid, plays in infant and child development. She has conducted numerous randomized clinical trials of DHA supplementation in pregnancy and infancy, and has collaborated with neonatologists, obstetricians, cognitive neuroscientists, electrophysiologists, dietitians and biostatisticians to look at growth and developmental outcomes. Carlson has also taken an active role in educating U.S. pediatricians, obstetricians, nurses, and dietitians about the roles of DHA in maternal and infant health.

Dr. Laura Jana is a pediatrician, health communicator, and award-winning parenting and children’s book author with a faculty appointment at Penn State’s Prevention Research Center. With 20+ years of experience working with parents, educators, media, academia, government, non-profits and corporations alike, Dr. Jana is committed to ensuring that all children thrive. Having co-authored Heading Home with Your Newborn and Food Fights: Winning the Nutritional Challenges of Parenting (both published by the American Academy of Pediatrics), her latest book, The Toddler Brain, focuses on early brain and child development. Dr. Jana studied Cellular Molecular Biology at the University of Michigan, received her M.D. from CWRU, and completed pediatric training at UCSF and University Hospitals of Cleveland.

Steven Zeisel, M.D., Ph.D., is the Kenan Distinguished University Professor in the Department of Nutrition in the Gillings School of Global Public Health and School of Medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is Director of the UNC Nutrition Research Institute and Director of the UNC Nutrition and Obesity Research Center. Dr. Zeisel has authored 350+ scientific publications, with a focus on the essential nutrient choline. Dr. Zeisel has proven humans require choline, a nutrient critical for normal brain development and liver and muscle function. Zeisel’s groundbreaking research resulted in the US Institute of Medicine establishing a dietary requirement for choline in 1998.

John Colombo, Ph.D., is a Professor of Psychology and Director of the Schiefelbusch Institute for Life Span Studies at the University of Kansas. Dr. Colombo’s research program focuses on the developmental cognitive neuroscience of attention and learning, with special attention to how early individual differences in these areas relate to the typical and atypical development of cognitive and intellectual functions. Throughout his career, Colombo has used this expertise to evaluate the effects of nutritional status and supplements (e.g., iron, zinc, omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids) on the cognitive and behavioral development of infants and young children.

Elliott Sherr, M.D., Ph.D., is a Professor in Neurology and Pediatrics at the Institute of Human Genetics at the University of California, San Francisco. Dr. Sherr directs the Brain Development Research Program, a group studying the genetics and biology of autism and epilepsy. He specifically studies the genetics of brain development disorders, having identified several genes that link to autism. In 2006, Sherr was awarded the Philip R. Dodge Young Investigator Award from the Child Neurology Society for his research. As a board-certified child neurologist that co-directs the Comprehensive Center for Brain Development at UCSF, Sherr cares for children with neurodevelopmental disorders.

Cary Buckner, M.D., has been named in New York Magazine's Best Doctors for multiple years and most recently has been Regional Director and Chief of the Neurology Division and now Neurohospitalist at a major New York based hospital system. He trained in neurology, clinical neurophysiology and neuromuscular diseases at the Neurological Institute of Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center and is the former Vice Chairman of the Department of Neurosciences at New York Presbyterian - Brooklyn Methodist Hospital where he also served as the Director of Clinical Neurophysiology and Chairman of the Departmental Quality Assurance Committee. He has over 20 years experience diagnosing and treating diseases of the brain as well as the nerves and muscles. He also practices and has taught meditation and has spoken about the benefits of meditation on brain function and structure.

Eric Decker, Ph.D., is Professor and Head of the Department of Food Science at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Dr. Decker has published 400+ papers and is actively researching mechanisms of lipid oxidation, antioxidant protection of foods, and the health implications of bioactive lipids. He has served on numerous committees for institutions such as the Food and Drug Administration, National Academy of Sciences, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the American Heart Association. Decker’s research has been recognized by many institutions, including the Agriculture and Food Chemistry Division of the American Chemical Society, International Life Sciences Institute, and Institute of Food Technologists.

Tahira Farooqui, PhD, worked as a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Neuroscience Program, and as a Research Scientist in Entomology/Centre for Molecular Neurobiology at The Ohio State University. She has published extensively on drug receptor interactions, biogenic amines in nervous systems, and has led cutting-edge research on the link between the gut microbiome and brain health. She is the author of 97 peer-reviewed research articles, one monograph published by Springer, and 13 edited books focusing on diet and exercise, and the effects of phytochemicals on human health and neurological diseases. 

Akhlaq A. Farooqui, PhD, is a practicing research scientist at the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry at The Ohio State University. He is a leader in the field of signal transduction processes, lipid mediators, phospholipases, glutamate neurotoxicity, and neurological disorders. He has published 12 books and 18 monographs that include cutting-edge research examining the effect of diet and exercise on neuroinflammatory diseases, including Alzheimer’s. He has done extensive research on the benefits of phytochemicals and Omega-3s from youth to adulthood, and the long term benefits for brain health.