I received a B.S. degree from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, M.S. from Springfield College (MA), and a doctorate from the University of South Carolina at Columbia all in the area of kinesiology/exercise science. I also completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the Minneapolis Medical Research Foundation in the area of neuroimmunology. I am currently a Professor of Kinesiology and Community Health with additional appointments in the Division of Nutritional Sciences and the Carle-Illinois College of Medicine at the University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign. My expertise are in exercise physiology, and more specifically the effects of exercise on the immune system, the gut microbiome, and aging. I have mentored 30 graduate students, 2 post-doctoral fellows, and have received campus recognition for guiding undergraduate research. I have authored over 130 peer-reviewed scientific journal articles and have been a Principal or Co-Investigator on >$22 million of funded federal and industry sponsored research.