Driven by her love of wildlife and wild places, Erica is a conservation educator passionate about inspiring stewardship of the natural world. In her role as Curator of Education at Sunset Zoo, she creates innovative, inclusive opportunities for the public to connect with animals, cultivating curiosity, empathy, and action. She also co-chairs the Zoo’s Animal Welfare and Community Outreach Committees and chairs the Conservation Committee. Together, these intersecting disciplines provide a unique set of skills that drive her to seek partnerships and new opportunities that improve the wellbeing of the animals in Sunset Zoo’s care while empowering people of all ages to become conservationists and advocates for our wild world.

I am a Field Applications Scientist with expertise in translating genomic technologies into real‑world applications. I have spent over last two years at Oxford Nanopore, consulting customers across the full spectrum of biology to advance their research. I work closely with both customers and internal teams to deliver effective technical solutions and drive technology adoption.

Dr. Kelsy Robinson is a lead scientist of the USDA Agricultural Research Service MINIstock: A Model for INsect Inclusion in Sustainable Agriculture grand challenge research project. As part of this project, Dr. Robinson leads over 50 ARS scientists in research investigating all aspects of insect production and use. Over the past 5 years, her team has significantly advanced knowledge of insect nutrition, frass utilization, and the role of larvae in animal diets. As part of her individual research, Dr. Robinson focus on the ability of black soldier flies and mealworms to be reared on waste streams and the effect of those larvae on poultry intestinal health. 

Dr. Laura Miller is an Associate Professor of Veterinary Virology, Immunology, and Genomics at Kansas State University. A leading expert in host-virus interactions, Dr. Miller has spent over two decades at the forefront of livestock disease research, including distinguished federal service with the USDA Agricultural Research Service at the National Animal Disease Center and the US Meat Animal Research Center. Reflecting her leadership in the field, Dr. Miller served as the 2016 and 2023 President of the American Association of Veterinary Immunologists. Dr. Miller currently leads a multi-institutional collaboration between Kansas State University and North Carolina State University, funded by the USDA’s HPAI Poultry Innovation Grand Challenge. As Principal Investigator, she directs the development of a transformative oral vaccine platform that utilizes CRISPR-based genome editing to express HPAI antigens within insect larvae already commonly used in poultry feed. This "bug-to-bird" strategy offers a scalable, low-labor, and shelf-stable alternative to traditional injectable vaccines, eliminating hurdles such as cold-chain requirements while enhancing producer accessibility and poultry welfare. Dedicated to enhancing animal health and pandemic preparedness, Dr. Miller specializes in using advanced genomic technologies to understand how animals respond to and resist viral pathogens—knowledge critical to developing the next generation of vaccines that ensure a resilient and stable global food supply. Dr. Miller earned her B.Sc. (Hons) in Medical Microbiology from the University of Edinburgh and a Ph.D. in Molecular Virology from the Institute for Animal Health, Pirbright, conferred by the University of Reading, England.

Dr. Patricia R. Calvo is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry at Kansas State University. Her research focuses on designing functional polymeric materials to address challenges in health, sustainability, and advanced materials. She has expertise in polymer synthesis, biomaterials, and structure–property relationships, with a particular interest in how macromolecular architecture influences performance. Her group develops new materials for applications including water purification, antimicrobial systems, drug delivery, and responsive soft materials. A growing area of her research explores the use of renewable feedstocks and biological side streams, including insect-derived materials such as chitosan, to create higher-value functional products. Dr. Calvo also studies modified chitosan nanoparticles and surface-active biopolymers for separations and environmental remediation. Prior to joining academia, she worked in industry on biomedical product development and regulatory submissions. She is committed to interdisciplinary collaboration and translating fundamental chemistry into practical technologies.

Dr. Sajid Alavi is a Professor in the Department of Grain and Food Science at Kansas State University. He joined the faculty in 2002 after obtaining his Ph.D. in Food Science/Food Engineering from Cornell University in the same year. Prior to that he received his M.S. in Agricultural and Biological Engineering from Pennsylvania State University in 1997 and B.S. in Agricultural Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology in 1995. 

He received the 2010 Young Research Scientist Award from the Cereals & Grains Association (formerly AACC International and American Association of Cereal Chemists). Dr. Alavi designs technology and R&D solutions for food, feed and pet food processors, and is involved in projects in USA, Africa, Brazil, India and other countries and regions around the world. 

He has provided training and networking opportunities to more than 1000 industry leaders from 30 countries spanning six continents through the internationally reputed short course: "Extrusion Processing: Technology and Commercialization" at K-State and similar offerings and workshops in other countries.

Sofronios A. Zafeiriadis, DVM (AUTh, 2023), is a PhD candidate in Animal Nutrition at the School of Veterinary Medicine, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, and currently serves as Science Communication Coordinator of COST Action ENFiber (CA24111). His doctoral work focuses on the evaluation of insect-derived ingredients, specifically medium-chain fatty acid (MCFA) and antimicrobial peptide (AMP) fractions, as functional additives in canine diets, and their impact on palatability, digestibility, oxidative status and gut microbiota modulation. He works as a researcher at the Laboratory of Entomology and Agricultural Zoology, University of Thessaly, on the circular bioconversion of agro-industrial effluents through insects, and has contributed as a researcher to multiple EU-funded research programmes (PRIMA, Horizon, Research–Create–Innovate, among others), with a consistent focus on the circular valorisation of local agro-industrial by-products for bio-functional nutritional solutions in Mediterranean production systems. He has authored eight peer-reviewed publications in journals including Chemosphere, Science of the Total Environment and Journal of Insects as Food and Feed, presented seven abstracts at international scientific conferences, and received four national and international innovation awards for his work on insect bioconversion as a sustainable waste-management solution for the agri-food industry.