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.