Keynote Speaker

Sharon M. Donovan, PhD, RD, DFASN

Professor Sharon Donovan is the Melissa M. Noel Endowed Chair in Nutrition and Health at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.  She received her Ph.D. in Nutrition from the University of California, Davis, under the supervision of Professor Bo Lönnerdal, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in Pediatric Endocrinology at Stanford University School of Medicine.

Research in her laboratory focuses on the coordinated development of the gut microbiome, immune system, and neurocognition in early life. Currently, she studies how human milk oligosaccharides and proteins influence microbiome composition and immune function in neonates.

She previously served as President of the American Society for Nutrition (2011-2012) and ISRHML (2018-2020). She was appointed to the Scientific Advisory Committee for the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. She was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2017 and was named a Distinguished Fellow of the American Society for Nutrition (DFASN) in 2025.

Elimika Pfuma Fletcher, PharmD, PhD

Elimika Pfuma Fletcher, PharmD, PhD, is a clinical pharmacologist with 17 years of scientific and regulatory expertise in oncology and pediatric and maternal pharmacology.

She holds a Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) degree and a PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University of Houston College of Pharmacy.

Belén Orgaz Martinez, PhD

I am an Associate PhD in the Department of Food Science and Technology at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Complutense University of Madrid (Spain).

I am also Co‑Leader of the research group Perinatal Microbiota and Its Application in Infant and Maternal Feeding (PROBILAC), recognized as an excellent group by the Research Spanish Agency. My current work focuses on various projects related to these topics:

1) the acquisition and evolution of the microbiota in preterm infants;

2) ecological interactions within complex microbial communities;

3) the use of probiotics to improve women’s health; and

4) the development of probiotic‑based living coatings.

Alison Stuebe, MD, MSc, FACOG

Dr. Stuebe completed her Obstetrics and Gynecology residency at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. She completed fellowship training in Maternal Fetal Medicine at Brigham and Women’s, and she earned a Masters in Epidemiology from the Harvard School of Public Health. She has published more than 240 peer-reviewed articles. Her current research focuses on advancing justice, belonging, and humanity in maternity care.

She a member of the Orange County Board of Health, and she is actively engaged in professional organizations. She was as a member of the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine ad hoc committee, Understanding Breastfeeding Promotion, Initiation and Support Across the United States: An Analysis.  She is a past president of the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine and a former board member of the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine.  At the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, she is a member of the Breastfeeding Expert Work Group, and she chaired the Task Force on Reinventing Postpartum Care. 

Alexandra Whittington, global futurist, author

Alexandra Whittington is an internationally recognized global futurist, author, and keynote speaker specializing in scenario planning, trends, and sociocultural analysis.

She is a co-author and co-editor of foundational foresight collections, including A Very Human Future, Aftershocks and Opportunities, and The Future Reinvented. Her most recent book, Invitation to Futurology, maps alternative futures bridging technological capability with societal wisdom. Whittington, who previously taught Strategic Foresight at the University of Houston and was named a leading female futurist in Forbes, is recognized for her unique focus on technology’s impacts on society, gender, and family structures and skillful translation of future uncertainty into resilient strategic advantage.

Elizabeth L. Johnson, PhD
Associate Professor of Molecular Nutrition, Division of Nutritional Sciences, Cornell University

Dr. Elizabeth (Liz) Johnson is an Associate Professor of Molecular Nutrition in the Division of Nutritional Sciences at Cornell University, where she leads a research program dedicated to understanding how bioactive lipids shape the relationship between diet, the gut microbiome, and human health. Her lab focuses on host–microbe molecule exchange, with a particular emphasis on how nutrients in infant diets influence the development of the infant gut microbiome and long-term metabolic health.

Dr. Johnson earned her B.S. in biology from Spelman College and her Ph.D. in molecular biology from Princeton University, followed by postdoctoral training at Cornell. Her work integrates molecular biology, microbial genetics, chemical biology, metabolomics, and microbiome science to reveal how sphingolipids and other microbial metabolites affect host physiology.

Her research has been widely recognized, including her selection as a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Freeman Hrabowski Scholar, a Pew Biomedical Scholar, and the recipient of the inaugural Schwartz Research Fund Visionary Grant supporting her work on human milk nutrients and infant gastrointestinal health.