ISAPP welcomes two new scientists to its board of directors
The ISAPP board of directors is pleased to welcome two prominent scientists and frequent ISAPP collaborators to its ranks: Prof. Hannah Holscher, PhD, RD from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (USA), and Prof. Jens Walter PhD from University College Cork (Ireland). The appointment of these board members was announced at the recent ISAPP annual meeting in Banff, Canada.
The two new members of the board of directors were selected to complement the expertise of the other 12 academic board members, expanding ISAPP’s capacity for effective collaboration and leadership within the field of probiotics, prebiotics, synbiotics, postbiotics, and fermented foods.
Prof. Holscher is a registered dietitian and nutrition scientist whose research integrates clinical nutrition, microbiome science, and computational biology to investigate how diet influences human health. Using clinical and computational approaches, she has contributed foundational studies and translational research that have advanced the emerging field of nutritional microbiology. Prof. Holscher was recently honored as an inaugural Excellence in Nutrition Fellow by the American Society for Nutrition (ASN), awarded for significant impact in the field of nutrition.
Prof. Walter is a microbiologist whose work focuses on the evolutionary ecology of the gut microbiome and its relationship with human nutrition. His research explores how ecological and evolutionary processes shape host-microbe interactions, aiming to translate microbiome science into therapeutic and dietary strategies. His team has led numerous human trials examining how fiber, prebiotics, whole diets, and live microbes influence the gut microbiota and health. He has authored over 180 peer-reviewed publications and is recognized as a Highly Cited Researcher by Clarivate.
In addition to their research leadership, Profs. Holscher and Walter both actively promote science in the field through outreach activities such as webinars, YouTube videos, and media articles.
“Hannah and Jens bring unique expertise in nutrition and intestinal microbiology to the board of directors and are both leaders in their fields,” says ISAPP President Prof. Maria Marco. “We’re happy to have them join our mission and look forward to working with them to sustain and grow ISAPP’s reach.”
ISAPP’s Executive Director Marla Cunningham says, “We are thrilled to welcome Hannah and Jens to our board of directors. Both have leading research programs and have been valuable ISAPP collaborators over the years. We welcome their expertise on the board and look forward to their contributions to help ISAPP carry out its mission of advancing biotic science.”
ISAPP is governed by an academic, volunteer group of board members which steers the activities of the organization, leading discussion groups, publications, outreach initiatives, and more.
