Erin Bryan received her B.S. and M.S. degrees from the University of Illinois and is currently a doctoral candidate at the University of Illinois with Dr. Anna Dilger. Her dissertation focuses on fetal programming, specifically the effect of maternal inflammation during gestation on offspring muscle development and immune function. Using gestating sows, she has implemented both a disease model and a novel non-pathogenic model, which she largely designed. Erin has authored five peer-reviewed works thus far and presented her research findings at several conferences. She is also very active in teaching both entry and graduate level courses, serving as a teaching assistant and guest lecturer all but one semester of her graduate career. Upon graduation, Erin hopes to work in the animal health sector finding ways to improve welfare and efficiency of livestock.