Nutrition & Growth Symposium: From First Feeds to Future Health

Yvan Vandenplas, MD, PhD

Professor 
University Hospital Brussels (UZ Brussel) 
Brussels, Belgium

Yvan Vandenplas, MD, PhD, did his medical studies at the “Vrije Universiteit Brussel” (Free University of Brussels) and trained in pediatrics (1981-1986) at the same University. He became Head of the Unit for Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition in 1987 and created the Pediatric Hospital, the KidZ Health Castle, at the University Hospital Brussels (UZ Brussel) of the same university, where he had been the Chair of Pediatrics since 1994 up to 2021. He is now Prof. Emeritus and a consultant at the same hospital. He has over 500 publications listed in Medline, including many papers on infant nutrition. He is associate editor of the Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition and Nutrients.

David R Hill, PhD

Senior Research Scientist, Gut & Immunity
Abbott Nutrition
Columbus, OH, USA

David Hill is a Senior Research Scientist for the Gut and Immunity Platform within the Nutrition Division at Abbott. He conducts early-stage discovery research to develop nutrition solutions to improve health and wellness in both children and adults and contributes to the translation of these discoveries into innovative new products.

Dr Hill earned a BS in Biological Sciences at Kent State University and completed a PhD in Molecular Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University. He studied the role of human milk oligosaccharides in immunity at Boston College.

Prior to joining Abbott in 2019, he was a Research Assistant Professor at the University of Michigan, where he developed stem cell-derived models of host-microbial interactions in infant gastrointestinal development. He has published more than 30 peer-reviewed scientific manuscripts and book chapters. He has taught Immunology, Evolutionary Biology, and Statistics at the undergraduate and graduate levels, and has mentored dozens of MS, PhD, and MD students in biomedical research. He also leads collaborative teams in basic science R&D aimed at developing next-generation innovations that deliver impactful benefits for consumers of Similac, Ensure, Pedialyte, and other Abbott Nutrition products.

Robert Murray, MD, FAAP

Professor of Pediatrics, College of Medicine 
Associate Member, Primary Food Innovation Center
The Ohio State University 
Columbus, OH, USA

Robert Murray, MD, is an academic professor of pediatrics in the College of Medicine at The Ohio State University. He completed his fellowship in Pediatric Gastroenterology at Children’s Hospital, Columbus, Ohio in 1985. Since then, he has spent more than 25 years in the Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. 

Prof Murray’s primary areas of focus include biomedical nutrition and pediatric manifestations of malnutrition. He has published over 70 peer-reviewed articles, including most recently “A First Step Toward Eliminating Malnutrition: A Proposal for Universal Screening”, which was published in Pediatric Practice in Nutrition and Dietary Supplements. He has contributed to numerous books and public education projects, as well as to projects involving pediatric wasting, stunting, and obesity. Dr Murray has served in many organizations; including but not limited to a member of the National Dairy Council Nutrition Advisory Committee, a member of the Children’s Hunger Alliance Governing Board, the vice-chair of the board of Action for Healthy Kids, and a collaborator with Abbott Nutrition International on nutrition education for pediatric practitioners. 

Prof Murray has received several awards. Most recently, he was a 2016 finalist for the Pathway to Populations Health Award for Columbus CEO Magazine. He was a recipient of the 2015 Child Advocate of the Year Award for Ohio Voices for Children. In 2008, he received a Special Achievement Award for obesity initiatives and Chairperson of the Year Award from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). Within the AAP, Dr Murray is currently their representative to the National Dairy Council Health Advisory Committee. He is the former chair of the AAP Council on School Health and is a past president of the Ohio Chapter of the AAP.