Katie grew up in an Illini family so it was clear that she pursued her B.S. degree in Animal Sciences at the University of Illinois. While earning her B.S., she was an undergraduate research assistant in Dr. Swanson’s Laboratory of Comparative Nutrition and Nutrigenomics. As an undergraduate research assistant, she was involved in various research projects, including an independent project that earned her the Orville G. Bentley Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Research. Additionally, Katie has held positions as a primate intern at Saint Louis Zoo and an animal nutrition professional intern at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Katie recently successfully defended her Master’s thesis and plans to begin a career in pet food industry after graduation. Publications: Detweiler, K. B., S. Rawal, K. S. Swanson, and M. R. C. de Godoy. 2017. Physical activity level of female and male adult cats pre and post running wheel habituation. J. Nutr. Sci. 6:e17. doi:10.1017. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=Physical+activity+level+of+female+and+male+adult+cats+before+and+after+running+wheel+habituation