Ryan Dilger

Ryan Dilger is a Professor in the Department of Animal Sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign with additional appointments as Professor in Nutritional Sciences, Professor at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, Professor at the Center for Digital Agriculture, National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA), and Affiliate at the Personalized Nutrition Initiative, Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology. He also serves as Director of the Illinois Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) in the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation.

Dr. Dilger's research integrates animal nutrition, immunophysiology, and neuroscience, with a focus on comparative animal nutrition and the biochemical aspects of proteins and amino acids. His laboratory specializes in using translational piglet models to investigate how nutrient intake and infection during the neonatal period affect brain development and cognitive function, particularly learning and memory. His work explores the gut-brain axis, examining how nutritional interventions influence microbiome composition and subsequent neural outcomes. Current research includes studies on iron deficiency, choline metabolism, prebiotics, and novel dietary components like milk fat globule membrane and lactoferrin.

His recent publications demonstrate a strong interdisciplinary approach combining agricultural technology, neuroscience, and nutritional science. The research trends show consistent focus on developing translational animal models, particularly piglets, to address both practical agricultural challenges and fundamental questions about human nutrition and neurodevelopment. His work bridges basic science with potential applications in pediatric nutrition and animal health.

Dr. Dilger actively mentors students in his Piglet Nutrition & Cognition Laboratory, including undergraduate researchers like AJ Patsavas and Rebecca Moll who presented honors theses on fiber effects on piglet behavior and neuroplasticity, respectively. Graduate students such as Stephen Fleming and Austin Mudd have collaborated on significant publications. His laboratory has secured funding for research examining the connections between nutrition, gut health, and brain development, with applications for both animal agriculture and human health.

The Piglet Nutrition & Cognition Laboratory operates as a multidisciplinary research team using advanced technologies including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to assess brain development. The lab has established protocols like the novel object recognition task for evaluating piglet cognition and has published in high-impact journals across animal science, nutrition, and neuroscience fields. Their research has implications for developing improved pediatric nutrition products and understanding early-life nutritional programming of brain function.