Ryan N. Dilger

About

Professor Ryan N. Dilger leads the Nutrition, Health, and Neuroscience Laboratory at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where his research sits at the intersection of animal agriculture and biomedical science. His laboratory focuses on understanding how diet influences metabolism, immunity, and brain development, with a particular emphasis on the domestic pig as a translational model. The lab's work spans evaluating feed ingredients, immune function, and disease resilience in pigs and other non-ruminant species, as well as studying brain development and cognitive outcomes in young pigs. By combining controlled nutrition studies with advanced imaging, behavioral testing, and analytical chemistry, the research aims to generate data that improves animal health and performance while also informing nutrition strategies for human infants and children. The research program under Professor Dilger is organized around two core areas linking diet, health, and brain function, focusing primarily on the role of early-life diet in shaping the microbiota-gut-brain axis. In the Nutrition and Health area, the lab evaluates feed ingredients, bioactive compounds, and dietary strategies that influence growth, gut function, and immune responses in pigs and other non-ruminant species, emphasizing practical feeding programs, disease challenge models, and resilience measures relevant to producers and the feed industry. In the Nutrition and Neuroscience area, the lab uses the young pig as a…

Research topics

• Biology
• Psychology
• Neuroscience
• Medicine
• Biochemistry
• Endocrinology
• Computer Science
• Internal medicine
• Developmental psychology
• Pathology

Selected publications

• Gut-Brain Axis in the Early Postnatal Years of Life: A Developmental Perspective

  Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience · 2020 · 83 citations

  Emerging evidence suggests that alterations in the development of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract during the early postnatal period can influence brain development and vice-versa. It is increasingly recognized that communication between the GI tract and brain is mainly driven by neural, endocrine, immune, and metabolic mediators, collectively called the gut-brain axis (GBA). Changes in the GBA mediators occur in response to the developmental changes in the body during this period. This review pr…

  DOI

• The role of oligosaccharides and polysaccharides of xylan and mannan in gut health of monogastric animals

  Journal of Nutritional Science · 2020 · 63 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding

  Apart from its role as a digestive and absorptive organ, the gastrointestinal (GI) tract is a vital immune organ that encompasses roughly 70 % of the total immune cells of the body. As such, the physical, chemical and nutrient composition of the diet influences overall GI function, effectively as an immune organ. With the improvement in feed technology, agro-industrial co-products that are high in fibre have been widely used as a feed ingredient in the diets of pigs and poultry. Arabinoxylan (AX…

  DOI

• Human and Bovine Milk Oligosaccharides Elicit Improved Recognition Memory Concurrent With Alterations in Regional Brain Volumes and Hippocampal mRNA Expression

  Frontiers in Neuroscience · 2020 · 48 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding

  were most strongly affected by diet. HMO and BMOS had distinct effects on brain structure and cognitive performance. These data suggest different mechanisms underlie their influence on brain development.

  DOI

• Barriers to computer vision applications in pig production facilities

  Computers and Electronics in Agriculture · 2022 · 38 citations

  PublisherDOI

• Influence of Rearing Environment on Longitudinal Brain Development, Object Recognition Memory, and Exploratory Behaviors in the Domestic Pig (Sus scrofa)

  Frontiers in Neuroscience · 2021 · 25 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding

  INTRODUCTION: Over the last 40 years, the domestic pig has emerged as a prominent preclinical model as this species shares similarities with humans with regard to immunity, gastrointestinal physiology, and neurodevelopment. Artificial rearing of pigs provides a number of advantages over conventional rearing (i.e., true maternal care), including careful control of nutrient intake and environment conditions. Yet there remains a gap in knowledge when comparing brain development between sow-reared a…

  PublisherDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Austin T. Mudd

  University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

  68 shared

• Sharon M. Donovan

  University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

  59 shared

• Stephen A. Fleming

  Traverse Biosciences (United States)

  59 shared

• Brian M. Berg

  Mead Johnson (United States)

  54 shared

• Rodney W. Johnson

  University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

  35 shared

• Lindsey S. Alexander

  25 shared

• Nicole C. Roy

  23 shared

• Brooke N Smith

  23 shared

Education

• PhD, Animal Sciences

  University of Illinois System

  2007

• MS, Animal Sciences

  Purdue University

  2004

• BS, Animal Sciences

  Purdue University

  2001

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