Gloria A. Casas is a Ph.D. student in the Stein Monogastric Nutrition Laboratory at the University of Illinois. She is from Bogota, Colombia, where she received a degree in Veterinary Medicine from the National University of Colombia. Following graduation, she worked for 4 years for a pork company before returning to the National University as an assistant and later an associate professor. In 2014, Ms. Casas was granted a leave of absence to pursue a Ph.D. degree in swine nutrition at the University of Illinois. During her Doctoral research, Gloria has focused on determining the composition and nutritional value of rice co-products when fed to pigs. During the time she has been a Ph.D. student, Gloria has published 11 peer-reviewed articles, 6 research abstracts, and 2 conference proceedings papers. After completion of her Ph.D. dissertation in 2018, Gloria Casas will return to her job as a professor at the National University of Columbia.