B. Brett Finlay, PhD, is professor of microbiology at the University of British Columbia and a world leader in how bacterial infections work. He has been studying microbes for over thirty years and has published over four hundred and fifty articles. Also a founder of the biotech companies Inimex, Vedanta, and Microbiome Insights, Brett is Officer of the Order of Canada—the highest Canadian civilian recognition. He lives in Vancouver, BC, with his wife, who is a pediatrician. They have two adult children, including his co-author, Jessica.

Jessica Finlay specializes in geographical and environmental gerontology, a field she is pursuing at the University of Minnesota. With degrees from Queen’s University and the University of Minnesota in geography, education, and environment and society, she has won awards and fellowships for her work, most recently the President’s Student Leadership and Service Award for collaborations with the City of Minneapolis Department of Health and Neighborhood Health Source organization. Her primary professional goals are to help diverse people attain a higher quality of life through community-engaged research, and advance strategies for healthy and inclusive lifelong communities.