Dr Steele is a Full Professor in the Department of Animal Biosciences, with his research aiming to explain ruminant physiology through a systems approach from the molecular to whole animal level. His research program is inspired by his upbringing on a progressive dairy farm in Southwestern Ontario, where he became fascinated by the integration of advanced scientific technologies and livestock production systems. The global hypothesis of his current research program is that during early-life, gastrointestinal function and health in the ruminant are regulated by specific interactions among diet and microbiota that can impact gastrointestinal physiology later in life. As such, the overall objective of his research program is to develop a better understanding of how pre-weaning nutritional and management factors that are common in livestock production can impact gastrointestinal development and metabolism during the pre-weaning phase and later in life.