Xandra Smith

Xandra Smith has a diverse work experience in the field of microbiology and agricultural biotechnology. Xandra currently works as an Adjunct Faculty at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Prior to that, they served as the Director of Innovation and Product Development at Arm & Hammer Animal and Food Production. Xandra also held the position of Director of Microbial Ecology at Agro BioSciences, where they focused on developing natural farming solutions. Xandra has also worked at DuPont, where they served as the Group Manager for Genomics and Ecology of Microbes as well as the Ruminant Group Manager. Additionally, they have experience as the Director of Ruminant Research at Agtech Products and as a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. Xandra's early career includes working as a Rumen Microbiologist at the Agricultural Research Council South Africa. Overall, their work experience highlights their expertise in microbiology, agriculture, and product development within the animal industry.

Xandra Smith has a diverse educational background in the field of science. Xandra began their academic journey at the University of the Witwatersrand from 1985 to 1989, where they obtained a Bachelor of Science degree with Honors in Microbiology. Xandra then went on to pursue further studies in this field and enrolled at the University of KwaZulu-Natal from 1992 to 1995, earning a Master of Science degree. Following this, Xandra embarked on a Postgraduate Diploma program in Tertiary Education at the University of South Africa/Universiteit van Suid-Afrika, which they completed between 1993 and 1996. Xandra'seducational journey reached its apex as they completed their Ph.D. in Animal Science at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign from 1997 to 2003.