Inside Youth Sports: An Expert's and Athlete's Guide to Health, Fitness, Competition and Better Play

Buel D. Rodgers, PhD, is an international leader in the field of muscle biology and regenerative medicine. He is also the CEO of AAVogen, a biotech company that develops gene therapeutics for muscle diseases. He started the company after 17 years in academia when four family members were diagnosed with severe muscle wasting and has devoted his career to fighting these debilitating and terminal diseases. He was a tenured Full Professor and has held faculty positions in Pediatric Endocrinology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and in Molecular Biosciences at the Washington State University where he also directed the Washington Center for Muscle Biology. He is the winner of multiple awards for research, teaching and mentoring and is a prolific author of research articles, book chapters, patents and academic white papers. He lives in Rockville, Maryland.

Meilani Y. Rodgers is an elite youth athlete and has competed at the national level in track and soccer. She is also an aspiring writer and inspiring young feminist who offers a candid and relatable perspective of experiences that typify youth, high school, and collegiate sports.