Sarkis K. Mazmanian, Ph.D., is the Luis & Nelly Soux Professor of Microbiology in the Division of Biology & Biological Engineering at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). He is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate from the University of California, Los Angeles, where Dr. Mazmanian also received his doctoral training in microbiology and immunology. Dr. Mazmanian was a Helen Hay Whitney Postdoctoral Fellow at Harvard Medical School. His laboratory at Caltech studies the human gut microbiome with a focus on developing novel therapies for immunologic and neurologic disorders, including Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Autism Spectrum Disorder, and Parkinson’s disease. Dr. Mazmanian has been a principal investigator on 13 NIH grants, and numerous foundation and industry-sponsored projects. His research accomplishments have been recognized through many awards, including a Searle Scholarship, Damon Runyon Innovation Award, Catalyst Award (UCLA), Discover Magazine’s “Best Brains in Science under 40”, a MacArthur Foundation “Genius” Award, and the DuPont-Danisco Microbiome Science Award. He is a founder of 3 biotech companies and serves on the Scientific Advisory Board of over a dozen companies, academic centers, and not-for-profit foundations. Most importantly, Dr. Mazmanian has trained numerous students and fellows who have gone on to successful independent careers in academia, industry, and medicine. Sarkis Mazmanian Lab