Sarkis K Mazmanian, PhD

Luis B. and Nelly Soux Professor of Microbiology, Investigator, Heritage Medical Research Institute, California Institute of Technology

Sarkis Mazmanian is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate from the University of California, Los Angeles, where he also received his doctoral training in microbiology and immunology studying the mechanism by which gram-positive pathogens anchor surface protein adhesins during bacterial infection. Mazmanian was a Helen Hay Whitney postdoctoral fellow at Harvard Medical School where he studied how symbiotic bacteria promote healthy maturation of the immune system. In 2006, Mazmanian was promoted to assistant professor at Harvard Medical School, and he moved to California Institute of Technology (Caltech) later that year to start his independent laboratory. His research group studies beneficial bacterial molecules from the human gut microbiome as novel therapies for immunologic and neurologic disorders. This research has led to identification of novel drug candidates being developed for inflammatory bowel disease, autism spectrum disorder, and Parkinson’s disease.