Jeffrey I. Gordon, MD

Our distinguished guest lecturer for the April 14, 2022 virtual presentation of the Betsy and Stuart Houston lecture was Jeffrey I. Gordon, MD. Dr. Gordon is the Dr. Robert J. Glaser Distinguished University Professor and Director of the Center for Genome Sciences and Systems Biology at Washington University in St. Louis. His lab’s work on the human microbiome research has altered our understanding of the microbial origins of health and disease. His group is focused on addressing the global health challenges of obesity and childhood undernutrition through new understanding of interactions between diets and the microbiome and new ways of promoting healthy postnatal development of the gut microbial community.

He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, National Academy of Medicine and American Philosophical Society, and the recipient of a number of international awards, including the  Copley Medal from the Royal Society and the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Biology and Biomedicine and most recently the Balzan Prize in 2021. He has been the research mentor to 140 PhD and MD/PhD students and Post-doctoral fellows since he established his lab at Washington University.