The rockefeller university

Event Details

Type

Friday Lecture Series

Speaker(s)

David A. Relman, M.D., Thomas C. and Joan M. Merigan Professor, department of medicine and department of microbiology and immunology, Stanford University

Speaker bio(s)

All complex ecosystems display multiple, alternative stable states. These alternative states can be conceptualized as discrete domains of attraction on a stability landscape, where the likelihood of a persistent state relates to the depth of the valley and the energy required to displace the system. Regime shifts, or transitions from one state to another, occur in response to disturbance or change in the environment. In humans, these environmental changes might include the effects of aging or of immunosuppressing drugs. Resilience refers to resistance to ecosystem state shift or to recovery of prior ecosystem services following disturbance. Given the known and suspected benefits that humans derive from their microbiota, the stability and resilience of this ecosystem are critical properties that deserve attention. Dr. Relman's laboratory has undertaken longitudinal studies in human volunteers who are monitored for months before and after a standardized disturbance, with the goals of describing the temporal dynamics of the human microbiome and identifying features that are associated with stability in the face of disturbance as well as recovery of a prior state. A predictive understanding of the microbiome and the mechanisms that underlie resilience will inform effective strategies for its manipulation, so as to maintain or restore health, and avoid or mitigate disease.

Dr. Relman’s research focuses on the human indigenous microbiota and, in particular, the nature and mechanisms of variation in patterns of microbial diversity and function, key features of microbial community assembly, and the basis for community stability and resilience. During the past few decades, he has also spearheaded the development of new strategies for identifying previously unrecognized microbial agents of disease. These efforts have revealed novel pathogens and commensals.

Dr. Relman received his S.B. in biology from MIT in 1977 and his M.D. from Harvard Medical School in 1982. He completed his clinical and research postdoctoral training at Massachusetts General Hospital and at Stanford University, where he joined the faculty in 1994. At Stanford, he is currently the Thomas C. and Joan M. Merigan Professor in the department of medicine and in the department of microbiology and immunology, as well as co-director of the Center for International Security and Cooperation. He also serves as chief of infectious diseases at the Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System. Dr. Relman is the recipient of numerous awards, including an NIH Director’s Pioneer Award in 2006 and an NIH Transformative Research Award in 2013. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and a member of the National Academy of Medicine.

Open to

Public

Reception

Refreshments, 3:15 p.m. - 3:45 p.m., Abby Lounge

Contact

Linda Hanssler

Phone

(212) 327-7714

Sponsor

Linda Hanssler
(212) 327-7714
lhanssler@rockefeller.edu

Readings

http://librarynews.rockefeller.edu/?p=4007