
Sarkis Mazmanian, PhD
Caltech
Biography
Sarkis K Mazmanian, PhD, 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 PhD training in microbiology and immunology. He was a Helen Hay Whitney Postdoctoral Fellow and subsequently appointed assistant professor at Harvard Medical School in 2006, and later that year moved to Caltech.
Dr. Mazmanian has won numerous awards including a Searle Scholar, Young Investigator of the Year at Harvard Medical School, Damon Runyon Innovation Award, was named by Discover Magazine as one of the “Best Brains in Science under 40”, “Life Science Superstar” by Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News, and recently received the MacArthur Foundation “Genius” award. His laboratory focuses on the study of beneficial bacterial molecules from the human gut microbiome as novel therapies for immunologic and neurologic disorders, with a specific focus on developing probiotic treatments for autism. He is a founder of 2 biotech companies, and has or currently serves on the Scientific Advisory Board of over a dozen companies, academic centers and not-for-profit foundations.
BRAIN Funded Projects
Gene-Microbiome Interactions in ASD: the Effects on Neurotransmitter Release, Immune Responses & GI Function
Recent & Selected Publications
Needham BD, Adame MD, Serena G, et al. Plasma and Fecal Metabolite Profiles in Autism Spectrum Disorder. Biol Psychiatry. 2021;89(5):451-462. doi:10.1016/j.biopsych.2020.09.025
Morais LH, Schreiber HL 4th, Mazmanian SK. The gut microbiota-brain axis in behaviour and brain disorders. Nat Rev Microbiol. 2021;19(4):241-255. doi:10.1038/s41579-020-00460-0
Sharon G, Cruz NJ, Kang DW, et al. Human Gut Microbiota from Autism Spectrum Disorder Promote Behavioral Symptoms in Mice. Cell. 2019;177(6):1600-1618.e17. doi:10.1016/j.cell.2019.05.004
Abdel-Haq R, Schlachetzki JCM, Glass CK, Mazmanian SK. Microbiome-microglia connections via the gut-brain axis. J Exp Med. 2019;216(1):41-59. doi:10.1084/jem.20180794
BRAIN Synchrony Symposia presentations
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