Speaker Profile
Ph.D., Senior Research Scientist, Stanford University School of Medicine
Biography
Dr. Erica Sonnenburg is interested in the role of diet on the human intestinal microbiota with a specific emphasis on how the quantity and various structures of dietary carbohydrates influence this community. She is also interested in how the microbiota is transmitted over generations and how the modern Western diet has influenced the transmission of gut microbes over time. The mechanisms by which the “Western” microbiota influences the propensity and severity of non-communicable diseases is also of interest. Dr. Sonnenburg’s previous research at the University of California, San Diego focused on how human cells perceive outside signals and translate them to affect cellular processes such as cell growth and division and her fellowship at the Salk Institute used X-ray crystallography to determine the three-dimensional structures of key signaling proteins. Her training in microbiota science was in the laboratory of Jeffrey Gordon at Washington University, St. Louis.
Session Abstract – PMWC 2017 Silicon Valley
Session Synopsis: We will explore the latest developments in the human microbiome, including efforts to discover the molecular mediators of microbe-host interactions; the role of diet; the future of fecal microbiota transplant; and emerging themes for the coming second wave of microbiome-oriented companies.
