Science AMA Series: We are Jack Gilbert, Professor at the University of
Chicago, and Mark Smith, founder of OpenBiome. We’re two scientists who
study the human microbiome — Ask Us Anything about gut bacteria!
Abstract
The human microbiome is one of the most fascinating areas of science and
medicine, and we’re just beginning to scratch the surface. Jack Gilbert
is the Faculty Director at the Microbiome Center and a Professor at the
University of Chicago; his research focuses mainly on microbial
ecosystems, and in 2014, his thought experiment on a ‘World Without
Microbes’ went viral in the microbiology community — Jack recently
appeared in a video on the subject at https://youtu.be/80tPR5HH9Zo. In
2017, Jack co-authored the popular science book “Dirt is Good: The
advantage of germs for your child’s developing immune system.” Mark
Smith is a leader in the field of Fecal Microbiota Transplantation, or
FMT — one of the most buzzworthy practices in bacterial research. In
2012, Mark founded the nonprofit OpenBiome to expand the study and
application of fecal transplants to patients suffering from diseases
like infection from Clostridium difficile, or C. diff, which kills tens
of thousands of people in the US each year. He now serves as the CEO of
Finch Therapeutics Group, a mission-driven microbiome engineering
company pursuing the first FDA approved FMT product. Mark featured in a
video on the topic of FMTs available at https://youtu.be/ZZxRp-f3ElY. As
us anything about the microbiome and the study of gut bacteria!