Our Team

Professor Jack A Gilbert earned his Ph.D. from Unilever and Nottingham University, UK in 2002, and received his postdoctoral training at Queens University, Canada. From 2005-2010 he was a senior scientist at Plymouth Marine Laboratory, UK; and from 2010-2018 he was Group Leader for Microbial Ecology at Argonne National Laboratory, a Professor of Surgery, and Director of The Microbiome Center at University of Chicago. In 2019 he moved to University of California San Diego, where he is a Professor in Pediatrics and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Dr. Gilbert uses molecular analysis to test fundamental hypotheses in microbial ecology. He cofounded the Earth Microbiome Project and American Gut Project. He has authored more than 300 peer reviewed publications and book chapters on microbial ecology. He is the founding Editor in Chief of mSystems journal. In 2014 he was recognized on Crain's Business Chicago's 40 Under 40 List, and in 2015 he was listed as one of the 50 most influential scientists by Business Insider, and in the Brilliant Ten by Popular Scientist. In 2016 he won the Altemeier Prize from the Surgical Infection Society, and the WH Pierce Prize from the Society for Applied Microbiology for research excellence. In 2019 he was elected to the Philosophical Society of Washington. He also co-authored "Dirt is Good" published in 2017, a popular science guide to the microbiome and children's health. He founded BiomeSense Inc in 2018 to produce automated microbiome sensors.

Former CEO of Sequenom (acquired by LabCorp). Board member at CombiMatrix. Board Member of March of Dimes, Chairman of the Campaign to End Premature Birth, San Diego Chapter.

Research in the Engelhardt laboratory focuses on the use and generation of animal models to study the molecular basis of inherited and environmentally induced diseases, and on the development of gene therapies for these disorders. Dr. Engelhardt Directs the P30 Center for Gene Therapy of Cystic Fibrosis, now in its 21st year of continuous funding from NIDDK. Dr. Engelhardt is Professor and Chair of the Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, and Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine. He also holds the Roy J. Carver Chair in Molecular Medicine. The majority of his laboratory now focuses on cystic fibrosis research and includes: 1) the study of the molecular and cellular pathogenesis of cystic fibrosis (CF) lung disease and diabetes, 2) the development of novel larger animals models of CF and other lung diseases, and 3) the development of gene therapies for CF and the biology of viral infection. An expanding focus of the Engelhardt laboratory is the creation of new genetic disease models in the domestic ferret, a species that has attractive biologic attributes to study lung disease. His laboratory uses somatic cell nuclear transfer and genome-editing technologies to produced disease models in the ferret. His group is also engaged in clinical trials evaluating the pathogenesis of cystic fibrosis related diabetes in infants and children 3 months to 5 years of age. This clinical trial is evaluating hormonal disturbances that influence insulin secretion and beta-cell function, and relating these changes to detailed studies of the CF ferret model, which also develops diabetes similar to CF patients.

Fellow, American College of Medical Genetics (FACMG) in Cytogenetics and Molecular Genetics

Board Certified by the American Board of Medical Genetics and Genomics in both Clinical Cytogenetics and Clinical Molecular Genetics

Fellow, Faculty of Science, Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia [FFSc(RCPA)]

Specialties:

• CLIA Laboratory Director
• Clinical Consultant in Cytogeneics, Molecular Genetics, Molecular Oncology, Molecular Pathology and Next-Gen Sequencing
• Regulatory Consultant: CLIA, CAP, ISO, State Clinical Laboratory licensure

I am passionate about curating vast amounts of electronic medical data into an evidence based narrative that directs clinical decisions.

While obtaining my MD/PhD I mined the genomic material of centenarians to discover what genetic traits allow them to live a long life free of chronic diseases. My research gave me unique insight in understanding and utilizing large data sets to direct clinical research. During my training as a medical doctor I was astounded to see how much medical data goes underutilized. Believing that every patient encounter can extend the community's understanding of disease I joined the Pathology program at Stanford. My goal is to extend medical informatics, integrate all available electronic medical data, and utilize it to promote beneficial patient outcomes.

Currently the Coordinator of Performance Nutrition and Sports Dietitian for an NFL sports team. I obtained my bachelor's of science degree in nutritional science from the University of Connecticut and my master's of science in exercise science with a concentration in sports nutrition from the Florida State University. I completed my dietetic internship at Florida State University.

My passion is sports and my drive is to make athletes the very best that they can be. Food is fuel and I'm helping people become the most efficient running machine they can be.