Sarkis Mazmanian

Sarkis Mazmanian is an American medical microbiologist who has served as a professor at the California Institute of Technology since 2006. He is currently the Luis & Nelly Soux Professor of Microbiology in the Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, and a board member of Seed. Prior to this, Mazmanian was affiliated with Harvard Medical School and the University of Chicago. In 2012, Mazmanian was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship for his pioneering work on the human microbiome.

Sarkis K. Mazmanian
Born	(1972-12-19) December 19, 1972 (age 52)
Nationality	Armenian American
Citizenship	United States
Alma mater	University of California at Los Angeles, B.S. (1995), Ph. D. (2002)
Awards	Helen Hay Whitney Fellowship (2002) Searle Scholarship (2006) MacArthur Fellowship (2012)
Scientific career
Fields	Microbiology Immunology Neuroscience
Institutions	California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
Doctoral advisor	Olaf Schneewind
Website	sarkis.caltech.edu

Work

Mazmanian's research investigates the symbiotic relationship between beneficial bacteria and their hosts. In seminal work, Mazmanian discovered the first microbial molecule that has direct beneficial effects on mammals. Working in Dennis Kasper's lab, he showed in 2005 that a particular bacterial species, Bacteroides fragilis, from the human microbiome augments immune function and balances a dysregulated immune system.^[1] Mazmanian has described and defined a novel paradigm in science whereby the gut microbiome intricately controls the development and function of the mammalian immune system. These discoveries include the demonstration that B. fragilis can treat experimental inflammatory bowel disease by inducing the activity of protective, regulatory immune cells. Further, his laboratory revealed that the gut microbiome impacts autoimmune diseases such as experimental multiple sclerosis.

Mazamanian has also been involved in several ventures, having founded Axial Biotherapeutics and Symbiotix Biotherapies. Axial aimed to 'microbiota analysis to better understand the relationship between microbes and the central nervous system', and raised $102m with early investors including Longwood Fund.^[2][3][4][5] The New York Times noted Symbiotix as 'developing a complex sugar called PSA, which is associated with Bacteroides fragilis, into treatments for intestinal disease and multiple sclerosis'.^[6] He also serves on the scientific advisory board of over a dozen companies, academic centers and not-for-profit foundations.

Personal life

Mazamanian was born in Lebanon to two Armenian refugees, moving to the US in 1973 whilst a toddler. He enrolled at UCLA in 1990, planning to major in English, before focusing on microbiology. He graduated in 1995 having majored in microbiology, before enrolling on a PHD which he concluded in 2002.^[7] He was awarded a Helen Hay Whitney Postdoctoral Fellowship at Harvard Medical School, before moving to Caltech in 2006, where he established the microbiome department.^[8]

Mazmanian's research has won him several awards including a Searle Scholar, Young Investigator of the Year at Harvard Medical School, Damon Runyon Innovation Award, the MacArthur Foundation Award, and Discover Magazine named him as one of the "Best Brains in Science under 40".^[9]

References

1. Mazmanian SK, Liu CH, Tzianabos AO, Kasper DL (2005). "An immunomodulatory molecule of symbiotic bacteria directs maturation of the host immune system". Cell. 122 (1): 107–18. doi:10.1016/j.cell.2005.05.007. PMID 16009137. S2CID 15708031.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
2. Adams, Susan. "Drugs From Bugs: Why Gates, Zuck And Benioff Think The Next Blockbusters Will Come From Inside Your Gut". Forbes. Retrieved 2022-09-27. In 2016, David Donabedian, a chemistry Ph.D. who was then a partner at Longwood Fund, a Boston venture capital firm, volunteered to raise the money and research power to move Mazmanian's biotech venture forward. The company, Waltham, Massachusetts–based Axial Biotherapeutics, has $55 million in backing and 30 employees.
3. Quaglia, Sofia. "How your microbiome can improve your health". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 2022-09-27. One company, Axial Therapeutics, wants to use microbiota analysis to better understand the relationship between microbes and the central nervous system in the hope of creating new pharmaceuticals.
4. Lee, Yeji Jesse. "Meet the 10 neuroscience startups that have raised millions to treat mental health and cure neurologic diseases". Business Insider. Retrieved 2022-09-27. Axial – $102.1 million
5. Martino, Cameron; Zaramela, Livia S.; Gao, Bei; Embree, Mallory; Tarasova, Janna; Parker, Seth J.; Wang, Yanhan; Chu, Huikuan; Chen, Peng; Lee, Kuei-Chuan; Galzerani, Daniela Domingos; Gengatharan, Jivani M.; Lekbua, Asama; Neal, Maxwell; Knight, Rob (2022-08-08). "Acetate reprograms gut microbiota during alcohol consumption". Nature Communications. 13 (1): 4630. Bibcode:2022NatCo..13.4630M. doi:10.1038/s41467-022-31973-2. ISSN 2041-1723. PMC 9359997. PMID 35941112.
6. Smith, Peter Andrey (2015-06-23). "Can the Bacteria in Your Gut Explain Your Mood?". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-09-27. Mazmanian knew the results offered only a provisional explanation for why restrictive diets and antibacterial treatments seemed to help some children with autism: Altering the microbial composition might be changing the permeability of the intestine. The larger concept is, and this is pure speculation: Is a disease like autism really a disease of the brain or maybe a disease of the gut or some other aspect of physiology? Mazmanian said. For any disease in which such a link could be proved, he saw a future in drugs derived from these small molecules found inside microbes. (A company he co-founded, Symbiotix Biotherapies, is developing a complex sugar called PSA, which is associated with Bacteroides fragilis, into treatments for intestinal disease and multiple sclerosis.) In his view, the prescriptive solutions probably involve more than increasing our exposure to environmental microbes in soil, dogs or even fermented foods; he believed there were wholesale failures in the way we shared our microbes and inoculated children with these bacteria. So far, though, the only conclusion he could draw was that disorders once thought to be conditions of the brain might be symptoms of microbial disruptions, and it was the careful defining of these disruptions that promised to be helpful in the coming decades.
7. "Autism's Gut Connection: Microbes Could Soon Lead to New Treatments". Discover Magazine. Retrieved 2022-09-27. At 47, Mazmanian — with his shaved head, flannel shirt and skinny jeans — resembles a young, urban hipster on his way to write at the local café. Originally, literary life was his plan. Born in Lebanon to two Armenian refugees, neither of whom had more than a first-grade education, Mazmanian landed in the class of an energetic high school English teacher in California's San Fernando Valley, where his family first settled. The teacher recognized his gift for language and encouraged him to pursue a career in literature. Mazmanian enrolled at UCLA in 1990, planning to major in English.
8. "uBiome Appoints Dr. Sarkis K. Mazmanian, PhD, MacArthur Genius and Luis & Nelly Soux Professor of Microbiology at Caltech, to its Scientific Advisory Board". markets.businessinsider.com. Retrieved 2022-09-27. Soon after, he moved to Caltech and established his laboratory, which studies the beneficial bacterial molecules from the human gut microbiome as novel therapies for immunologic and neurologic disorders.
9. "uBiome Appoints Dr. Sarkis K. Mazmanian, PhD, MacArthur Genius and Luis & Nelly Soux Professor of Microbiology at Caltech, to its Scientific Advisory Board". PRWeb. Retrieved 2022-09-27.