Position/Organization:

Associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry, University of Colorado, Boulder

Rob Knight got his Ph.D. 10 years ago in ecology and evolutionary biology and quickly became involved in the study of bacterial communities on and in the human body. In addition to pursuing his basic research, he is working with Jeffrey I. Gordon at Washington University to set up a translational medicine pipeline in Malawi and Bangladesh-with the help of the Gates Foundation-to study microbiomes related to such diseases of malnutrition as kwashiorkor and marasmus. The goal is to treat these illnesses by restoring altered microbial communities.