David A. Relman
Academic Appointments
- Professor, Medicine - Infectious Diseases
- Member, Bio-X
- Member, Stanford Cancer Institute
- Professor, Microbiology & Immunology
Key Documents
Contact Information
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Clinical Offices
VA Palo Alto Health Care System 3801 Miranda Ave Ste 154T Bldg 101, Rm B4-185 Palo Alto, CA 94304 Tel Work (650) 852-3308 Fax (650) 852-3291
- Academic Offices
Personal Information EmailNot for medical emergencies or patient use
Professional Overview
Clinical Focus
- Infectious Disease
Administrative Appointments
- President, Infectious Diseases Society of America (2012 - 2013)
- Co-Director, Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC), Stanford University (2013 - present)
- Senior Fellow, Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, Stanford University (2013 - present)
- Forum on Microbial Threats, Chair (2007-), Institute of Medicine, NAS (2005 - present)
- National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2005 - present)
- Chief, Infectious Diseases, VA Palo Alto Health Care System (2002 - present)
Honors and Awards
- Member, Institute of Medicine, National Academies of Science (2011-)
- Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science (2010)
- Thomas C. and Joan M. Merigan Professor, Stanford University (2009-)
- Distinguished Clinical Scientist Award, Doris Duke Charitable Foundation (2006)
- NIH Director's Pioneer Award, NIH (2006)
- Kinyoun Lecturer, NIAID/NIH (2005)
Professional Education
| Fellowship: | Massachusetts General Hospital MA (1986) |
| Internship: | Massachusetts General Hospital MA (1986) |
| Fellowship: | Stanford University School of Medicine CA (1988) |
| Residency: | Massachusetts General Hospital MA (1985) |
| Board Certification: | Infectious Disease, American Board of Internal Medicine (1988) |
| Board Certification: | Internal Medicine, American Board of Internal Medicine (1985) |
Postdoctoral Advisees
Elizabeth Costello, Daniela Goltsman, Wei-Ting Liu, Fiona Strouts, Christine Sun, Alexandra Switzer
Graduate & Fellowship Program Affiliations
Community and International Work
Internet Links
Industry Relationships
Stanford is committed to ethical and transparent interactions with our industrial and other commercial partners. It is our policy to disclose payments (exclusive of travel support) from, and/or equity in, companies or other commercial entities to Stanford faculty of $5,000 or more in total value, as well as any equity in a privately held company, when the faculty member also has institutional responsibilities related to his or her interactions with the company. View Full Information
Scientific Focus
Current Research Interests
My primary research focus is the human indigenous microbiota (microbiome), and in particular, the nature and mechanisms of variation in patterns of microbial diversity within the human body as a function of time (microbial succession), space (biogeography within the host landscape), and in response to perturbation, e.g., antibiotics (community robustness and resilience). One of the goals of this work is to define the role of the human microbiome in health and disease. We are particularly interested in measuring and understanding resilience in the human microbial ecosystem. Our work includes the human oral cavity, gut, and female reproductive tract, as well as an analysis of microbial diversity in marine mammals. This research integrates theory and methods from ecology, population biology, environmental microbiology, genomics and clinical medicine.
During the past few decades, my research directions have also included pathogen discovery and the development of new strategies for identifying previously-unrecognized microbial agents of disease. This work has included the use of host gene expression response patterns to recognize and understand early stages of systemic infection. Currently, we are examining genomic patterns of host response in dengue fever and in cases of undiagnosed febrile illness, for diagnostic and prognostic purposes, as well as to understand better disease mechanism.
Publications
- The increasingly compelling moral responsibilities of life scientists. Hastings Cent Rep. 2013 Mar-Apr; (2): 34-5
- Distinct distal gut microbiome diversity and composition in healthy children from Bangladesh and the United States. PLoS One. 2013; (1): e53838
- Microbiology. Undernutrition--looking within for answers. Science. 2013; (6119): 530-2
- Restoration of the gut microbial habitat as a disease therapy. Nat Biotechnol. 2013; (1): 35-7
- Time series community genomics analysis reveals rapid shifts in bacterial species, strains, and phage during infant gut colonization. Genome Res. 2013; (1): 111-20
- Type I interferon suppresses type II interferon-triggered human anti-mycobacterial responses. Science. 2013; (6126): 1448-53
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