Dr. Martin J. Blaser stands as a preeminent leader in microbiome research and human health, holding the distinguished Henry Rutgers Chair of the Human Microbiome at Rutgers University. He currently serves as Director of the Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine and Professor of Medicine and Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. Prior to his current position, Dr. Blaser held the influential role of Chair of the Department of Medicine at New York University, demonstrating his leadership across major academic medical institutions. His distinguished career was recognized in 2011 with election to the National Academy of Medicine, cementing his status as one of America's most accomplished physician-scientists.
Dr. Blaser's groundbreaking research has fundamentally transformed our understanding of the relationship between humans and their microbiome, particularly through his seminal work on Helicobacter pylori and its role in gastric diseases. He definitively established H. pylori's connection to gastric inflammation and adenocarcinoma, identifying cagA and vacA as the bacterium's most critical virulence factors that significantly influence disease risk. His pioneering disappearing microbiota hypothesis explains contemporary epidemics of conditions including asthma, obesity, diabetes, and esophageal diseases as consequences of perturbed microbial communities due to antibiotic overuse and modern lifestyle changes. Dr. Blaser has authored over 600 original scientific articles and holds 24 U.S. patents, demonstrating both theoretical and practical contributions to medical science. His influential book Missing Microbes, now translated into 20 languages, has brought these critical issues to the global public consciousness while shaping scientific discourse on microbiome health.
Beyond his research, Dr. Blaser has provided visionary leadership across the medical community, having served as President of the Infectious Diseases Society of America and currently chairing the Presidential Advisory Council for Combatting Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria. He actively mentors numerous students, postdoctoral fellows, and faculty members, cultivating the next generation of microbiome researchers while serving on scientific advisory boards for Elysium Health, Procter & Gamble, Seed, and Micronoma. His exceptional contributions have been recognized with prestigious honors including election to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Robert-Koch-Medal in Gold, and the Prize Medal from the Microbiology Society. Dr. Blaser continues to advance the field through his laboratory's investigations into early-life microbiome effects and mechanisms of disease development, ensuring his work remains at the forefront of addressing some of medicine's most pressing challenges.
