Dr. Patrick Schloss is a distinguished leader in microbiome research whose interdisciplinary approach has transformed our understanding of host-microbiome interactions in human health and disease. He currently serves as Professor and Frederick G. Novy Collegiate Professor of Microbiome Research in the Department of Microbiology & Immunology at the University of Michigan School of Medicine. After receiving his B.S. and Ph.D. from Cornell University, he completed postdoctoral training in the laboratory of Jo Handelsman at the University of Wisconsin. Prior to his appointment at Michigan, Dr. Schloss built his independent research program as faculty at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where he began developing foundational computational approaches for microbiome analysis.
Dr. Schloss's pioneering development of the mothur software package has revolutionized the field of microbiome research, providing one of the most widely adopted open-source tools for analyzing microbiome sequence data with over 7,300 citations since its initial publication. His research laboratory has made significant contributions to understanding how the gut microbiota influences human health and disease, particularly in colorectal cancer, Crohn's disease, and Clostridium difficile infection. By applying and testing ecological theory within microbial communities, his work has established foundational frameworks for interpreting microbiome dynamics using systems biology approaches. His laboratory specializes in integrating wet-lab techniques with advanced computational methods to analyze complex microbiome datasets generated through 16S rRNA gene sequencing, metagenomics, and metabolomics.
Beyond his research contributions, Dr. Schloss has been instrumental in advancing reproducible research practices and computational skills training through his leadership in institutionalizing The Carpentries organization at the University of Michigan. He serves as Chair of the American Society for Microbiology's Journals Committee and has received the 2019 ASM Award for Service and the inaugural 2019 Microbiome Data Prize for his contributions to the field. His commitment to training the next generation of interdisciplinary scientists has fostered a community of researchers skilled in both microbiological techniques and computational analysis. Dr. Schloss continues to lead innovative research that bridges clinical applications with fundamental microbiome science, with ongoing projects focused on translating microbiome insights into practical approaches for disease prevention, detection, and treatment.
