Sonnenburg Lab
Principal Investigator: Justin L Sonnenburg
Institution: Stanford University (Stanford, CA)
Primary Subfield: Synthetic Bio
Recruitment Status: Inquire for rotation/fellowship opportunities
Research Focus
PROJECT SUMMARY The human gut microbiota, a complex and dynamic community of microorganisms, plays a crucial role in regulating host biology, influencing many processes and tissues, such as immunity, metabolism, and the nervous system. The relationship between gut microbes and humans offers opportunities to develop therapeutic strategies that harness or modify microbial functions. However, current efforts to deliver engineered bacterial therapies have encountered significant challenges, particularly in achieving stable colonization and the high microbial densities required for therapeutic efficacy. We have overcome these limitations with key technologies engineered into Bacteroides, the dominant genus in the US gut microbiome. This project aims to further advance synthetic biology approaches for the therapeutic application of gut- resident bacteria, focusing on two key challenges. Aim 1 seeks to expand the therapeutic capabilities of the Bacteroides platform. To date, engineered bacteria have been limited in their ability to secrete large protein complexes due to size constraints (~80 kDa). In this aim, we propose to develop a synthetic scaffolding system that will enable the produ…
Active NIH Awards
- 1R21EB037892-01A1: Advancing synthetic biology tools for engineering gut commensals (2026)
- 3R01DK085025-16S1: Impact of Diet on Intestinal Microbiota-Host Dynamics (2026)
- 5R01DK085025-16: Impact of Diet on Intestinal Microbiota-Host Dynamics (2026)
- 5R21CA290426-02: Modulating Human Microbiome Function to Enhance Immune Responses Against Cancer (2026)
- 1R01AT013330-01A1: Restoring Key Functions to the Industrialized Gut Microbiome (2026)
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