Jack A. Gilbert, Ph.D.
he/him/his
University of California San Diego
Jack A. Gilbert, Ph.D., earned his Ph.D. from Unilever and Nottingham University and his postdoctoral training at Queens University. From 2005-2010, he was a senior scientist at Plymouth Marine Laboratory. From 2010-2018, he was group leader for microbial ecology at Argonne National Laboratory, professor of surgery, director of The Microbiome Center and helped found the Duchossois Institute at University of Chicago.
In 2019, he moved to the University of California San Diego, where he is a professor of pediatrics and associate vice chancellor for marine science at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, director of both the Nutrition for Precision Health Microbiome Center and the Soil Health Center, and principal investigator for the StartBlue Ocean Enterprise Accelerator. In 2021, Gilbert became the UCSD PI and consortium chair for the NIH's $175M Nutrition for Precision Medicine program. In 2023, he became president of Applied Microbiology International and won the IFF Microbiome Science Prize. In 2025, he was elected to the American Academy of Microbiology and became the co-chair for the new IUCN Microbial Conservation Specialist Group.
Gilbert uses molecular analysis to test fundamental hypotheses in microbial ecology. He cofounded the Earth Microbiome Project, American Gut Project and was the founding editor in chief of mSystems journal. He authored over 450 peer reviewed publications and book chapters on microbial ecology and co-authored Dirt is Good, a popular science guide to the microbiome and children's health. Gilbert founded BiomeSense Inc. in 2018 to produce automated microbiome sensors. His work has earned wide recognition, including: Crain's Chicago Business 40 Under 40 (2014), Business Insider's 50 Most Influential Scientists in the World (2015), Popular Science's Brilliant Ten (2015), Altemeier Prize from the Surgical Infection Society (2016), WH Pierce Prize from the Society for Applied Microbiology for research excellence (2016), San Diego Magazine as one of 50 People to Watch (2026) and was awarded the Live Long and Prosper award by the Nimoy-Knight Foundation (2026).
In 2019, he moved to the University of California San Diego, where he is a professor of pediatrics and associate vice chancellor for marine science at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, director of both the Nutrition for Precision Health Microbiome Center and the Soil Health Center, and principal investigator for the StartBlue Ocean Enterprise Accelerator. In 2021, Gilbert became the UCSD PI and consortium chair for the NIH's $175M Nutrition for Precision Medicine program. In 2023, he became president of Applied Microbiology International and won the IFF Microbiome Science Prize. In 2025, he was elected to the American Academy of Microbiology and became the co-chair for the new IUCN Microbial Conservation Specialist Group.
Gilbert uses molecular analysis to test fundamental hypotheses in microbial ecology. He cofounded the Earth Microbiome Project, American Gut Project and was the founding editor in chief of mSystems journal. He authored over 450 peer reviewed publications and book chapters on microbial ecology and co-authored Dirt is Good, a popular science guide to the microbiome and children's health. Gilbert founded BiomeSense Inc. in 2018 to produce automated microbiome sensors. His work has earned wide recognition, including: Crain's Chicago Business 40 Under 40 (2014), Business Insider's 50 Most Influential Scientists in the World (2015), Popular Science's Brilliant Ten (2015), Altemeier Prize from the Surgical Infection Society (2016), WH Pierce Prize from the Society for Applied Microbiology for research excellence (2016), San Diego Magazine as one of 50 People to Watch (2026) and was awarded the Live Long and Prosper award by the Nimoy-Knight Foundation (2026).