We are pleased to welcome you to the first seminar of the 2026 Microbiome Seminar Series featuring Dr. Amir Zarrinpar, Professor in the Division of Gastroenterology & Hepatology at UC San Diego School of Medicine and Co-Faculty Director of the Center for Microbiome Innovation.
Dr. Zarrinpar will present pioneering work on engineering native gut bacteria to uncover causal mechanisms in host–microbiome interactions. By integrating synthetic biology tools into naturally colonizing commensal strains, his research enables precise functional interrogation of microbial pathways and introduces new strategies for microbiome-based therapeutic development.
This seminar will be of particular interest to researchers in microbiome science, host–pathogen biology, metabolism, and translational medicine.
Agenda
Engineering Native Gut Bacteria for Mechanistic Microbiome Research
Amir Zarrinpar, MD, PhD
Professor, Division of Gastroenterology & Hepatology
UC San Diego School of Medicine
Speaker Bio
Dr. Amir Zarrinpar is a physician-scientist whose research spans basic, translational, and clinical studies focused on metabolic diseases, including metabolic syndrome, obesity, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, atherosclerosis, and type 2 diabetes. His laboratory investigates how circadian rhythms, gut signaling, and the microbiome interact to regulate host physiology and contribute to disease. By combining systems biology with microbiome engineering, his work aims to reveal mechanistic insights that can be translated into precision therapeutic strategies.