Jeffrey I. Gordon
Encyclopedia
Jeffrey I. Gordon, M.D., is a biologist and the Dr. Robert J. Glaser Distinguished University Professor and Director of the Center for Genome Sciences at Washington University, St. Louis. He is internationally known for his research on gastrointestinal development and how gut microbial communities affect normal intestinal function, shape various aspects of human physiology including our nutritional status, and affect predisposition to diseases. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies.
in Ohio. Over the next four years, Gordon received his medical training at the University of Chicago
and graduated with honors in 1973. After two years as intern and junior assistant resident in Medicine at Barnes Hospital, St Louis, Gordon joined the Laboratory of Biochemistry at the National Cancer Institute
as a Research Associate in 1975. He returned to Barnes Hospital in 1978 to become Senior Assistant Resident and then Chief Medical Resident at Washington University Medical Service. In 1981 he completed a fellowship in medicine (Gastroenterology) at Washington University School of Medicine. In the following years, Gordon rose quickly through the academic ranks at Washington University: Asst. Prof. (1981–1984); Assoc. Prof. (1985–1987); Prof. (1987–1991) of Medicine and Biological Chemistry. In 1991, he became head of the Dept. Molecular Biology & Pharmacology (1991–2004). Gordon is currently the Director of the Center for Genome Sciences (2004–present) at Washington University.
Gordon’s early career focused on the development of cell lineages within the gastrointestinal tract
. His laboratory initially combined the use of transgenic mouse models and biochemical approaches to elucidate the mechanisms of gut epithelial development along the duodenal-colonic and crypt-villus axes. Early studies also provided important insight into biochemical properties of lipid handling and transport in the digestive system. Dr. Gordon and colleagues later combined laser capture microdissection
, and functional genomics
to characterize specified cell populations within the gastrointestinal tract, including multipotent stem cells.
Gordon played a pivotal role in the study of protein N-myristoylation
, a co-translational modification by which a myristoyl group
is covalently attached to an N-terminal glycine residue of a nascent polypeptide. Gordon and his colleagues were instrumental in characterizing the mechanism by which N-myristoyltransferase (the enzyme that catalyzes the myristoylation reaction) selects its substrates and its catalytic mechanism.
Gordon’s group published a series of elegant studies that describe the ability of components of the commensal microbiota to induce specific responses in the host intestinal epithelium. One of these responses, the induction of intestinal cell surface fucose
residues, is elicited by a prominent human intestinal symbiont, Bacteroides
thetaiotaomicron, which can harvest and use the host fucose as a carbon and energy source. Gordon’s group published a seminal study in which functional genomics were used to document the genome-wide intestinal epithelial response to microbial colonization of the gastrointestinal tract. Dr. Gordon’s laboratory has investigated epithelial cell interaction with human-associated pathogens, including uropathogenic Escherichia coli
, Helicobacter pylori
, and Listeria monocytogenes.
and gnotobiotic mice as model hosts, which may be colonized with defined, simplified microbial communities. These model intestinal microbiotas are more amenable to well-controlled experimentation.
Jeffrey Gordon has become an international pioneer in the study of gut microbial ecology and evolution, using innovative methods to interpret metagenomic and gut microbial genomic sequencing data. In recent studies, Dr. Gordon’s lab has established that the gut microbiota
plays a role in host fat storage and obesity. Gordon and co-workers have used DNA pyrosequencing
technology to perform metagenomics on the intestinal contents of obese mice, demonstrating that the gut microbiota of fat mice possess an enhanced capacity for aiding the host in harvesting energy from the diet. A study of the microbial ecology of obese human subjects on two different weight loss diets indicate that the same principles may be operating in humans. His group has applied the sequencing of bacterial and archaeal genomes to describe the microbial functional genomic and metabolomic underpinnings of microbial adaptation to the gastrointestinal habitat. This approach has been extended to describe the role of the adaptive immune system in maintaining the host-microbial relationship.
Dr. Gordon is the lead author of an influential 2005 National Human Genome Research Institute white-paper entitled “Extending Our View of Self: the Human Gut Microbiome Initiative (HGMI)”. In 2007 the Human Microbiome Project
was listed on the NIH Roadmap for Medical Research as one of the New Pathways to Discovery.
His noticeable remark on human biology is: "We think that there are 10 times more microbial cells on and in our bodies than there are human cells. That means that we're 90 percent microbial and 10 percent human. There's also an estimated 100 times more microbial genes than the genes in our human genome. So we're really a compendium [and] an amalgamation of human and microbial parts."
; Upjohn Achievement Award
1989 Membership, Association of American Physicians
1990 American Federation Clinical Research Young Investigator Award
1990 NIDDK Young Scientist Award
1992 Am. Gastroenterology Association Distinguished Achievement Award
1992 Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science
1991-1994 Distinguished Service Teaching Awards, Wash. Univ, School of Medicine
1994 Marion Merrell Dow Distinguished Prize in Gastrointestinal Physiology
1998 Wellcome Visiting Professor in the Basic Medical Sciences
2001 Fellow, American Academy of Microbiology
2001 Elected, National Academy of Sciences
2002 Dr. Robert J. Glaser Distinguished University Professorship
2003 Janssen Sustained Achievement Award in Digestive Sciences
2003 Senior Scholar Award in Global Infectious Diseases, The Ellison Medical Foundation
2004 Member, American Academy of Arts & Sciences
2005 ASM Lecturer, American Society of Microbiology
2008 Elected, Institute of Medicine, National Institute of Sciences
Education and early career
Gordon received his bachelor’s degree in Biology at 1969 at Oberlin CollegeOberlin College
Oberlin College is a private liberal arts college in Oberlin, Ohio, noteworthy for having been the first American institution of higher learning to regularly admit female and black students. Connected to the college is the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, the oldest continuously operating...
in Ohio. Over the next four years, Gordon received his medical training at the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
and graduated with honors in 1973. After two years as intern and junior assistant resident in Medicine at Barnes Hospital, St Louis, Gordon joined the Laboratory of Biochemistry at the National Cancer Institute
National Cancer Institute
The National Cancer Institute is part of the National Institutes of Health , which is one of 11 agencies that are part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The NCI coordinates the U.S...
as a Research Associate in 1975. He returned to Barnes Hospital in 1978 to become Senior Assistant Resident and then Chief Medical Resident at Washington University Medical Service. In 1981 he completed a fellowship in medicine (Gastroenterology) at Washington University School of Medicine. In the following years, Gordon rose quickly through the academic ranks at Washington University: Asst. Prof. (1981–1984); Assoc. Prof. (1985–1987); Prof. (1987–1991) of Medicine and Biological Chemistry. In 1991, he became head of the Dept. Molecular Biology & Pharmacology (1991–2004). Gordon is currently the Director of the Center for Genome Sciences (2004–present) at Washington University.
Gordon’s early career focused on the development of cell lineages within the gastrointestinal tract
Gastrointestinal tract
The human gastrointestinal tract refers to the stomach and intestine, and sometimes to all the structures from the mouth to the anus. ....
. His laboratory initially combined the use of transgenic mouse models and biochemical approaches to elucidate the mechanisms of gut epithelial development along the duodenal-colonic and crypt-villus axes. Early studies also provided important insight into biochemical properties of lipid handling and transport in the digestive system. Dr. Gordon and colleagues later combined laser capture microdissection
Laser capture microdissection
Laser capture microdissection , also called Microdissection, Laser MicroDissection , or Laser-assisted microdissection is a method for isolating specific cells of interest from microscopic regions of tissue/cells/organisms....
, and functional genomics
Functional genomics
Functional genomics is a field of molecular biology that attempts to make use of the vast wealth of data produced by genomic projects to describe gene functions and interactions...
to characterize specified cell populations within the gastrointestinal tract, including multipotent stem cells.
Gordon played a pivotal role in the study of protein N-myristoylation
Myristoylation
Myristoylation is an irreversible, co-translational protein modification found in animals, plants, fungi, protozoans and viruses. In this protein modification, a myristoyl group is covalently attached via an amide bond to the alpha-amino group of an N-terminal amino acid of a nascent polypeptide...
, a co-translational modification by which a myristoyl group
Myristic acid
Myristic acid, also called tetradecanoic acid, is a common saturated fatty acid with the molecular formula CH312COOH. A myristate is a salt or ester of myristic acid....
is covalently attached to an N-terminal glycine residue of a nascent polypeptide. Gordon and his colleagues were instrumental in characterizing the mechanism by which N-myristoyltransferase (the enzyme that catalyzes the myristoylation reaction) selects its substrates and its catalytic mechanism.
Gordon’s group published a series of elegant studies that describe the ability of components of the commensal microbiota to induce specific responses in the host intestinal epithelium. One of these responses, the induction of intestinal cell surface fucose
Fucose
Fucose is a hexose deoxy sugar with the chemical formula C6H12O5. It is found on N-linked glycans on the mammalian, insect and plant cell surface, and is the fundamental sub-unit of the fucoidan polysaccharide...
residues, is elicited by a prominent human intestinal symbiont, Bacteroides
Bacteroides
Bacteroides is a genus of Gram-negative, bacillus bacteria. Bacteroides species are non-endospore-forming, anaerobes, and may be either motile or non-motile, depending on the species. The DNA base composition is 40-48% GC. Unusual in bacterial organisms, Bacteroides membranes contain sphingolipids...
thetaiotaomicron, which can harvest and use the host fucose as a carbon and energy source. Gordon’s group published a seminal study in which functional genomics were used to document the genome-wide intestinal epithelial response to microbial colonization of the gastrointestinal tract. Dr. Gordon’s laboratory has investigated epithelial cell interaction with human-associated pathogens, including uropathogenic Escherichia coli
Escherichia coli
Escherichia coli is a Gram-negative, rod-shaped bacterium that is commonly found in the lower intestine of warm-blooded organisms . Most E. coli strains are harmless, but some serotypes can cause serious food poisoning in humans, and are occasionally responsible for product recalls...
, Helicobacter pylori
Helicobacter pylori
Helicobacter pylori , previously named Campylobacter pyloridis, is a Gram-negative, microaerophilic bacterium found in the stomach. It was identified in 1982 by Barry Marshall and Robin Warren, who found that it was present in patients with chronic gastritis and gastric ulcers, conditions that were...
, and Listeria monocytogenes.
Present Research
Dr. Gordon and his laboratory are currently focused on understanding the mutualistic interactions that occur between humans and the 10-100 trillion commensal microbes that colonize each person’s gastrointestinal tract. To tease apart the complex relationships that exist within this gut micobiota, Dr. Gordon’s research program employs germ-freeGerm-free animal
Germ-free animals are animals that have no microorganisms living in or on it. Such animals are raised within germ-free isolators in order to control their exposure to viral, bacterial or parasitic agents...
and gnotobiotic mice as model hosts, which may be colonized with defined, simplified microbial communities. These model intestinal microbiotas are more amenable to well-controlled experimentation.
Jeffrey Gordon has become an international pioneer in the study of gut microbial ecology and evolution, using innovative methods to interpret metagenomic and gut microbial genomic sequencing data. In recent studies, Dr. Gordon’s lab has established that the gut microbiota
Gut flora
Gut flora consists of microorganisms that live in the digestive tracts of animals and is the largest reservoir of human flora. In this context, gut is synonymous with intestinal, and flora with microbiota and microflora....
plays a role in host fat storage and obesity. Gordon and co-workers have used DNA pyrosequencing
Pyrosequencing
Pyrosequencing is a method of DNA sequencing based on the "sequencing by synthesis" principle. It differs from Sanger sequencing, in that it relies on the detection of pyrophosphate release on nucleotide incorporation, rather than chain termination with dideoxynucleotides...
technology to perform metagenomics on the intestinal contents of obese mice, demonstrating that the gut microbiota of fat mice possess an enhanced capacity for aiding the host in harvesting energy from the diet. A study of the microbial ecology of obese human subjects on two different weight loss diets indicate that the same principles may be operating in humans. His group has applied the sequencing of bacterial and archaeal genomes to describe the microbial functional genomic and metabolomic underpinnings of microbial adaptation to the gastrointestinal habitat. This approach has been extended to describe the role of the adaptive immune system in maintaining the host-microbial relationship.
Dr. Gordon is the lead author of an influential 2005 National Human Genome Research Institute white-paper entitled “Extending Our View of Self: the Human Gut Microbiome Initiative (HGMI)”. In 2007 the Human Microbiome Project
Human microbiome project
The Human Microbiome Project is a United States National Institutes of Health initiative with the goal of identifying and characterizing the microorganisms which are found in association with both healthy and diseased humans . Launched in 2008, it is a five-year project, best characterized as a...
was listed on the NIH Roadmap for Medical Research as one of the New Pathways to Discovery.
His noticeable remark on human biology is: "We think that there are 10 times more microbial cells on and in our bodies than there are human cells. That means that we're 90 percent microbial and 10 percent human. There's also an estimated 100 times more microbial genes than the genes in our human genome. So we're really a compendium [and] an amalgamation of human and microbial parts."
Selected Honors Received
1973 M.D. with honors; Alpha Omega AlphaAlpha Omega Alpha
The Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society, commonly called Alpha Omega Alpha and abbreviated ΑΩΑ or AOA, is a national honor society for medical students, residents, scientists and physicians in the United States and Canada.-History:...
; Upjohn Achievement Award
1989 Membership, Association of American Physicians
1990 American Federation Clinical Research Young Investigator Award
1990 NIDDK Young Scientist Award
1992 Am. Gastroenterology Association Distinguished Achievement Award
1992 Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science
1991-1994 Distinguished Service Teaching Awards, Wash. Univ, School of Medicine
1994 Marion Merrell Dow Distinguished Prize in Gastrointestinal Physiology
1998 Wellcome Visiting Professor in the Basic Medical Sciences
2001 Fellow, American Academy of Microbiology
2001 Elected, National Academy of Sciences
2002 Dr. Robert J. Glaser Distinguished University Professorship
2003 Janssen Sustained Achievement Award in Digestive Sciences
2003 Senior Scholar Award in Global Infectious Diseases, The Ellison Medical Foundation
2004 Member, American Academy of Arts & Sciences
2005 ASM Lecturer, American Society of Microbiology
2008 Elected, Institute of Medicine, National Institute of Sciences