David A. Relman

David A. Relman is the Thomas C. and Joan M. Merigan Professor in Medicine, Professor of Microbiology & Immunology, and Senior Fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies at Stanford University. He is also Chief of Infectious Diseases at the Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System in Palo Alto, California. An early pioneer in the modern study of the human indigenous microbiota, Relman is the author of landmark papers that were among the first to describe the human oral and gut microbiota with modern molecular methods. His work has focused on human microbial community assembly; community stability and resilience; the development of methods for pathogen discovery; and the identification of several historically important and novel microbial disease agents. He has advised the U.S. Government on emerging infectious diseases, human-microbe interactions, and future biological threats. He is a member of the Intelligence Community Studies Board at the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine, and served as Chair of the Boards of Scientific Counselors at the National Institute for Dental and Craniofacial Research, and at the National Center for Biotechnology Information, both at NIH, and as President of the Infectious Diseases Society of America. He currently serves on the Defense Science Board at the Department of Defense, and the Science and Security Board of the Board of the Atomic Scientists. Relman is a Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology and a Member of the National Academy of Medicine.