Lecture followed by Q&A
Witte Hall, 998 Avocado Avenue, Newport Beach
Wednesday, October 7, 2026, 7:00pm
SPOTLIGHT ON SCIENCE
The Invisible Universe Within: How Microbes Shape Health, Disease, and the Environment
Rob Knight, PhD
Professor - Pediatrics, Bioengineering, Computer Science & Engineering, and Data Science, US San Diego
Wednesday, October 7, 2026, 7:00pm
Doors open at 6:30pm
Rob Knight is the founding Director of the Center for Microbiome Innovation at UC San Diego and a globally recognized leader in microbiome science. He is a Professor of Pediatrics, Bioengineering, Computer Science & Engineering, and Data Science, and holds the Wolfe Family Endowed Chair in Microbiome Research at Rady Children’s. Elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2024, Knight is also a Fellow of AAAS, AAM, and AIMBE. He has authored more than 1,000 scientific papers and the books Follow Your Gut and Dirt Is Good. His lab developed influential tools such as QIIME and UniFrac, which helped launch modern high throughput microbiome research. Knight co-founded the Earth Microbiome Project, the American Gut Project, and two biotech companies. His work has connected microbial communities to a range of human health conditions, ranging from obesity to Alzheimer’s, and advanced our understanding of microbial communities in our environment.
