David Arnold Relman is an American

microbiologist A microbiologist (from Greek ) is a scientist who studies microscopic life forms and processes. This includes study of the growth, interactions and characteristics of microscopic organisms such as bacteria, algae, fungi, and some types of par ...

and the Thomas C. and Joan M. Merigan Professor in Medicine, and in Microbiology & Immunology at the

Stanford University School of Medicine Stanford University School of Medicine is the medical school of Stanford University and is located in Stanford, California. It traces its roots to the Medical Department of the University of the Pacific, founded in San Francisco in 1858. This ...

. His research focuses on the human

microbiome A microbiome () is the community of microorganisms that can usually be found living together in any given habitat. It was defined more precisely in 1988 by Whipps ''et al.'' as "a characteristic microbial community occupying a reasonably we ...

and microbial ecosystem—for which he was a pioneer in the use of modern molecular methods, as well as on

pathogen In biology, a pathogen ( el, πάθος, "suffering", "passion" and , "producer of") in the oldest and broadest sense, is any organism or agent that can produce disease. A pathogen may also be referred to as an infectious agent, or simply a ger ...

discovery and the

genomics Genomics is an interdisciplinary field of biology focusing on the structure, function, evolution, mapping, and editing of genomes. A genome is an organism's complete set of DNA, including all of its genes as well as its hierarchical, three-dim ...

host A host is a person responsible for guests at an event or for providing hospitality during it. Host may also refer to: Places *Host, Pennsylvania, a village in Berks County People * Jim Host (born 1937), American businessman * Michel Host ...

response.

Education

Relman was born in Boston, raised in Lexington, MA, and then moved to Philadelphia where he attended

Germantown Friends School Germantown Friends School (GFS) is a coeducational independent PreK–12 school in the Germantown neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States under the supervision of Germantown Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Fr ...

. He was an undergraduate at

MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

and graduated in 1977. He attended

medical school A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, or part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS, MB ...

at the

Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the graduate medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical and Academic Area, Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is one of the oldest medical schools ...

and received an

M.D. Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a professional degree. T ...

degree, magna cum laude in 1982. He did his

internship An internship is a period of work experience offered by an organization for a limited period of time. Once confined to medical graduates, internship is used practice for a wide range of placements in businesses, non-profit organizations and gover ...

residency Residency may refer to: * Domicile (law), the act of establishing or maintaining a residence in a given place ** Permanent residency, indefinite residence within a country despite not having citizenship * Residency (medicine), a stage of postgrad ...

, and a clinical infectious diseases fellowship year at

Massachusetts General Hospital Massachusetts General Hospital (Mass General or MGH) is the original and largest teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School located in the West End neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. It is the third oldest general hospital in the United State ...

. He completed his infectious diseases and microbiology research training as a

postdoctoral fellow A postdoctoral fellow, postdoctoral researcher, or simply postdoc, is a person professionally conducting research after the completion of their doctoral studies (typically a PhD). The ultimate goal of a postdoctoral research position is to pu ...

with

Stanley Falkow Stanley "Stan" Falkow (January 24, 1934 – May 5, 2018) was an American microbiologist and a professor of microbiology at Georgetown University, University of Washington, and Stanford University School of Medicine. Falkow is known as the father ...

at Stanford University. He began his independent career as a

physician-scientist A physician-scientist is traditionally a holder of a medical degree and a doctor of philosophy also known as an MD-PhD. Compared to other clinicians, physician-scientists invest significant time and professional effort in scientific research an ...

with a research focus in microbial

pathogenesis Pathogenesis is the process by which a disease or disorder develops. It can include factors which contribute not only to the onset of the disease or disorder, but also to its progression and maintenance. The word comes from Greek πάθος ''pat ...

and soon thereafter became interested in the discovery and identification of previously-unrecognized microbial pathogens. The problem of differentiating novel pathogens from normal

microbiota Microbiota are the range of microorganisms that may be commensal, symbiotic, or pathogenic found in and on all multicellular organisms, including plants. Microbiota include bacteria, archaea, protists, fungi, and viruses, and have been fou ...

, the diversity of the indigenous microbiota, and the relationship of the latter with human health and disease, formed the basis of his subsequent research career.

Academic career

Relman joined the faculty at Stanford University in 1994 and has remained there since. His development of broad range

small subunit rRNA Small subunit ribosomal ribonucleic acid (SSU rRNA) is the smaller of the two major RNA components of the ribosome. Associated with a number of ribosomal proteins, the SSU rRNA forms the small subunit of the ribosome. It is encoded by SSU- rDNA. ...

gene amplification Gene amplification refers to a number of natural and artificial processes by which the number of copies of a gene is increased "without a proportional increase in other genes". Artificial DNA amplification In research or diagnosis DNA amplificati ...

methods for revealing novel microbial pathogens led to the identification of several important previously-uncharacterized human pathogens, including the agents of bacillary angiomatosis and of

Whipple's disease Whipple's disease is a rare systemic infectious disease caused by the bacterium '' Tropheryma whipplei''. First described by George Hoyt Whipple in 1907 and commonly considered as a gastrointestinal disorder, Whipple's disease primarily causes ...

. He was an early pioneer in the study of the human microbiome using these and other modern molecular methods, and published some of the first broad molecular surveys of the human oral and gut microbiota. His current research seeks to elucidate the nature and basis of diversity, assembly, stability and resilience in the human microbial ecosystem, and their relationships with health and disease. Relman became the Thomas C. and Joan M. Merigan Professor at Stanford in 2009. Relman served as the science co-director of the

Center for International Security and Cooperation Stanford University has many centers and institutes dedicated to the study of various specific topics. These centers and institutes may be within a department, within a school but across departments, an independent laboratory, institute or center ...

at Stanford from 2013-2017 and he is currently a senior fellow at the

Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies Stanford University has many centers and institutes dedicated to the study of various specific topics. These centers and institutes may be within a department, within a school but across departments, an independent laboratory, institute or center ...

and th
Center for Innovation in Global Health
He serves as the Chief of Infectious Disease at the Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System. Relman has also served in a number of United States government advisory capacities, particularly on

biosecurity Biosecurity refers to measures aimed at preventing the introduction and/or spread of harmful organisms (e.g. viruses, bacteria, etc.) to animals and plants in order to minimize the risk of transmission of infectious disease. In agriculture, thes ...

issues. Relman was elected a fellow of the

American Academy of Microbiology The American Society for Microbiology (ASM), originally the Society of American Bacteriologists, is a professional organization for scientists who study viruses, bacteria, fungi, algae, and protozoa as well as other aspects of microbiology. It wa ...

in 2003, a fellow of the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is an American international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsi ...

in 2010, a member of the

Institute of Medicine The National Academy of Medicine (NAM), formerly called the Institute of Medicine (IoM) until 2015, is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Medicine is a part of the National Academies of Sciences, En ...

(National Academy of Medicine) in 2011, and a member of the

American Academy of Arts & Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and o ...

in 2022. He received the Pioneer Award (2006) and the Transformative Research Award (2013) from the

National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health, commonly referred to as NIH (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary agency of the United States government The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U ...

. He has served as the president of the

Infectious Diseases Society of America The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) is a medical association representing physicians, scientists and other health care professionals who specialize in infectious diseases. It was founded in 1963 and is based in Arlington, Virginia. ...

in 2012-13, chair of th
Forum on Microbial Threats
at the National Academy of Medicine from 2007-2017, and a member of the Committee on Science, Technology and Law from 2012-2015 at the National Academies of Science (NAS). He is currently a member of th
Intelligence Community Studies Board
at NAS, th
Science and Security Board of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
and the

Defense Science Board The Defense Science Board (DSB) is a committee of civilian experts appointed to advise the U.S. Department of Defense on Science, scientific and technical matters. It was established in 1956 on the recommendation of the second Hoover Commission. ...

at the Department of Defense. In 2019-20, Relman chaired a committee of the U.S.

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (also known as NASEM or the National Academies) are the collective scientific national academy of the United States. The name is used interchangeably in two senses: (1) as an umbrell ...

that examined unexplained clinical signs, symptoms, and findings amongst personnel and their families working for the U.S. Department of State in Havana and in China. The committee concluded i
its report
that, "Overall, directed pulsed

RF energy Radio frequency (RF) is the oscillation rate of an alternating electric current or voltage or of a magnetic, electric or electromagnetic field or mechanical system in the frequency range from around to around . This is roughly between the upper ...

... appears to be the most plausible mechanism in explaining these cases among those that the committee considered" but that "each possible cause remains speculative" and that "the report should not be viewed as conclusive".
Consensus Study Report: An Assessment of Illness in U.S. Government Employees and Their Families at Overseas Embassies
'', Standing Committee to Advise the Department of State on Unexplained Health Effects on U.S. Government Employees and Their Families at Overseas Embassies, of the

(2020). In 2020, Relman called for an objective, dispassionate, and transparent investigation into the origins of COVID-19 and SARS-CoV-2, noting that despite many strongly-worded opinions and assertions about the likelihood of various hypotheses, "the 'origin story' is missing many key details, including a plausible and suitably detailed recent evolutionary history of the virus, the identity and provenance of its most recent ancestors, and surprisingly, the place, time, and mechanism of transmission of the first human infection", and that natural and laboratory-associated "spillover" scenarios both remained plausible. He and colleagues in 2021 urged that greater clarity about the origins of the pandemic is necessary for anticipating the next pandemic and feasible.

Personal life

Relman is the son of the late Arnold "Bud" Relman, longtime editor of the ''

New England Journal of Medicine ''The New England Journal of Medicine'' (''NEJM'') is a weekly medical journal published by the Massachusetts Medical Society. It is among the most prestigious peer-reviewed medical journals as well as the oldest continuously published one. His ...

''. Relman was a long-time volunteer for th
Rock Medicine
program organized by the

Haight Ashbury Free Clinics The Haight Ashbury Free Clinics, Inc. is a free health care service provider serving more than 34,000 people in Northern California. Overview The organization was founded by Dr. David E. Smith in Haight-Ashbury, San Francisco, California on Ju ...

, and served as its Chief Medical Officer for about a decade 2006. In the 1990s he was featured on

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

for his work there, and he served as MTV's medical correspondent from 1995 to 1997.

References

External links

MicrobeWorld Interview
with David Relman on the human microbiome {{DEFAULTSORT:Relman, David American microbiologists Stanford University faculty Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni Harvard Medical School alumni Members of the National Academy of Medicine Living people Germantown Friends School alumni Year of birth missing (living people)