Jay Moltzau

post-doctoral research fellow since 2020

Research areas

• Gut Microbiome
• Colorectal Cancer

Education

• BA: Grinnell College (2011)
• MSc: University of Copenhagen (2014)
• PhD: Kiel University & the Max-Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology (2017)

Background

During my PhD, I investigated the role of the gut microbiome in modulating health and disease, with a particular focus on Crohn’s disease, a subset of Inflammatory Bowel Disease. I was also interested in understanding and identifying factors contributing to the resilience phenomenon (the ability of the microbial community to ‘bounce back’, or recover, from a perturbation). As such, I investigated the role of antibiotics and fecal microbial transfers as perturbations on the gut microbiome (bacteriome, mycobiome, and virome). As a postdoc in Pat’s lab, I am currently investigating the role of the microbiome in colorectal cancer. When not in the lab, I love to swim, explore nature, read, travel, and spend time with my family and friends.