Seed Health Appoints Former Head of J&J's Janssen Human Microbiome Institute, Dirk Gevers, as Chief Scientific Officer

Gevers will oversee all of Seed Health's research and development (R&D), translating leading microbiome science across the Company's portfolio of innovations in therapeutics and consumer health

LOS ANGELES, April 26, 2022 /CNW/ -- Seed Health, the microbiome sciences company pioneering innovations in probiotics and live biotherapeutics, today announced that Dirk Gevers, Ph.D., has joined the company as its Chief Scientific Officer (CSO). Gevers joins from Johnson & Johnson's Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies, where he helped launch the Janssen Human Microbiome Institute (JHMI) and served as Global Head. With 15 years of experience in translational microbiome research and global team-building, Gevers will guide Seed Health's R&D and scale the company's platform to enable rapid, efficient advancement of microbial research from discovery to market.

"I was impressed by Seed's commitment to scientific excellence and their platform-based approach to harnessing the power of the microbiome," said Gevers. "Seed is uniquely converging deep functional insights in the human microbiome with efforts to clinically validate the next-generation of microbiome interventions. This, in combination with the scope of Seed's portfolio and effective commercialization model, gives me the opportunity to drive true impact in health."

Prior to his work at J&J, Gevers was at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, where he collaborated with clinical and analytical partners applying the Broad Institute's data generation platform to a range of microbiome-related projects. During his career, he held a leading role in the National Institute of Health's Human Microbiome Project Consortium and has published over 140 peer-reviewed papers, many of which laid the foundation for human microbiome research.

"I've known Dirk for over a decade – first following his research at the Broad Institute, then interacting with him at J&J – and couldn't imagine a more exciting alignment than Dirk and Seed," remarked Sarkis Mazmanian, PhD., Luis & Nelly Soux Professor of Microbiology in the Division of Biology & Biological Engineering at California Institute of Technology (Caltech), and member of Seed Health's Board of Directors. "Dirk's pivotal contributions to this field, combined with the company's work translating breakthrough microbiome research from discovery to commercialization, create a powerful force to deliver on the growing promise of the microbiome to impact health."

As CSO, Gevers will expand the global R&D team with a focus on discovery, translation, and clinical development for applications across gastrointestinal and digestive health, women's health, skin and oral care, pediatrics, mental health, metabolic function and nutrition. Gevers will also oversee Seed Health's external scientific and academic collaborations with institutions such as Caltech, Harvard University, MIT, University of Zurich, Stanford University, Mass General Hospital, and Cleveland Clinic.

"Dirk's research helped lay the foundation for modulating the microbiome for human health. Now, as one of the most sought-after translational experts in microbiome, Dirk's appointment will accelerate our mission to steward the next generation of microbial innovation," said Raja Dhir, co-founder and co-CEO of Seed Health. "Together, we can create a new framework for intervention and drive the future of the field."

About Seed Health | Seed
Seed Health is a microbiome science company pioneering innovations in probiotics and living medicines to impact human and planetary health. Founded to realize the potential of microbes, our platform enables the translation of breakthrough science across a portfolio encompassing both indication-specific and preventive applications for gastrointestinal and digestive health, women's health, skin and oral care, pediatrics, mental health, metabolic function and nutrition. Our consumer innovations are commercialized under Seed® with a mission to bring much-needed precision, efficacy, education, and perspective-shifting science communication to the global category of probiotics. Environmental research is conducted under SeedLabs, which was founded to develop novel bacterial interventions to enhance biodiversity and restore ecosystems impacted by human activity.

LUCA Biologics, co-founded with Dr. Jacques Ravel, develops living medicines targeting the vaginal microbiome for urogenital and reproductive health.

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Dr. Sarkis Mazmanian
Dr. Sarkis K. Mazmanian is leading research into how the gut microbiome impacts and communicates with the immune and nervous systems. His work is specifically focused on how the two-way internal communication highway known as the "gut-brain axis," influences complex diseases of the brain, such as Parkinson's, autism and Alzheimer's diseases. Sarkis has received numerous awards including the MacArthur Foundation "Genius" award and Discover Magazine's "Best Brains in Science." Currently the Luis & Nelly Soux Professor of Microbiology in the Division of Biology and Biological Engineering at the California Institute of Technology (CalTech), Sarkis is also a member of Seed Health's Scientific Board, founder of three biotech companies, and the proud mentor of countless students and postdoctoral fellows who have gone on to successful independent careers in medicine, industry, and academia.

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SOURCE Seed Health