School of Medicine
Showing 191-200 of 391 Results
-
Michael Fischbach
Liu (Liao) Family Professor
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsThe microbiome carries out extraordinary feats of biology: it produces hundreds of molecules, many of which impact host physiology; modulates immune function potently and specifically; self-organizes biogeographically; and exhibits profound stability in the face of perturbations. Our lab studies the mechanisms of microbiome-host interactions. Our approach is based on two technologies we recently developed: a complex (119-member) defined gut community that serves as an analytically manageable but biologically relevant system for experimentation, and new genetic systems for common species from the microbiome. Using these systems, we investigate mechanisms at the community level and the strain level.
1) Community-level mechanisms. A typical gut microbiome consists of 200-250 bacterial species that span >6 orders of magnitude in relative abundance. As a system, these bacteria carry out extraordinary feats of metabolite consumption and production, elicit a variety of specific immune cell populations, self-organize geographically and metabolically, and exhibit profound resilience against a wide range of perturbations. Yet remarkably little is known about how the community functions as a system. We are exploring this by asking two broad questions: How do groups of organisms work together to influence immune function? What are the mechanisms that govern metabolism and ecology at the 100+ strain scale? Our goal is to learn rules that will enable us to design communities that solve specific therapeutic problems.
2) Strain-level mechanisms. Even though gut and skin colonists live in communities, individual strains can have an extraordinary impact on host biology. We focus on two broad (and partially overlapping) categories:
Immune modulation: Can we redirect colonist-specific T cells against an antigen of interest by expressing it on the surface of a bacterium? How do skin colonists induce high levels of Staphylococcus-specific antibodies in mice and humans?
Abundant microbiome-derived molecules: By constructing single-strain/single-gene knockouts in a complex defined community, we will ask: What are the effects of bacterially produced molecules on host metabolism and immunology? Can the molecular output of low-abundance organisms impact host physiology?
3) Cell and gene therapy. We have begun two new efforts in mammalian cell and gene therapies. First, we are developing methods that enable cell-type specific delivery of genome editing payloads in vivo. We are especially interested in delivery vehicles that are customizable and easy to manufacture. Second, we have begun a comprehensive genome mining effort with an emphasis on understudied or entirely novel enzyme systems with utility in mammalian genome editing. -
Michael Fischbein
Thelma and Henry Doelger Professor of Cardiovascular Surgery
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsMolecular and genetic mechanisms of aortic aneurysm/dissection development. Molecular mechanisms of aneurysm formation in Marfan Syndrome. Clinical research interests include thoracic aortic diseases (aneurysms, dissections).
-
Adina S. Fischer, MD, PhD
BioDr. Fischer’s research focuses on characterizing risk and resilience factors in depression. She has been awarded an NIH Career Development Award (K23) and Klingenstein Foundation Fellowship in Adolescent Depression to build her program of clinical and translational research at Stanford. Dr. Fischer's program of clinical care focused on the delivery and teaching of evidence-based clinical interventions that enhance resilience, with a focus on addressing the unique stressors encountered in academia and academic medicine that may contribute to risk and resilience in mood and anxiety disorders.
Dr. Fischer’s translational program of research focuses on:
(1) Improving our understanding of protective biomarkers of resilience to depression
(2) Characterizing the effects of cannabis on neurobiological function and depressive symptoms
(3) Developing neurobiologically-guided interventions for depressive disorders, particularly those that co-occur with cannabis and other substance use
Dr. Fischer earned her BSc at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Brain and Cognitive Sciences, where she conducted research in the Early Childhood Cognition Laboratory. She then completed the MD/PhD Program at Dartmouth, where she obtained her PhD in in Neuroscience. Dr. Fischer’s doctoral research focused on characterizing the acute effects of cannabis in patients with schizophrenia and co-occurring cannabis use disorder. She then completed the Stanford Psychiatry Residency Training Program as a member of the Research Track, and an NIH funded T-32 postdoctoral research fellowship within the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. -
Avital Sabrina Fischer
Clinical Assistant Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
BioAvital Fischer’s work focuses on the relationship between stress and wellbeing. She has expertise in women’s mental health, physician wellbeing, post-traumatic stress disorder, and other stress-related disorders. Her current research focuses on the impact of war-related stress on partners of reservists in Israel. The Invisible Warriors Study is a longitudinal prospective study following nearly 400 women to examine predictors of wellbeing under chronic stress in Israel. She is particularly interested in interventions that focus on the partner as the primary attachment figure of the reservist and their potential to improve PTSD outcomes for both members of the dyad. She has experience working with patients with PTSD related to a range of traumatic experiences, with particular expertise in war- and terror-related trauma through her clinical work with this population at Sheba Medical Center in Israel.
Avital is also an advocate for physician wellbeing and for supporting successful and fulfilling careers in medicine while reducing burnout. She is particularly interested in how to sustain self-compassion and interpersonal relationships during medical training, promote a culture of wellness at the institutional level, and address the specific challenges faced by women in medicine. She has worked with Stanford residents, fellows, graduate students, and postdoctoral scholars through her clinical work and her experience as a Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) facilitator. -
Nico Fischer
Affiliate, Psych/Public Mental Health & Population Sciences
Bio2022-2026 Santa Clara High School
Advisor, Stanford Center for Youth Mental Health and Wellbeing
Chair, County of Santa Clara Youth Task Force -
Stephen Fischer
Associate Professor of Anesthesia at the Stanford University Medical Center, Emeritus
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsPreoperative evaluation of the medically complex, patient; cost-effectiveness of preop diagnostic testing; patient, outcome studies in relation to preoperative preparation; computer, database of patient perioperative data; development of the, Anesthesia Preoperative Clinic as a model of quality, efficient, and, cost-effective care.
