María Gloria Domínguez-Bello, Ph.D., is the Henry Rutgers Professor of Microbiome and Health at Rutgers University, where she holds appointments in the Departments of Biochemistry & Microbiology and Anthropology, and serves as Director of the New Jersey Institute for Food, Nutrition and Health. Born in Caracas, Venezuela, she received her B.Sc. in Biology from Simón Bolívar University and went on to earn both a master’s degree in Animal Nutrition and a Ph.D. in Microbiology from the University of Aberdeen in Scotland, followed by postdoctoral training in France and Spain.

A pioneering microbial ecologist, Domínguez-Bello’s research explores the development of the human microbiome from birth through adulthood, the impact of modern practices such as C-sections, antibiotics, and sanitation on microbial diversity, and the consequences of urbanization for human health. She has been at the forefront of interventions to restore microbial transmission in cesarean-delivered infants and has conducted comparative studies with traditional and non-industrialized populations to better understand the ecological roots of resilience and disease. She is also a founder of the Microbiota Vault, a global initiative to conserve microbial diversity critical to human health.

Domínguez-Bello is widely recognized for her leadership in the field. She has been elected a Fellow of the Infectious Diseases Society of America and of the American Academy of Microbiology, is a member of the Academy of Sciences of Latin America, and has been honored by the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research in its Humans & the Microbiome program. With over 140 scientific publications, she integrates microbiology, immunology, nutrition, anthropology, architecture, and environmental science to address the ways in which human practices are reshaping our microbial ecology. Her work embodies both scientific rigor and a global vision, making her a vital contributor to advancing integrative approaches to gastroenterology.