Harry Sokol

Harry Sokol, is Professor in the Gastroenterology department of the Saint Antoine Hospital (APHP, Paris, France) and is the head of AVENIR Team, Gut Microbiota and Immunity lab (INSERM U1157/UMR CNRS 7203, UPMC, Paris). Following a MD degree in Gastroenterology and a PhD in Microbiology, he spent 2 years in Ramnik Xavier’s lab as postdoctoral research Fellow (Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA). Harry Sokol is an internationally recognized expert in IBD and in gut microbiota fields. He published over 120 papers on these topics and is reviewer for several major peer review journals (including Gut, Gastroenterology, Mucosal Immunology, ISME journal, Nature Methods, Science Translational Medicine and Nature). He received several awards including the French Medical Academy Award in 2009 and a rising star award from the United European Gastroenterology Federation in 2013. His work on the role of the gut microbiota in IBD pathogenesis led to landmark papers describing the IBD-associated dysbiosis (imbalance in gut microbiota composition) and the role of the pivotal commensal bacteria Faecalibacterium prausnitzii in gut homeostasis and in IBD. Currently, his work focuses on deciphering the gut microbiota-host interactions in health and diseases (particularly IBD), including viruses and fungi, in order to better understand their pathogenesis and develop innovative treatments. Harry Sokol is now exploring particularly the role of the microbiota in tryptophan metabolism for which he is recipient of an ERC starting grant (2017-2021).
Beside basic science work, he is also involved in translational research and notably coordinates two French randomized control trial evaluating fecal microbiota transplantation in Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.