Timothy Sampson PhD

Timothy Sampson trained as a postdoctoral fellow at Caltech in the laboratory of Dr. Sarkis Mazmanian, where he explored how indigenous microbes influence Parkinson’s disease (PD). His work identified that gut microbes are necessary for etiopathogenesis and that microbial communities derived from persons with PD significantly worsen motor dysfunction in a mouse model. As an Assistant Professor in the Department of Physiology at Emory School of Medicine, Dr. Sampson’s research investigates host-microbe interactions at the interface of PD, Alzheimer’s disease (AD), and other neurological diseases historically studied within the context of the central nervous system. With his background in bacterial genetics and pathogenesis, coupled with growing excitement towards neuroscience, and a supportive, neurophysiology-focused academic department, Dr. Sampson’s research program is poised to address the inherently interdisciplinary questions within this emerging field. Similar to how the study of pathogens has informed the field of immunology, his work aims to reveal new pathways at the microbiota-brain interface.