About

Jack Gilbert is a clinical professor and Senior Lincoln Fellow in Applied Ethics at the College of Health Solutions. He is also a faculty member with the Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine. His research interests include assessment and strengthening of everyday ethics through ethical pathways such as culture, leadership, infrastructure, and personal integrity. He focuses on values-driven leadership, leading innovation, and stakeholder engagement for large-scale change. Gilbert has received recognition for his contributions, including the Service Award from the American College of Healthcare Executives in 2008 and the Strengthening Ethical Wisdom award in 2007. His educational background includes an Ed.D. from The George Washington University, a Master’s in Systems Management from Lancaster University in the UK, and a B.A. in Administration from North London College. His work emphasizes the importance of ethical decision-making and leadership in healthcare and management contexts.

Research topics

• Biology
• Computer Science
• Evolutionary biology
• Ecology
• Computational biology
• Genetics
• Political Science
• Zoology
• Microbiology
• Bioinformatics
• Astrobiology
• Telecommunications
• Engineering
• Physics
• Immunology
• Medicine

Selected publications

• Eight-year prevalence and incidence of obesity, high blood glucose and high blood pressure in five African-origin populations: data from the Modeling the Epidemiologic Transition Study

  BMJ Public Health · 2026-01-01 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access

  Introduction: Obesity, high blood glucose and high blood pressure are major drivers of global morbidity. Characterising temporal trends in these conditions among people of African origin can direct public health efforts. This longitudinal cohort study aimed to characterise the prevalence and incidence of obesity, high blood glucose and high blood pressure over 8 years in five African-origin middle-aged populations spanning the Human Development Index and to explore temporal between-site and within-site differences. Methods: In 2009-2011, the Modeling the Epidemiologic Transition Study (METS) enrolled adults aged 25-45 years from Ghana, South Africa, Jamaica, Seychelles and the USA (n=500 each), with follow-up in 2018-2019. Standardised measurements included anthropometrics, blood pressure and capillary (baseline)/plasma (follow-up) glucose. We calculated prevalence and raw incidence rates (IRs). Generalised estimating equations (GEE) assessed longitudinal associations between outcomes, site and timepoint, adjusting for age, sex and covariates. Results: In 855 participants with complete data, the IR per 1000 person-years was 22.0 for obesity, 4.7 for high blood glucose and 27.4 for high blood pressure. Obesity prevalence and incidence were higher among women than among men. In GEE, the adjusted risk of obesity was significantly higher at follow-up than at baseline for Ghana, Jamaica and Seychelles. The prevalence of high blood glucose more than doubled between timepoints; the IR ranged from 3.0 (South Africa) to 7.1 (USA), with no statistically significant site differences in GEE analysis. For high blood pressure, Ghana, Jamaica and Seychelles showed a greater change in risk between baseline and follow-up, compared with the USA. Conclusions: The risk of obesity, high blood glucose and high blood pressure increased among middle-aged individuals over 8 years; in Ghana, Jamaica and Seychelles, the change in obesity and high blood pressure risk was statistically significantly greater than in the USA. This highlights the importance of non-communicable disease prevention and management, irrespective of country's HDI.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Environmental Fungi Modulate the Vaginal Mycobiome and Cervical Disease Progression in Hispanic Women

  bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · 2026-01-22

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Abstract The vaginal mycobiome, though a minor component of the cervicovaginal ecosystem, plays a crucial role in reproductive health and disease. However, its composition and interactions with bacterial communities remain poorly understood, particularly among Hispanic women, who experience disproportionately high rates of Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and cervical cancer. We characterized the vaginal mycobiota across reproductive stages and examined its associations with cervical disease, HPV status, and bacterial community state types (CSTs) in 86 Hispanic participants from Puerto Rico using ITS1 amplicon sequencing. Amplicon sequence variants were inferred with QIIME2/DADA2 and taxonomically classified using the UNITE database, with diversity and discriminant taxa analyses applied to explore clinical and microbial associations. We detected 173 fungal Species Hypotheses, dominated by Candida albicans , Agaricomycetes sp., Scopuloides dimorpha , and Hortaea werneckii . While fungal composition did not differ significantly by reproductive stage, non-pregnant individuals exhibited greater inter-individual variability. Alpha diversity was reduced in high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions compared with low-grade or normal cytology, and Candida parapsilosis prevalence was elevated in low-grade lesions. CST III, characterized by Lactobacillus iners dominance, showed greater dispersion variance than other CSTs. Collectively, these findings reveal a diverse vaginal mycobiome with stage- and disease-specific features, and a notable contribution of environmental fungi that may influence cervical pathogenesis. This work provides foundational insight into cervicovaginal fungal ecology in a high-risk Hispanic population and highlights the importance of integrating bacteriome–mycobiome analyses in women’s health research.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• A high fermentable fiber Western diet reduces indole levels

  bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · 2026-01-30

  articleOpen access

  Changes in gut microbiota composition due to diet impact health. Fiber-rich diets promote beneficial microbiota and reduce the risk of metabolic diseases, while low-fiber, calorie-dense diets are linked to dysbiosis and increased disease risk. This study examines the effects of a Western diet (WD) and explores dietary fiber supplements as potential modifiers of those effects. 10-week-old C57Bl/6J male mice were fed control (low-fat) or WD (high-fat, high-sucrose) containing 0% fermentable fiber (FF) or WD supplemented with 20% FF (fructooligosaccharides, FOS; guar gum, GG, or pectin, Pec). After 19 weeks, analysis of the cecal metagenome using whole-genome shotgun sequencing, metabolome by untargeted and targeted LC-MS/MS, and tissue RNA and protein expression by RT-PCR and immunoblotting was undertaken. WD-FF reduced metabolic derangements from WD while also improving GM diversity and altering cecal metabolites, particularly tryptophan metabolism. A profound increase in cecal indole levels (targeted metabolomics) was noted in WD vs WD-FF groups. As the primary indole-oxidizing enzyme, CYP2E1 generates indoxyl sulfate, which contributes to oxidative stress and a leaky gut. Mice on WD displayed higher expression of Cyp2e1 mRNA in the gut. In the liver, the levels of both CYP2E1 protein and mRNA were higher in the WD group compared to the WD-FOS group, with protein levels also higher than in the WD-Pec group and mRNA levels higher than in the WD-GG group. mRNA expression of markers of oxidative stress, inflammation, and leaky barrier was significantly higher in the liver and intestine of the WD vs the WD-FF groups. FFs reduced high plasma indoxyl sulfate levels (except in WD-GG), and boosted short-chain fatty acids and indole acetic acid. Our data suggest that WD disrupts GM tryptophan metabolism, possibly by altering the balance between indole-producing and utilizing gut bacteria. Dietary fiber supplementation exerts protective effects, in part, by mitigating this imbalance.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Genomic description of <i>Microbacterium mcarthurae</i> sp. nov., a bacterium collected from the International Space Station that exhibits unique antimicrobial-resistant and virulent phenotype

  mSystems · 2025-05-20 · 3 citations

  articleOpen access

  ABSTRACT A novel bacterial strain, designated as 1F8SW-P5 T , was isolated from the wall of the crew quarters on the International Space Station. Cells were Gram-staining-positive, strictly aerobic, non-spore-forming, chemoheterotrophic, and mesophilic rods exhibiting catalase-positive and oxidase-negative reactivity. Strain 1F8SW-P5 T shared the highest 16S rRNA gene similarity with Microbacterium proteolyticum CECT 8356 T (99.34%) and the highest gyrB gene similarity with Microbacterium algihabitans KSW2-21 T (91.34%). Its strongest matches via average nucleotide identity and DNA–DNA hybridization were to Microbacterium hydrothermale CGMCC_1.12512 T (84.36% and 25.80%, respectively). 1F8SW-P5 T formed a distinct lineage during phylogenetic and phylogenomic analysis. The biochemical, phenotypic, chemotaxonomic, and phylogenomic features substantiated the affiliation to 1F8SW-P5 T as a new species of Microbacterium , for which we propose the name Microbacterium mcarthurae , with the type strain 1F8SW-P5 T (=DSM 115934 T =NRRL B-65667 T ). Based on metagenomic data collected during the Microbial Tracking mission series, M. mcarthurae was identified from all surfaces ( n = 8) over an 8-year period, with an increase in relative abundance over time. This is of potential concern, as we observed resistance to all tested fluoroquinolone antibiotics ( n = 6), two β-lactam antibiotics, and one macrolide antibiotic, which was not predicted based on isolate or plasmid genotype alone. Furthermore, we found an increase in virulence, compared to Escherichia coli , when tested within a Caenorhabditis elegans model. This pathogenic profile highlights the importance of continued characterization of spacecraft-associated microbes, the characterization of previously unidentified antimicrobial resistance and virulence genes, and the implementation of targeted mitigation strategies during spaceflight. IMPORTANCE Crew members are at an increased risk for exposure to and infection by pathogenic microbes during spaceflight. Therefore, it is imperative to characterize the species that are able to colonize and persist on spacecraft, how those organisms change in abundance and distribution over time, and their genotypic potential for and phenotypic expression of pathogenic traits (i.e., whether they encode for or exhibit traits associated with antibiotic resistance and/or virulence). Here, we describe a novel species of Microbacterium collected from the crew quarters on the International Space Station (ISS), 1F8SW-P5 T , for which we propose the name Microbacterium mcarthurae . M. mcarthurae was found to be distributed throughout the ISS with an increase in relative abundance over time. Additionally, this bacterium exhibits a unique antibiotic resistance phenotype that was not predicted from whole-genome sequencing, as well as increased virulence, suggesting the need for the identification of previously undescribed antimicrobial resistance genes and monitoring/mitigation during spaceflight.

  PublisherDOI

• Microbial Communication Drives Division of Labor in SynComs for Herbicides Degradation

  Research Square · 2025-12-03

  preprintOpen access
  PublisherDOI

• SynCom‐mediated herbicide degradation activates microbial carbon metabolism in soils

  iMeta · 2025-07-03 · 22 citations

  articleOpen access

  Abstract Extensive herbicide residues in the black soil of northeastern China are considered a significant agricultural pollution threat, yet effective bioremediation of this complex and persistent mixture remains a challenge. We identified 16 bacterial species that associated with these herbicide residues in situ, nine of which were culturable and could degrade multiple herbicides. From these strains, we constructed a four‐member synthetic microbial community (SynCom) that degrades multiple herbicides, stabilizes colonization, increases soil bacterial biodiversity, and alters soil enzyme activity. Under laboratory conditions, the SynCom degraded eight herbicides within 48 h with &gt;60% efficiency, and accumulated carbon on the cell surface of the constituent species. In black soil microcosm trials, the SynCom achieved 60%−99% degradation efficiency of the endogenous herbicides over 35 days and was able to consistently maintain biomass above 10 4 cfu/g soil. Additionally, SynCom application resulted in an accumulation of carbohydrate‐active enzymes and microbial necromass‐associated carbon, which suggests activation of soil microbial carbon metabolism. In support of this, metagenomic analyses identified a significant increase in the abundance of genes involved in the tricarboxylic acid cycle, pyruvate metabolism, and glycolysis. This SynCom represents a compelling bioremediation solution that simultaneously improves soil microbial carbon metabolism activity in polluted soils.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Guidelines for preventing and reporting contamination in low-biomass microbiome studies

  Nature Microbiology · 2025-06-20 · 67 citations

  reviewOpen access
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Safeguarding microbial biodiversity: microbial conservation specialist group within the species survival commission of the International Union for Conservation of Nature

  mSystems · 2025-11-20

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Precision Prevention, Diagnostics, and Treatment of Obesity: Pipedream or Reality?

  Obesity · 2025-09-18

  articleOpen access

  Precision medicine approaches have gained attention for their potential to more effectively manage obesity by tailoring diagnosis and treatment strategies to individual characteristics, including genetic background, phenotypes, metabolic profiles, and environmental exposures. The current review evaluates the evidence for precision medicine in weight management by summarizing the proceedings of a Pennington Biomedical Scientific Symposium titled "Precision Prevention, Diagnostics, and Treatment of Obesity: Pipedream or Reality?" This review discusses the extent to which we can classify and predict obesity risk based on individual-level factors; whether we have the diagnostic capability to prospectively identify people who will benefit most from specific interventions; whether prospective trials demonstrate superior prevention and treatment of obesity when precision approaches are applied; and whether evidence is sufficient to guide policy decisions. Expert opinions were presented on the current evidence of precision medicine for obesity to collectively evaluate key barriers and opportunities for implementation of precision approaches in clinical and public health settings.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Correction: Suppression of local type I interferon by gut microbiota–derived butyrate impairs antitumor effects of ionizing radiation

  The Journal of Experimental Medicine · 2025-09-19

  articleOpen access
  PublisherDOI

Recent grants

• Human Microbiome and Perinatal Depression

  NIH · $176k · 2018–2021

• Dimensions US-China: Collaborative Research: How historical constraints, local adaptation, and species interactions shape biodiversity across an ancient floristic disjunction

  NSF · $399k · 2015–2020

• The UCSD Microbiome and Metagenomics Center

  NIH · $550k · 2021–2026

Frequent coauthors

• Rob Knight

  University of California, San Diego

  219 shared

• Sean M. Gibbons

  Institute for Systems Biology

  201 shared

• Neil Gottel

  Scripps Institution of Oceanography

  129 shared

• Jarrad Hampton‐Marcell

  University of Illinois Chicago

  127 shared

• Sarah M. Owens

  Argonne National Laboratory

  102 shared

• Folker Meyer

  University of Duisburg-Essen

  96 shared

• Anukriti Sharma

  90 shared

• Eugene B. Chang

  University of Chicago

  88 shared

Education

• Other

  The George Washington University, D.C.

  2004

• M.A., Systems Management

  Lancaster, University U.K.

  1972

• B.A., Administration

  North London College, U.K.

  1966

Awards & honors

• Strengthening Ethical Wisdom (2007)
• Recommended reading, American College of Healthcare Executiv…
• Productivity Management (1990)