Leadership
Eric Alm
CMIT Co-Director
Eric Alm is a Professor of Biological Engineering at MIT and an Institute Member of the Broad Institute. His research has leveraged complementary computational and experimental methods to engineer the human microbiome, including data science, quantitative analysis, and novel molecular techniques. More broadly, he is interested in using artificial intelligence to personalize medicine and improve public health. His laboratory has helped to start several companies and non-profit organizations dedicated to translating research findings into real-world solutions, including OpenBiome, Finch Therapeutics, Biobot Analytics, and the Global Microbiome Conservancy.
Ramnik Xavier
CMIT Co-Director
RamnikXavier is a Core Institute Member of the Broad Institute, where he serves as director of the Klarman Cell Observatory, director of the Immunology Program, and co-director of the Infectious Disease and Microbiome Program. He is the Kurt Isselbacher Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, as well as director of the Center for Computational and Integrative Biology and professor in the Department of Molecular Biology at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). Stemming from his initial interest in how Inflammatory Bowel Disease develops, his research programs now integrate novel genetic, molecular, and biochemical approaches to understand gut mucosal homeostasis and inflammation. This has led to a broader interest in the role of intestinal health in human health and disease.
Marjolein Klaassen, MD, PhD
CMIT Clinical Scientist
Marjolein A.Y. Klaassen is a clinical scientist at CMIT, gastroenterology resident at Isala Hospital in Zwolle, the Netherlands, and former gastroenterology resident at the Center for Crohn’s and Colitis at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). Her research focuses on integrating clinical and computational approaches to enhance personalized treatments for patients with IBD, colorectal cancer, and hepatologic diseases. She is currently the cross-site leader of IBDTracker, the CMIT flagship study in collaboration with MGH, Columbia University, and the University Medical Center of Gröningen, Netherlands. Dr. Klaassen has lectured at Harvard Medical School and Boston Children’s Hospital on the application of artificial intelligence in healthcare and building clinical cohorts for big data analysis.
Katya Moniz, PhD
CMIT Associate Program Director
Katya Moniz oversees CMIT operations and programmatic activities. She has been working at the intersection of microbes and human health since 2016. As Research Lead in the Alm Laboratory at MIT, she oversaw major projects and multi-institutional collaborations, with a primary focus on wastewater-based disease tracking and the gut microbiomes of underrepresented populations. More recently, she served as the director of the Global Microbiome Conservancy program at OpenBiome, the non-profit stool bank. Dr. Moniz serves on the Board of Directors of the non-profit organization Wastewater Alternatives and Innovations in Hawaii, and on the advisory board of the Global Microbiome Conservancy initiative.
Jason (Yanjia) Zhang, MD, PhD
CMIT Clinical Scientist
Dr. Jason Zhang is a pediatric gastroenterologist at Boston Children’s Hospital. Since joining CMIT in 2020, his research has focused on the role of the microbiome in pediatric diseases such as Inflammatory Bowel Disease, aerodigestive disorders, and obesity. Committed to improving the health outcomes of children from socially and economically vulnerable backgrounds, Dr. Zhang founded the Gastroenterology clinic at the Martha Eliot Health Center in 2021. This clinic provides specialized care in gastroenterology and nutrition to underserved communities in Boston’s Roxbury and Jamaica Plain neighborhoods, addressing critical gaps in healthcare for children with metabolic diseases linked to obesity. Dr. Zhang received an American Gastroenterological Association Research Scholar Award in 2024.