Daniel M. Webber, MD, MS, PhD

Washington University in St. Louis (WU)

I am an Instructor in the Department of Pathology and Immunology at Washington University in St. Louis in the laboratory of Dr. Jeffrey I. Gordon. My research focuses on how early-life diet shapes gut microbial metabolism and host physiology to influence pediatric obesity and metabolic dysfunction–associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD). My work includes designing and evaluating microbiome-directed foods that support healthy growth while lowering metabolic risk, building on our prior work developing microbiota-directed complementary foods for childhood undernutrition. To define underlying mechanisms, I use gnotobiotic mouse models and high-throughput 13C isotope tracing to connect specific dietary inputs to microbial metabolites and host cardiometabolic responses.