Dr. Thaddeus Stappenbeck received his B.A as a member of the Integrated Science Program at Northwestern University, as well as his M.D and Ph.D. from Northwestern University Medical School. He trained in anatomic pathology at the Washington University School of Medicine. He was hired as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pathology and Immunology at Washington University, where he moved up the ranks to Division Chief of Laboratory and Genomic Medicine. His leadership experiences included lead of the Physician Scientist Training Program, Pathology and Immunology promotions committee chair, study section chair and multiple search committees for leadership positions. Dr. Stappenbeck currently serves as the Chair of Inflammation and Immunity at Cleveland Clinic, where his research program focuses on determining the root causes of chronic inflammatory and infectious diseases with the goal of developing new therapies for these diseases and disease prevention in susceptible individuals.
His expertise at the intersection of stem cell biology, microbiology and immunology has propelled his lab to define the stages and mechanisms of intestinal repair following injury. He has developed predictive diagnostics and early stage therapeutics for inflammatory bowel disease and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. He has determined mechanisms for the effects of intestinal microbes on repair and prevention of infection, discovered microbes that inhibit proper regeneration and created a cell culture system for human intestinal stem cells that is used by labs around the world. He moved to Cleveland Clinic to partner with the world class clinicians and scientists in this institution to accelerate partnerships to create new concepts for therapy and prevention of inflammatory disease. Here he additionally founded Mobius Care, Inc., a company that is devoted to developing personalized care for inflammatory bowel disease. His deep expertise in stem cell biology, infectious disease, and immunology enable the translation of his discoveries to areas of general human health and well-being including aging. For this goal, rejuvenation of stem cells and prevention of the damaging effects of infection to stem cells are important approaches for his research program.
He serves on scientific advisory boards for Science Immunology and Gastroenterology, as well as several companies in the area of inflammatory bowel diseases. He has collaborated extensively with many other investigators and published over 170 articles in high impact journals, while successfully training numerous physician-scientists and scientists and encouraging them to inflammatory and infectious disease. His lab has been supported by broad portfolio including the National Institute of Health, Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation, Helmsley Trust, American Asthma Foundation, Rainin Foundation, Broad Medical Research Program, the Gates Foundation, the Pew Foundation and pharmaceutical companies including Genentech, Amgen, Pfizer, Janssen and Boehringer-Ingelheim.
In 2023, Dr. Stappenbeck received the Sherman Prize for Excellence in Crohn’s and Colitis.
