Jacques Ravel Named Microbiome Medal Laureate

Dr. Ravel—Recognized for His Scholarship in the Microbiome’s Role on Women’s Health—is Only the Second Recipient of this Distinguished International Honor

Jacques Ravel, PhD, is being recognized for his groundbreaking work on how the vaginal microbiome affects women’s health, especially in the areas of preterm birth and sexually transmitted infections (STI), as well as his work on new live biotherapeutics that could one day treat and prevent STIs. Dr. Ravel has been named the second Microbiome Medal Laureate—a distinguished award of international significance.

This annual, competitive award from the One Health Microbiome Center (OHMC) in the Huck Institutes of Life Sciences at Penn State honors a scholar or group of scholars who nobly extend excellence, acumen, and ingenuity in research, mentorship, and service to the global field of microbiome science. The inaugural recipient of the Microbiome Medal was Thomas Bosch of Germany’s Kiel University in 2025, whose scholarship illuminated new knowledge in host-microbiome interactions.

Dr. Ravel, Director of the Center for Advanced Microbiome Research and Innovation (CAMRI) in Institute for Genome Sciences (IGS); the John L. Whitehurst Professor of Medicine; Professor of Microbiology and Immunology; and the Assistant Dean for Research Advancement at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM), will receive the medal and deliver a lecture at Penn State University on Nov. 6. 

“I am honored that the One Health Microbiome Center has recognized my work in microbiome science with its prestigious Microbiome Medal Laureate,” Ravel said. “Science takes a team, and I’d like to thank everyone in my laboratory, past and present, for their dedication and contributions to our understanding of the microbiome’s role in women’s health, as well as our efforts to translate those discoveries into clinical care through the development of live biotherapeutic products.”

Seth Bordenstein, PhD, Director of the OHMC, Professor of Biology and Entomology, and Dorothy Foehr Huck and J. Lloyd Huck Chair in Microbiome Sciences, who led the selection committee, recognized Dr. Ravel’s “enduring and irreplaceable mark on the global field of microbiome science.”

Widely renowned for his pioneering scholarship and mentorship on the human microbiome — particularly women’s health and the vaginal microbiome — Ravel helped define distinct microbial community types and uncover their links to pregnancy outcomes and susceptibility to infection. He elucidated the molecular mechanisms by which beneficial vaginal bacteria protect women from infection. This work also helped lay the groundwork for live biotherapeutics designed to restore optimal and beneficial vaginal microbiomes to improve pregnancy outcomes and reduce infection risk. He has led major federally funded research initiatives and played key roles in large-scale microbiome consortia, helping establish genomic and computational standards that continue to shape microbiome science worldwide. Among those efforts, he played a key role in the National Institutes of Health’s landmark Human Microbiome Project.

Early in his career in 2001, Dr. Ravel was one of the lead investigators into the Anthrax Letters, working with the FBI to sequence the genome of the bacterial spore powders sent to media and government officials that caused deaths and illnesses to their recipients. Most recently, Dr. Ravel worked with a team of researchers who developed the first-of-its-kind immune-capable “organ-on-a-chip” model that realistically reproduces the human cervical environment, allowing scientists to study how the microbiome, immune system, and STIs interact—something that has not been possible before with oversimplified cell cultures or animal models.

“This new model will revolutionize how scientists study STIs and the microbiome at the cervical interface, leading to new knowledge as well as improved treatments,” said Dr. Ravel. “The other powerful part of this research has been its collaboration. By integrating engineering, microbiology, immunology, and microbiome science, we were able to build a model that more closely reflects human biology and the complexity of the cervical microenvironment.”

The organ-on-a-chip model, also known as a “microphysiological system,” simulates the human cervix using cervical epithelial cells, supportive tissue cells, immune cells, fluid flow, and the microbiome commonly found in the vagina. The model consists of a porous membrane layered with human cervical cells on one side and supportive cells on the other. Fluids flow across both sides, mimicking physiological conditions. When microbiomes and pathogens are added, the model replicates key aspects of what occurs in the human cervix.

In addition, Dr. Ravel’s translational research aims to develop microbiome-inspired live biotherapeutics for the prevention and treatment of STIs and potentially adverse pregnancy outcomes such as preterm births. A biotherapeutic is a treatment derived from living organisms and designed to target specific biological processes. For example, probiotics marketed for gut health can be thought of as biotherapeutics, although Dr. Ravel’s live biotherapeutics are being evaluated in FDA-sanctioned clinical trials with the goal of obtaining the same regulatory approval as prescription drugs, unlike over-the-counter probiotics.

“At the One Health Microbiome Center, we speak often of the obligation to pursue not merely what is expedient, but what is noble — and the career of Dr. Ravel embodies that obligation in full,” Dr. Bordenstein said. “For more than 30 years, Dr. Ravel’s foundational contributions to our understanding of the human vaginal microbiome, its intimate relationship with women's health, reproductive outcomes, and systemic disease, have done precisely that. He demonstrated what it means to place equal weight on discovery, on mentorship and on service to a global community of scholars — the very three pillars upon which this Medal was built.”

Dr. Bordenstein’s colleague on the Microbiome Medal review panel added, “Dr. Jacques Ravel's foundational characterization of the vaginal microbiome has reshaped our understanding of women's reproductive health and established a scientific framework driving clinical research worldwide,” said Guy Townsend, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Molecular and Precision Medicine at the Penn State College of Medicine, and member of the Microbiome Medal review panel. “His contributions to the microbiome sciences have framed our collective understanding of the mechanisms governing microbial communities and the concepts underlying host-microbial interactions."

Ravel will receive a custom-crafted bronze medallion, a cash prize, and an invitation for a two-day visit to the One Health Microbiome Center at Penn State — an occasion that will celebrate the full measure of enthusiasm and intellectual energy of his career. During the visit, he will deliver public lectures and engage with the biggest questions at the very roots of life, according to Bordenstein. Ravel will visit Penn State University Park and deliver a lecture on Nov. 6 at 11 a.m. in the Animal, Veterinary, and Biomedical Sciences Building, Room 106.