Joseph Weiss
Joseph B. Weiss, M.D. is Clinical Professor of Medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, at the University of California, San Diego. Accepted to university at age fifteen he attended the University of Michigan, University of Detroit, and Wayne State University. Reflecting his broad interests, he majored in Medieval English Literature, Astrophysics, and Invertebrate Zoology. Following his graduation from the Wayne State University School of Medicine in Detroit, Michigan, he completed his internship and residency in Internal Medicine at the University of California, Irvine Medical Center in Orange, California. Under the auspices of the World Health Organization and others, he has pursued interests in Tropical and International Medicine and Public Health with extended stays in Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America. Subsequently completing a clinical and research fellowship in Gastroenterology at the University of California, San Diego, he has remained active on the clinical faculArticle Archive
Humans are never alone. Each of us co-exists with trillions of microscopic organisms that form the human microbiome, a complex web of life that’s analogous to earthly biomes such as deserts, tundra and rainforests.
The microbiome extends from deep within our bodies—even inside individual cells—to the skin and to all surfaces exposed to the external environment. It includes bacteria, viruses, yeasts and fungi that interact with the body’s systems, helping with digestion, immune response and a vast array of less-well-known bodily functions.