Melody Zeng

Melody Zeng is an Associate Professor of Immunology in the Department of Pediatrics at Weill Cornell Medical College. She holds a Ph.D. from Indiana University School of Medicine and a B.S. from SUNY Stony Brook.

• Education: Ph.D. (2012), Indiana University School of Medicine; B.S. (2006), SUNY Stony Brook

Her research investigates the gut microbiome's role in maternal-fetal immune crosstalk and pediatric inflammatory diseases, including preterm birth, necrotizing enterocolitis, food allergies, asthma, and cancer. She employs in vitro assays, gnotobiotic mouse models, and clinical sample analysis.

Current projects focus on stress-gut microbiome interactions in B-cell anti-tumor responses (2024-2027), microbiome regulation of megakaryocytes (2023-2027), and IgG-microbiome interplay in cancer progression (2023-2025). She serves as Principal Investigator on multiple NIH/NICHD-funded grants.

The Zeng Lab actively recruits technicians and postbaccalaureates to study gut microbiome-based immune interventions for maternal and neonatal health, with ongoing work published in journals like Nature, Science Immunology, and Gut Microbes.