Dr. Irazoqui received his BS from the National University of Rosario, Argentina in 1997. He received his PhD in Cell and Molecular Biology from Duke University in 2003 for his work on Rho G-proteins and actin remodeling in yeast. He pursued his postdoctoral research in host-pathogen interactions with Dr. Fred Ausubel in the Department of Molecular Biology of the Massachusetts General Hospital and the Department of Genetics of Harvard Medical School. Dr. Irazoqui has led his independent laboratory since 2009, first in the Department of Pediatrics and later in the Center for the Study of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (CSIBD), both at MGH. He lectured at Harvard University and Harvard Medical School. In August 2016 Dr. Irazoqui's laboratory relocated to the Department of Microbiology and Physiological Systems of the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, where he is affiliated with the Program in Innate Immunity and the Neuroscience Program. His laboratory's research focuses on mechanisms of host-microbe interactions in health and disease, with special emphasis on neural regulation of epithelial host defense and the microbiota-gut-brain axis. Their research in bacterial pathogenesis and host defense is supported by the National Institutes of Health and by the National Science Foundation. More recently, their research on COVID-19 and SARS-CoV-2 mechanisms of pathogenesis received support from the UMass Medical School COVID-19/Pandemic Research Fund. Dr. Irazoqui actively works for social justice in STEM, promoting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion through service within UMass and without. Dr. Irazoqui encourages Learners and Trainees of all stages to reach out to him for mentorship, advice, and support, especially for BIPOC individuals and Women in Science.