Dr. Sonnenberg was recruited to Weill Cornell Medicine in 2014 as an Assistant Professor of Microbiology & Immunology in Medicine. He was promoted to Associate Professor in 2018, received the Henry R. Erle, M.D. Roberts Family Professorship with tenure in 2022, and was promoted to full professor in 2024. In 2025, Dr. Sonnenberg assumed the role of Associate Vice Chair of Research for the Weill Department of Medicine. In addition, he serves as the Head of Basic Research in the division of Gastroenterology and Deputy Editor-in-Chief at Mucosal Immunology. He has primary appointments in the Weill Department of Medicine's Division of Gastroenterology & Hepatology, the Department of Microbiology & Immunology, the Jill Robert Institute for Research in IBD, and the Meyer Cancer Center.
Research from the Sonnenberg Laboratory has resulted in the publication of numerous primary articles in top-tier journals, including more than 15 primary papers in Nature, Science, Cell, Nature Medicine, Nature Immunology, Immunity, Science Immunology, Mucosal Immunology, and Cell Reports. Dr. Sonnenberg has published over 75 peer-reviewed primary and review papers and is continuously well-funded by the NIH and private foundations. He is also the recipient of numerous awards, including the Searle Scholar Award, the Burroughs Wellcome Fund Investigator in the Pathogenesis of Infectious Disease Award, the Society for Mucosal Immunology Young Investigator Award (inaugural year), the Cancer Research Institute Lloyd J. Old STAR Award (inaugural year), the International Cytokine & Interferon Society (ICIS)-Luminex John R. Kettman Award for Excellence in Interferon & Cytokine Research (inaugural year), the Forbes List of rising stars transforming Science and Healthcare, the AAI-BD Biosciences Investigator Award, and a NIH/NIAID MERIT Award (R37). Dr. Sonnenberg regularly serves on numerous peer review panels, including standing membership on panels for the NIH CSR Review and the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation.
Dr. Sonnenberg received his BS from the State University of New York at Buffalo and his PhD from the University of Pennsylvania.
Education and Training
- Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania 2011
- B.S., State University of New York at Buffalo 2007