RURush University · Neuroscience
Keshavarzian Lab
Ali Keshavarzian · Chicago, Illinois
Research Focus
Dr. Ali Keshavarzian's lab focuses on understanding how alcohol use disorder affects inflammation in people living with HIV. They study the gut microbiota and how its balance can be disrupted by both HIV and alcohol, leading to further health complications. The lab also explores ways to enhance gut health using prebiotics that promote beneficial bacteria, potentially helping those affected by both alcohol misuse and HIV.
gut microbiotaHIValcohol use disorderinflammationprebioticsintestinal barriershort-chain fatty acidsoxidative stressmicrobial translocationhealth complications
Research Aims
5AIM 01Investigate how alcohol affects gut barrier integrity in HIV positive individuals.
AIM 02Compare inflammation levels in individuals with varying alcohol use and HIV status.
AIM 03Examine the effect of SCFA-promoting prebiotics on gut health in HIV positive individuals.
AIM 04Assess changes in the microbiome and metabolome before and after prebiotic treatment.
AIM 05Develop strategies to prevent alcohol-related co-morbidities in people living with HIV.
Skills the Lab Values
cell cultureintestinal organoidsmicrobiome analysisimmunoassaysDNA extractionRNA sequencingdata collectionbiostatisticsclinical sample processingmetabolomics
Output against the department
Publications623top 8% of dept.56th of 671
this lab
most publishedleast published
Citations38ktop 9% of dept.61st of 671
this lab
most citedleast cited
Career totals from OpenAlex, compared against labs that share a department. A department spans everything from one paper to tens of thousands, so bar heights are on a log scale — otherwise the largest lab would flatten every other bar to a line.