About Us
The Hepatobiology & Toxicology COBRE is a unique thematic research center. UofL's COBRE scientists comprise a multidisciplinary group of investigators focusing on mechanisms and therapy for liver injury, nutrition and gut:liver interactions, and liver:environment/toxicant/drug interactions. The liver is the largest internal organ in the body, and is possibly the most complex organ in terms of metabolism.
- It plays a vital role in protein, carbohydrate and fat as well as micronutrient metabolism, and it is the major site for drug and toxicant metabolism.
- It protects the systemic circulation from gut-derived endotoxins, and it protects the body against a variety of environmental and drug-related insults.
- It also plays a critical role in immune tolerance.
Liver diseases are some of the most common health problems afflicting Americans (and are frequently poorly recognized). Examples include NAFLD/NASH, ALD, Toxicant-Induced Liver Injury, HCC, viral hepatitis (e.g., Hepatitis C-HCV), and Drug-Induced Liver Injury/drug metabolism.
This COBRE brings together experienced senior mentors and promising junior investigators from across UofL in collaboration with scientists across the US/world to perform cross-cutting research on the unique topics of hepatobiology and toxicology. We evaluate critical barriers in our understanding of the development/progression of liver disease and we define targets for prevention/treatment that could transform current practice.
Specific Aims
- Expand and strengthen a thematically-focused program in Hepatobiology and Toxicology that strengthens the overall research infrastructure at UofL.
- Expand and strengthen the multidisciplinary program in research education, mentoring and career development in Hepatobiology and Toxicology, and systematically track and evaluate the progress.
- Provide the necessary research resources and translational science/basic technologies to support state-of-the-art research in Hepatobiology and Toxicology and to ensure sustainability of the program.
- Discover new mechanisms/molecular targets and effective means for preventing and/or treating liver diseases/toxicant exposures and communicate our findings to the public.