About Us

About the Hepatobiology & Toxicology Research Center

The Hepatobiology & Toxicology COBRE is a unique thematic research center. UofL's COBRE scientists are comprised of 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 U.S. and world to perform cross-cutting research on the unique topics of hepatobiology and toxicology. We evaluate critical barriers in our understanding of the development and progression of liver disease and we define targets for prevention and treatment that could transform current practice.

Specific Aims

  1. Expand and strengthen a thematically-focused program in hepatobiology and toxicology that strengthens the overall research infrastructure at UofL.

  2. Expand and strengthen the multidisciplinary program in research education, mentoring and career development in hepatobiology and toxicology, and systematically track and evaluate the progress.

  3. Provide the necessary research resources and translational science and basic technologies to support state-of-the-art research in hepatobiology and toxicology and to ensure sustainability of the program.

  4. Discover new mechanisms and molecular targets and effective means for preventing and/or treating liver diseases and toxicant exposures, along with communicating our findings to the public.