Virginia Commonwealth University · Microbiology & ImmunologySphingoHealth Lab
Huiping Zhou · Richmond, Virginia
Research Focus
Dr. Huiping Zhou's lab focuses on understanding alcoholic liver disease (ALD), which is a serious condition with no FDA-approved treatments. The lab investigates the role of certain lipids, specifically sphingolipids, in liver inflammation and damage caused by alcohol consumption. By exploring how these lipids affect liver and gut health, the research aims to identify new therapeutic targets for preventing or treating ALD.
alcoholic liver diseasesphingolipidsgut healthinflammationtherapeuticsbile acidslipid metabolismalcohol responsemacrophages
Research Aims
2AIM 01Investigate the role of SphK2 in hepatic lipid metabolism under alcohol-induced stress.
AIM 02Define how SphK2 affects intestinal barrier function and its role in the gut-liver axis during alcohol exposure.
Skills the Lab Values
cell culturemouse modelsRNA sequencingflow cytometryWestern blotPCRmicroscopydata analysisimmunohistochemistry
Output against the department
Publications383top 10% of dept.47th of 486
this lab
most publishedleast published
Citations20ktop 19% of dept.91st of 486
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.