# BLR&D Research Career Scientist Award Application

> **NIH VA IK6** · VA VETERANS ADMINISTRATION HOSPITAL · 2024 · —

## Abstract

Dr. Zhou’s research program is mainly related to the bile acid and sphingolipid-mediated signaling pathways in
chronic liver diseases, including non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH),
alcoholic liver disease (ALD), drug-induced liver disease, and cholestatic liver diseases, such as primary
sclerosing cholangitis (PSC), which are major health problems both for Veterans and the general population.
Understanding bile acids and sphingolipids in regulating hepatic lipid metabolism, immunity, and biliary function
under different pathological conditions will provide a foundation for discovering new diagnostic markers and
novel pharmaceutical interventions for the prevention and treatment of different liver diseases. Dr. Zhou’s lab
has developed novel, clinically relevant animal models and techniques that allow the multidisciplinary analysis
of the complex signaling pathways in the chronic disease progression, which impact the overall health of our
Veterans. Dr. Zhou’s research efforts have resulted in more than 60 peer-reviewed publications, most in high-
impact journals, including Hepatology, Cell Metabolism, Gut, and Nature Communication, during the last funding
cycle. Dr. Zhou’s publications have been highly cited (total citations: 23073; h-index: 63). Dr. Zhou acknowledged
the RCS award and VA Merit Award in her publications which were submitted from her lab after she received
her RCS award in October 2018. Dr. Zhou has been actively expanding her research program by collaborating
with VA physician-scientists. PTSD is a trauma- and stressor-related mental disorder which poses a significant
impact on veterans’ health. The prevalence of PTSD is much higher in Veterans than in general populations,
especially in combat Veterans. PTSD can result in end-organ damage, such as liver cirrhosis. Both cirrhosis and
PTSD independently lead to gut dysbiosis and brain dysfunction. By collaborating with Dr. Jasmohan Bajaj, a
well-known VA clinical scientist in this field, we have shown that cognitive dysfunction in Veterans with cirrhosis
is linked with dysbiosis, disruption of bile acid homeostasis and alteration of short-chain fatty acids (SCFA),
which result in a pro-inflammatory milieu and impairment of cognitive function in Veterans. However, alterations
in the gut-liver-brain axis in Veterans with PTSD and Cirrhosis require further investigation. Dr. Zhou is a highly
valued resource and member of the Central Virginia Veteran’s Health System and the affiliated university (VCU).
She maintained a highly productive research program which is recognized nationally and internationally for her
significant contribution to the bile acid research field. She successfully established the LC-MS/MS core for bile
acid and SCFA profiling and NanoString GeoMax core via VA ShEEP grant support and has provided service to
many VA-funded and academic researchers locally and nationally. Dr. Zhou will continue to expand her
collaboration wi...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10776423
- **Project number:** 2IK6BX004477-06
- **Recipient organization:** VA VETERANS ADMINISTRATION HOSPITAL
- **Principal Investigator:** HUIPING ZHOU
- **Activity code:** IK6 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** VA
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** —
- **Award type:** 2
- **Project period:** 2018-10-01 → 2028-09-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10776423

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10776423, BLR&D Research Career Scientist Award Application (2IK6BX004477-06). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10776423. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*