Role of the intestinal microbiome and mucosal (intestinal) immunity in diseases; Role of intestinal hyper-permeability (leaky gut) in disease; Mechanisms through which alcohol interaction with the intestine promotes disease; Mechanisms through which circadian rhythms, especially intestinal, regulate health and disease.
Christopher Forsyth, PhD, is a nationally and internationally renowned researcher in Digestive Diseases and the relationship between intestinal diseases and systemic disease. His original PhD training was in Microbiology-Immunology and specifically T cell response to pathogens. His postdoctoral study at the Cleveland Clinic Center for Thrombosis and Vascular Biology examined molecular mechanisms of leukocyte trafficking and inflammation. In 2003, Forsyth began working with Ali Keshavarzian, MD in the Digestive Diseases Division and Section of Gastroenterology at Rush University Medical Center (RUMC) in Chicago. In 2008, Forsyth became Director of Basic Research and the Basic Research Laboratory for the Division of Digestive Diseases at RUMC. For the last 15+ years Forsyth has been working together with Keshavarzian to investigate how intestinal disease and mucosal (intestinal) immunity and the microbiome can drive human disease. Focus areas of the laboratory include the role of the microbiome (gut, oral, nasal) and intestinal permeability (leaky gut) as well as disruption of circadian rhythms in many human diseases. These include colon cancer and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, metabolic syndrome and alcohol intestinal effects on disease (especially alcoholic liver disease and colon cancer) and HIV/AIDS. These studies have included in vitro and ex vivo (organoid) studies as well as animal models for these diseases and of course studies in human subjects and patients. Forsyth will contribute his expertise especially in microbiome and intestinal immunity research to the International Spine Research and Innovation Institute.
Dr. Forsyth’s full publications list.
Selected Peer-Reviewed Publications
1. Bishehsari F, Engen PA, Preite NZ, Tuncil YE, Naqib A, Shaikh M, Rossi M, Wilber S, Green SJ, Hamaker BR, Khazaie K, Voigt RM, Forsyth CB, Keshavarzian A. Dietary Fiber Treatment Corrects the Composition of Gut Microbiota, Promotes SCFA Production, and Suppresses Colon Carcinogenesis. Genes (Basel). PMC5852598. 2018
2. Voigt RM, Forsyth CB, Shaikh M, Zhang L, Raeisi S, Aloman C, Preite NZ, Donohue TM Jr, Fogg L, Keshavarzian A. Diurnal variations in intestinal barrier integrity and liver pathology in mice: implications for alcohol binge. Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol. 314:G131-G141. 2018
3. Forsyth CB, Shaikh M, Bishehsari F, Swanson G, Voigt RM, Dodiya H, Wilkinson P, Samelco B, Song S, Keshavarzian A. Alcohol Feeding in Mice Promotes Colonic Hyperpermeability and Changes in Colonic Organoid Stem Cell Fate. Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 41:2100-2113. 2017
4. Keshavarzian A, Green SJ, Engen PA, Voigt RM, Naqib A, Forsyth CB, Mutlu E, Shannon KM. Colonic bacterial composition in Parkinson’s disease. Mov Disord. 30:1351-60. 2015
5. Forsyth CB, Shannon KM, Kordower JH, Voigt RM, Shaikh M, Jaglin JA, Estes JD, Dodiya HB, Keshavarzian A. Increased intestinal permeability correlates with sigmoid mucosa alpha-synuclein staining and endotoxin exposure markers in early Parkinson’s disease. PLoS One. 6(12):e28032. 2011