John Alverdy, MD

  • Sara & Harold Lincoln Thompson Professor of Surgery
  • Clinical Interests: Benign Colorectal Diseases, Biliary Tract Disease, Colon Cancer, Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease GERD, Hernia Surgery, Laparoscopic Surgery, Minimally Invasive Pancreatic Surgery, Minimally Invasive Weight Loss Surgery, Obesity Surgery, Stomach Cancer
  • Websites: Research Network Profile
  • Contact: jalverdy@uchicago.edu
  • Graduate Programs: UChicago Biosciences, Committee on Immunology

John Alverdy, MD, has run a continuously funded NIH-funded laboratory that studies the molecular interactions of bacteria and the intestinal mucosa in order to understand how life-threatening infections arise after trauma and major surgery and during critical illness. He has developed several anti-infective polymer-based compounds that can attenuate the virulence of several multi-drug resistant pathogens that cause life threatening infections in surgical patients and works with the IME to synthesize, refine, and scale the compounds for pre-clinical testing.



The Alverdy lab seeks to better understand the regulation of virulence expression among potential pathogens through investigating the characteristics of the microbial context, molecular machinery that senses that context, and ultimately the lethal combinations of virulence expression that leads to disease. The majority of our work has focused on the sense and response virulence mechanisms of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a well characterized and clinically important pathogen. We have shown a remarkable potential for this organisms to respond to host environmental cues related to stress, ischemia, immune activation and nutrient depletion. With this core model of environmental regulation of virulence expression, we are pursuing applications in intestinal transplantation, anastomotic and radiation physiology, necrotizing enterocolitis and ischemia/reperfusion injury. We are also investigating similar sense and response mechanisms in other clinically important organisms, including Staphylococcus aureus and Candida albicans. Finally, we are interested in developing virulence-based therapies to prevent virulence activation through modifications in microenvironment of the stressed host such as phosphate repletion and polymer-mediated mucosal replacement therapies.



The ultimate goal of understanding microbial virulence is to provide clinical tools to improve the care of patients. However the complexity of the host-pathogen interaction and the vast amounts of mechanistic information available constitutes a formidable barrier to translational research. Computational agent based modeling is a well suited to dynamically represent mechanistic detail in a modifiable context to recapitulate cellular behavior at the tissue, organ and patient levels.

Michael Reese Hospital and Medical Center
Chicago, IL
Residency in Surgery
1985

University of California
San Francisco
Trauma & Burn Fellowship
1983

Loyola University, Stritch School of Medicine
Chicago, IL
(5th Pathway)
1980

Autonomous University
Guadalajara
MD
1979

Marquette University
Wisconsin
BA
1975

Social determinants of health, the microbiome, and surgical injury.
Social determinants of health, the microbiome, and surgical injury. J Trauma Acute Care Surg. 2024 Mar 04.
PMID: 38441071

Comment on: Evaluation of a quality improvement intervention to reduce anastomotic leak following right colectomy (EAGLE): pragmatic, batched stepped-wedge, cluster-randomized trial in 64 countries.
Comment on: Evaluation of a quality improvement intervention to reduce anastomotic leak following right colectomy (EAGLE): pragmatic, batched stepped-wedge, cluster-randomized trial in 64 countries. Br J Surg. 2024 Mar 02; 111(3).
PMID: 38507424

IDEAL Phase 2a Results: Posterior Rectus Sheath Flap for Hiatal Augmentation in Complex Paraesophageal Hernias.
IDEAL Phase 2a Results: Posterior Rectus Sheath Flap for Hiatal Augmentation in Complex Paraesophageal Hernias. Ann Surg. 2024 Feb 20.
PMID: 38375674

Commentary on: Role of Microbiome in the Outcomes Following Surgical Repair of Perianal Fistula: Prospective Cohort Study Design and Preliminary Results.
Commentary on: Role of Microbiome in the Outcomes Following Surgical Repair of Perianal Fistula: Prospective Cohort Study Design and Preliminary Results. World J Surg. 2023 Dec; 47(12):3380-3381.
PMID: 37930384

Invited Commentary: Scientific Rationale behind Intestinal Alkaline Phosphatase Administration to Enhance Recovery after Pancreaticoduodenectomy.
Invited Commentary: Scientific Rationale behind Intestinal Alkaline Phosphatase Administration to Enhance Recovery after Pancreaticoduodenectomy. J Am Coll Surg. 2024 Jan 01; 238(1):80-81.
PMID: 37870226

Rationale behind phosphate therapy to modulate the gut microbiome and protect against surgery-related infection.
Rationale behind phosphate therapy to modulate the gut microbiome and protect against surgery-related infection. Microbiota Host. 2023 Feb; 1(1).
PMID: 37928950

Expert Commentary on Perioperative Malnutrition.
Expert Commentary on Perioperative Malnutrition. Dis Colon Rectum. 2023 12 01; 66(12):1531.
PMID: 37682778

Peptide YY: A Paneth cell antimicrobial peptide that maintains Candida gut commensalism.
Peptide YY: A Paneth cell antimicrobial peptide that maintains Candida gut commensalism. Science. 2023 08 04; 381(6657):502-508.
PMID: 37535745

Western Diet-induced Transcriptional Changes in Anastomotic Tissue Is Associated With Early Local Recurrence in a Mouse Model of Colorectal Surgery.
Western Diet-induced Transcriptional Changes in Anastomotic Tissue Is Associated With Early Local Recurrence in a Mouse Model of Colorectal Surgery. Ann Surg. 2023 12 01; 278(6):954-960.
PMID: 37522222

Studies Involving Surgical Site Infections (SSIs) Without Culture Results, the Antibiotics Chosen for Prophylaxis and Antibiotic Sensitivity Data: "Are they Actionable?"
Studies Involving Surgical Site Infections (SSIs) Without Culture Results, the Antibiotics Chosen for Prophylaxis and Antibiotic Sensitivity Data: "Are they Actionable?" Ann Surg. 2024 01 01; 279(1):13-14.
PMID: 37465974

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