Meriwether Lab
Key investigator
- David Meriwether, PhD
Overview
Our research focuses on enhancing the reactivation and recycling of conjugated estrogens and androgens excreted by the liver, with particular emphasis on estrogen reactivation. We are developing novel therapeutic strategies to increase gut-mediated reactivation and reuptake of estrogens as a potential natural alternative to hormone replacement therapy for menopausal women.
In parallel, we aim to create a first‑in‑class engineered probiotic therapy for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that leverages this same pathway. Our IBD research also examines how macrophage efferocytosis contributes to inflammation resolution and intestinal epithelial repair, as well as how disease‑associated oxidation products disrupt these processes.
Awards
- K01 grant from NIH-NIDDK for dysregulation of inflammation resolution as therapeutic target for IBD (2023)
- Under the KO1 grant, Dr. Meriwether will first investigate the physiological mechanism by which inflammation-resolving macrophages stimulate human intestinal epithelial repair from inflammatory injury. Second, he will determine the molecular mechanism by which IBD-dependent oxidized lipids can dysregulate macrophage efferocytosis and macrophage-dependent intestinal epithelial repair. Finally, he will investigate the potential of APOA1 mimetic peptides to rescue macrophage inflammation resolution potential by stimulating the clearance and sequestration of mucosal oxidized lipids.
News
- The Mind-Gut Conversation Podcast - Dr. Meriwether discusses How the Gut Microbiome Influences Estrogen After Menopause
- Menopause is often described as a simple decline in estrogen production, but emerging microbiome research suggests the story is far more complex. Dr. Meriwether discusses how gut microbes may contribute to circulating estrogen levels even after menopause, why menopausal symptoms vary so widely among women, and how changes in the microbiome may create feedback loops that influence symptom severity. The discussion also places this research in the broader context of recent findings published in Nature linking the gut microbiome to health, aging, and disease.
About Dr. Meriwether
Dr. Meriwether received his PhD in molecular and medical pharmacology from UCLA in 2018. After three years of post-doctoral training in the laboratory of Drs. Srinu Reddy and Alan Fogelman, he joined the UCLA Division of Digestive Diseases in 2021. Dr. Meriwether is an intestinal epithelial and inflammation biologist who investigates the pathogenesis and pathophysiology of inflammatory bowel disease. His current work focuses in part on IBD-dependent dysregulation of inflammation resolution and resolution-dependent intestinal epithelial repair.
Selected publications
- Li VW, Dong TS, Funes D, Hernandez L, Kushnir NR, Nair D, Jacobs JP, Reddy ST, Mayer EA, Chang L, Meriwether D. Mass spectrometric profiling of primary estrogens and estrogen metabolites in human stool and plasma partially elucidates the role of the gut microbiome in estrogen recycling. Molecular and Cellular Endocrinology. Volume 603, 1 June 2025, 112534
Support our research
We invite you to support our research as we pursue innovative, biology-driven approaches to improve women’s health and advance treatment options for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Your generosity directly accelerates these discoveries and helps move transformative therapies closer to the patients who need them.