S. Ansar Ahmed

About

Dr. S. Ansar Ahmed, BVSc, PhD, is a Professor of Immunology at the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, Virginia Tech. His primary research focuses on understanding why the immune system launches misdirected attacks on self-tissues, leading to chronic autoimmune diseases such as lupus. His laboratory employs various in vivo wildtype, gene knockout, and transgenic lupus murine models to delineate pathogenic autoimmune mechanisms. A significant aspect of his work investigates the female predominance in autoimmune disorders, exploring how hormonal factors, including estrogens and environmental estrogens, influence signaling pathways, transcription factors, and gene activation involved in inflammatory cytokine induction. Additionally, Dr. Ahmed's research addresses the role of epigenetics, such as microRNA, methylation, and acetylation, in lupus inflammation, with a focus on identifying signature microRNA expression profiles that could serve prognostic, diagnostic, and therapeutic purposes. He is recognized nationally and internationally for his contributions to this field. Dr. Ahmed also directs the DVM summer program at Virginia Tech, providing research experience opportunities for veterinary students. His extensive administrative roles include serving as Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies since 2017, Head of the Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology from 2008 to 2017, and Director of the Summer Veterinary Scholars Research Program. His…

Research topics

• Biology
• Microbiology
• Chemistry
• Medicine
• Internal medicine
• Immunology

Selected publications

• Early Influences of Microbiota on White Matter Development in Germ-Free Piglets

  Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience · 2021-12-27 · 34 citations

  articleOpen access1st author

  Abnormalities in the prefrontal cortex (PFC), as well as the underlying white matter (WM) tracts, lie at the intersection of many neurodevelopmental disorders. The influence of microorganisms on brain development has recently been brought into the clinical and research spotlight as alterations in commensal microbiota are implicated in such disorders, including autism spectrum disorders, schizophrenia, depression, and anxiety via the gut-brain axis. In addition, gut dysbiosis is common in preterm…

  PublisherDOI

• Lactobacillus spp. act in synergy to attenuate splenomegaly and lymphadenopathy in lupus-prone MRL/lpr mice

  Frontiers in Immunology · 2022-07-28 · 21 citations

  articleOpen access

  Commensal bacteria and the immune system have a close and strong relationship that maintains a balance to control inflammation. Alterations of the microbiota, known as dysbiosis, can direct reactivity to self-antigens not only in the intestinal mucosa but also at the systemic level. Our laboratory previously reported gut dysbiosis, particularly lower abundance of bacteria in the family Lactobacillaceae , in lupus-prone MRL/ lpr mice, a model of systemic autoimmunity. Restoring the microbiota wit…

  PublisherDOI

• Phenotypic Drift in Lupus-Prone MRL/lpr Mice: Potential Roles of MicroRNAs and Gut Microbiota

  ImmunoHorizons · 2022-01-01 · 10 citations

  articleOpen access

  MRL/lpr mice have been extensively used as a murine model of lupus. Disease progression in MRL/lpr mice can differ among animal facilities, suggesting a role for environmental factors. We noted a phenotypic drift of our in-house colony, which was the progeny of mice obtained from The Jackson Laboratory (JAX; stocking number 000485), that involved attenuated glomerulonephritis, increased splenomegaly, and reduced lymphadenopathy. To validate our in-house mice as a model of lupus, we compared thes…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Electrochemical corrosion assisted exfoliation of active materials and Al foil current collectors for efficient recovery of spent lithium-ion batteries

  SSRN Electronic Journal · 2026-01-01

  preprintOpen access
  PublisherDOI

• 200: DIETARY PEDIOCOCCUS AND ENTEROCOCCUS REDUCE GUT INFLAMMATION AND TISSUE COLONIZATION BY POTENTIALLY PATHOGENIC BACTERIA ISOLATED FROM FISTULOUS MICROLESIONS IN CROHN’S DISEASE

  Gastroenterology · 2025-05-01

  article1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

Recent grants

• NIH Grant R01AI051880

  NIH · $1.4M · 2009

• NIH Grant R01ES008043

  NIH · $563k · 2002

Frequent coauthors

• Rujuan Dai

  Virginia Tech

  38 shared

• Ran Lu

  Virginia Tech

  22 shared

• Xin Luo

  20 shared

• Zhuang Wang

  Northwestern Polytechnical University

  20 shared

• Alexander Rodriguez‐Palacios

  University School

  18 shared

• Ebru Karpuzoglu

  Emory University

  14 shared

• Christopher M. Reilly

  14 shared

• Arsalan Zaidi

  14 shared

Education

• Other, Not specified in the provided HTML

  Not specified in the provided HTML

• Ph.D., Not specified in the provided HTML

  Not specified in the provided HTML

Awards & honors

• Leukemia Foundation of America Fellow, 1985–1987

Similar researchers at Virginia Tech

• Jennifer Barretth-31
• Andrea S. Bertkeh-27
• Orsolya Baloghh-16