Kaveh Ashrafi, PhD
Professor
Physiology
School of Medicine

Grants and Projects

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• Tetrad: Genetics, Cell Biology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Training Grant, NIH, 2021-2031
• Linking metabolism, neural function, and aging, NIH, 2014-2031
• An Overlooked Steroid Hormone as a Driver of Cognitive Resilience, NIH, 2026-2028
• Linking metabolism, neural function, and aging, NIH, 2014-2026
• Regulation of learning and memory by steroid hormone signaling during development and aging, NIH, 2020-2026
• Role of the steroid hormone ADIOL in learning and memory, aging, and neurodegeneration, NIH, 2021-2024
• Regulation of learning and memory by steroid hormone signaling during development and aging, NIH, 2020-2021
• Cell Biology, Genetics, and Biochemistry Training Grant, NIH, 1979-2021
• Genetic Analysis of Aging in C. elegans, NIH, 1994-2020
• A platform for rapid characterization of metabolic disrupters in whole animals, NIH, 2012-2015
• Genetic Analysis of C. elegans fat regulatory network, NIH, 2004-2010

Publications (41)

Top publication keywords:
Caenorhabditis elegans ProteinsNervous SystemCaloric RestrictionLongevityFastingKynurenic AcidFeeding BehaviorAMP-Activated Protein KinasesLipid MetabolismSerotoninEnergy MetabolismSteroidsAcyl Coenzyme ACaenorhabditis elegansKynurenine

• Fasting and Caloric Restriction Activate an ADIOL-NHR-91-Kynurenine Pathway Signaling Axis to Promote Healthspan.
  Aging cell 2026 Guijarro-Hernández A, Yoo S, Lemieux GA, Komatsu S, Latiff AQ, Patil RR, Ashrafi K
• Dietary restriction promotes neuronal resilience via ADIOL.
  bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology 2025 Guijarro-Hernández A, Yoo S, Lemieux GA, Komatsu S, Latiff AQ, Patil RR, Ashrafi K
• The steroid hormone ADIOL promotes learning by reducing neural kynurenic acid levels.
  Genes & development 2023 Lemieux GA, Yoo S, Lin L, Vohra M, Ashrafi K
• Intestinal peroxisomal fatty acid β-oxidation regulates neural serotonin signaling through a feedback mechanism.
  PLoS biology 2019 Bouagnon AD, Lin L, Srivastava S, Liu CC, Panda O, Schroeder FC, Srinivasan S, Ashrafi K
• Age- and stress-associated C. elegans granulins impair lysosomal function and induce a compensatory HLH-30/TFEB transcriptional response.
  PLoS genetics 2019 Butler VJ, Gao F, Corrales CI, Cortopassi WA, Caballero B, Vohra M, Ashrafi K, Cuervo AM, Jacobson MP, Coppola G, Kao AW

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• Tau/MAPT disease-associated variant A152T alters tau function and toxicity via impaired retrograde axonal transport.
  Human molecular genetics 2019 Butler VJ, Salazar DA, Soriano-Castell D, Alves-Ferreira M, Dennissen FJA, Vohra M, Oses-Prieto JA, Li KH, Wang AL, Jing B, Li B, Groisman A, Gutierrez E, Mooney S, Burlingame AL, Ashrafi K, Mandelkow…
• The mTOR Target S6 Kinase Arrests Development in Caenorhabditis elegans When the Heat-Shock Transcription Factor Is Impaired.
  Genetics 2018 Chisnell P, Parenteau TR, Tank E, Ashrafi K, Kenyon C
• Kynurenic acid accumulation underlies learning and memory impairment associated with aging.
  Genes & development 2018 Vohra M, Lemieux GA, Lin L, Ashrafi K
• The beneficial effects of dietary restriction on learning are distinct from its effects on longevity and mediated by depletion of a neuroinhibitory metabolite.
  PLoS biology 2017 Vohra M, Lemieux GA, Lin L, Ashrafi K
• Phenotypic, chemical and functional characterization of cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase 4 (PDE4) as a potential anthelmintic drug target.
  PLoS neglected tropical diseases 2017 Long T, Rojo-Arreola L, Shi D, El-Sakkary N, Jarnagin K, Rock F, Meewan M, Rascón AA, Lin L, Cunningham KA, Lemieux GA, Podust L, Abagyan R, Ashrafi K, McKerrow JH, Caffrey CR
• Investigating Connections between Metabolism, Longevity, and Behavior in Caenorhabditis elegans.
  Trends in endocrinology and metabolism: TEM 2016 Lemieux GA, Ashrafi K
• Conserved Genetic Interactions between Ciliopathy Complexes Cooperatively Support Ciliogenesis and Ciliary Signaling.
  PLoS genetics 2015 Yee LE, Garcia-Gonzalo FR, Bowie RV, Li C, Kennedy JK, Ashrafi K, Blacque OE, Leroux MR, Reiter JF
• Neural Regulatory Pathways of Feeding and Fat in Caenorhabditis elegans.
  Annual review of genetics 2015 Lemieux GA, Ashrafi K
• Stressing about misplaced fat is a key to longevity.
  eLife 2015 Lemieux GA, Ashrafi K
• Kynurenic acid is a nutritional cue that enables behavioral plasticity.
  Cell 2015 Lemieux GA, Cunningham KA, Lin L, Mayer F, Werb Z, Ashrafi K
• Insights and challenges in using C. elegans for investigation of fat metabolism.
  Critical reviews in biochemistry and molecular biology 2014 Lemieux GA, Ashrafi K
• OCT1 is a high-capacity thiamine transporter that regulates hepatic steatosis and is a target of metformin.
  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 2014 Chen L, Shu Y, Liang X, Chen EC, Yee SW, Zur AA, Li S, Xu L, Keshari KR, Lin MJ, Chien HC, Zhang Y, Morrissey KM, Liu J, Ostrem J, Younger NS, Kurhanewicz J, Shokat KM, Ashrafi K, Giacomini KM
• Loss of a neural AMP-activated kinase mimics the effects of elevated serotonin on fat, movement, and hormonal secretions.
  PLoS genetics 2014 Cunningham KA, Bouagnon AD, Barros AG, Lin L, Malard L, Romano-Silva MA, Ashrafi K
• Defects in the C. elegans acyl-CoA synthase, acs-3, and nuclear hormone receptor, nhr-25, cause sensitivity to distinct, but overlapping stresses.
  PloS one 2014 Ward JD, Mullaney B, Schiller BJ, He LD, Petnic SE, Couillault C, Pujol N, Bernal TU, Van Gilst MR, Ashrafi K, Ewbank JJ, Yamamoto KR
• Dopamine signaling regulates fat content through β-oxidation in Caenorhabditis elegans.
  PloS one 2014 Barros AG, Bridi JC, de Souza BR, de Castro Júnior C, de Lima Torres KC, Malard L, Jorio A, de Miranda DM, Ashrafi K, Romano-Silva MA
• Sumoylated NHR-25/NR5A regulates cell fate during C. elegans vulval development.
  PLoS genetics 2013 Ward JD, Bojanala N, Bernal T, Ashrafi K, Asahina M, Yamamoto KR
• In silico molecular comparisons of C. elegans and mammalian pharmacology identify distinct targets that regulate feeding.
  PLoS biology 2013 Lemieux GA, Keiser MJ, Sassano MF, Laggner C, Mayer F, Bainton RJ, Werb Z, Roth BL, Shoichet BK, Ashrafi K
• Effects of Caenorhabditis elegans sgk-1 mutations on lifespan, stress resistance, and DAF-16/FoxO regulation.
  Aging cell 2013 Chen AT, Guo C, Dumas KJ, Ashrafi K, Hu PJ
• AMP-activated kinase links serotonergic signaling to glutamate release for regulation of feeding behavior in C. elegans.
  Cell metabolism 2012 Cunningham KA, Hua Z, Srinivasan S, Liu J, Lee BH, Edwards RH, Ashrafi K
• Analyses of C. elegans fat metabolic pathways.
  Methods in cell biology 2012 Barros AG, Liu J, Lemieux GA, Mullaney BC, Ashrafi K
• Hyperactive neuroendocrine secretion causes size, feeding, and metabolic defects of C. elegans Bardet-Biedl syndrome mutants.
  PLoS biology 2011 Lee BH, Liu J, Wong D, Srinivasan S, Ashrafi K
• A whole-organism screen identifies new regulators of fat storage.
  Nature chemical biology 2011 Lemieux GA, Liu J, Mayer N, Bainton RJ, Ashrafi K, Werb Z
• A stress-responsive system for mitochondrial protein degradation.
  Molecular cell 2010 Heo JM, Livnat-Levanon N, Taylor EB, Jones KT, Dephoure N, Ring J, Xie J, Brodsky JL, Madeo F, Gygi SP, Ashrafi K, Glickman MH, Rutter J
• Regulation of C. elegans fat uptake and storage by acyl-CoA synthase-3 is dependent on NR5A family nuclear hormone receptor nhr-25.
  Cell metabolism 2010 Mullaney BC, Blind RD, Lemieux GA, Perez CL, Elle IC, Faergeman NJ, Van Gilst MR, Ingraham HA, Ashrafi K
• mTOR complex-2 activates ENaC by phosphorylating SGK1.
  Journal of the American Society of Nephrology : JASN 2010 Lu M, Wang J, Jones KT, Ives HE, Feldman ME, Yao LJ, Shokat KM, Ashrafi K, Pearce D
• Caenorhabditis elegans as an emerging model for studying the basic biology of obesity.
  Disease models & mechanisms 2009 Jones KT, Ashrafi K
• Rictor/TORC2 regulates Caenorhabditis elegans fat storage, body size, and development through sgk-1.
  PLoS biology 2009 Jones KT, Greer ER, Pearce D, Ashrafi K
• Fat rationing in dauer times.
  Cell metabolism 2009 Cunningham KA, Ashrafi K
• C. elegans fat storage and metabolic regulation.
  Biochimica et biophysica acta 2009 Mullaney BC, Ashrafi K
• A TRPV channel modulates C. elegans neurosecretion, larval starvation survival, and adult lifespan.
  PLoS genetics 2008 Lee BH, Ashrafi K
• Neural and molecular dissection of a C. elegans sensory circuit that regulates fat and feeding.
  Cell metabolism 2008 Greer ER, Pérez CL, Van Gilst MR, Lee BH, Ashrafi K
• Serotonin regulates C. elegans fat and feeding through independent molecular mechanisms.
  Cell metabolism 2008 Srinivasan S, Sadegh L, Elle IC, Christensen AG, Faergeman NJ, Ashrafi K
• Impaired processing of FLP and NLP peptides in carboxypeptidase E (EGL-21)-deficient Caenorhabditis elegans as analyzed by mass spectrometry.
  Journal of neurochemistry 2007 Husson SJ, Janssen T, Baggerman G, Bogert B, Kahn-Kirby AH, Ashrafi K, Schoofs L
• Obesity and the regulation of fat metabolism.
  WormBook : the online review of C. elegans biology 2007 Ashrafi K
• Mapping out starvation responses.
  Cell metabolism 2006 Ashrafi K
• Genome-wide RNAi analysis of Caenorhabditis elegans fat regulatory genes.
  Nature 2003 Ashrafi K, Chang FY, Watts JL, Fraser AG, Kamath RS, Ahringer J, Ruvkun G