SUMMARY
The research program of Gregory J. Gores, M.D., focuses on the mechanisms of liver injury and inflammation. He uses preclinical models to investigate the cellular processes that contribute to liver injury during cholestasis. Complementing this work, Dr. Gores conducts research in medical imaging, artificial intelligence (AI) and imaging informatics. He applies quantitative MRI and machine learning to the noninvasive assessment of cholestatic liver diseases and cholangiocarcinoma. His team also integrates imaging phenotypes with molecular and clinical data. The overall goals of the program are to identify the mechanisms of cholestatic liver injury through discovery research and to characterize imaging phenotypes in a clinical context.
Focus areas
- Defining mechanisms of cholestatic liver injury and inflammation. Dr. Gores uses preclinical, disease-relevant models to investigate how lethal and sublethal cell death pathways contribute to cholestatic liver injury. His laboratory studies the intracellular signaling cascades that link cell death to inflammation and tissue damage, with a particular focus on the role of sublethal ferroptotic signaling in inflammatory liver disease.
- Understanding the role of macrophages in cholestatic liver disease. Dr. Gores examines how profibrogenic and inflammatory macrophage populations contribute to liver injury and fibrosis during cholestasis. Current research focuses on periportal macrophage subsets, including CX3CR1-expressing macrophages, to better understand their role in disease progression and to identify potential therapeutic targets.
- Advancing early detection of cholangiocarcinoma through AI and imaging. Dr. Gores leads and contributes to the research of a multidisciplinary team evaluating proteomic, epigenetic, endoscopic and MRI-based approaches for cholangiocarcinoma detection and characterization. This work is part of a Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center initiative focused on applying AI to support early cancer interception. By integrating quantitative imaging biomarkers with omics datasets, the team seeks to improve disease characterization and enable earlier detection.
- Developing noninvasive tools to assess primary sclerosing cholangitis. Dr. Gores applies quantitative MRI, cross-sectional imaging and AI to measure disease burden and predict disease progression in primary sclerosing cholangitis. His goal is to develop reliable, noninvasive methods for monitoring disease activity and guiding clinical decision-making.
Significance to patient care
Liver diseases that affect the flow of bile can cause ongoing damage when liver cells die in harmful ways. Dr. Gores studies how and why this damage occurs, with the goal of developing new treatments that protect the liver and slow the worsening of disease.
His team also uses AI and MRI to improve the early detection of bile duct cancer, known as cholangiocarcinoma. Earlier detection may help find cancer when treatment is most effective and reduce the need for invasive procedures.
In addition, Dr. Gores applies AI and MRI-based imaging to measure and predict the course of cholestatic liver diseases, including primary sclerosing cholangitis. This work may provide new ways to monitor these conditions without invasive testing.
Professional highlights
- Mayo Clinic:
- Reuben R. Eisenberg Endowed Professor in Gastroenterology and Hepatology, 2001-present.
- Professional Achievement Award, Mayo Clinic Alumni Association, 2023.
- Mr. and Mrs. Ronald F. Kinney Executive Dean of Research Honoring Ronald F. Kinney, Jr., 2012-2023.
- Research Career Achievement Award, Department of Internal Medicine, 2010.
- Distinguished Investigator Award, 2008.
- Outstanding Mentorship Award, Department of Internal Medicine, 2004.
- Translational Product Development Fund award, for "BiliScan-AI: Explainable Interception of Cholangiocarcinoma in PSC," Minnesota Partnership for Biotechnology and Medical Genomics, 2026.
- Best Doctors in America, Best Doctors Inc., 2005-2013.