Academic Office:
LSUHSC School of Medicine
533 Bolivar Street
Room 306
New Orleans, LA 70112
504-568-7879
Bio
Dr. Robert Siggins earned his Ph.D. in Physiology from Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center (LSUHSC) in New Orleans. He completed his postdoctoral training at New York Medical College, where his research focused on cardiac stem cells and myocardial repair. Dr. Siggins later returned to LSUHSC to investigate the effects of alcohol on bone marrow hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells, supported by a T32 Training Grant from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA).
In 2010, Dr. Siggins joined the Department of Physiology faculty as an Instructor and was awarded a prestigious K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award from NIAAA. He currently serves as an Associate Professor (Research), with his work centered on the impact of alcohol consumption on immune aging within the Comprehensive Alcohol-HIV/AIDS Research Center (CARC). In addition to his research, Dr. Siggins serves as Co-Director of the CARC Analytical Core as well as a member of the Institutional Biosafety Committee.
Education
BS - 1999, University of Southern Mississippi
BA - 1999,University of Southern Mississippi
PhD - 2006, Physiology, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center
Teaching
- Lecturer: Gastrointestinal Physiology for Medical Students
- Lecturer: Pulmonary Physiology for Dental, Biomedical Sciences, Nursing, and Dental Hygiene Students
- Course Director: Perspectives in Alcohol Research –trainee-mentor forum that examines key biomedical and ethical issues in alcohol research, fosters interdisciplinary dialogue and critical thinking, providing trainees with a comprehensive understanding of current challenges and emerging topics in the field
Selected Publications
(from a total of 35)
(*Co-first author denoted by *)
- Katz PS*, Siggins RW*, et al. Alcohol. 2015;49(8):759-765.
- Simon L, Siggins R, et al. AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses. 2018;34(2):178-184.
- Duplanty AA, Siggins RW, et al. Physiol Rep. 2018;6(5):e13625.
- Welsh DA, Siggins RW, et al. Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2019;43(4):704-709.
- Souza-Smith FM, Siggins RW, et al. Int J Mol Sci. 2019;20(17):4097.
- Samuelson DR, Siggins RW, et al. Alcohol. 2019;80:33-43.
- Maffei VJ, Siggins RW, et al. AIDS. 2020;34(2):245-254.
- Mouton AJ, Siggins RW, et al. Life Sci. 2020;245:117330.
- Ferguson TF, Siggins RW, et al. Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2020;44(6):1261-1272.
- Maffei VJ, Siggins RW, et al. J Infect Dis. 2020;jiaa461.
- Siggins RW, et al. Int J Mol Sci. 2023;24(10):8650.
- McTernan PM, Siggins RW, et al. Biomolecules. 2022;12(7):946.
- McTernan PM, et al. Front Immunol. 2022;13:839390.
Research Interests
- Alcohol-induced immune dysfunction
- CD8+ T-cell senescence and immunometabolism
- Microbiota disruption and systemic inflammation
- Alcohol, frailty, and immune aging in people with HIV
- Translational models of alcohol-related comorbidities