Impact
Vishwa Deep Dixit studies immunometabolism and ageing, particularly how metabolic signals control age-related inflammation ('inflammaging') and immune decline. His group helped establish a role for the NLRP3 inflammasome in inflammaging, immunosenescence and age-related metabolic disease, and showed that the ketone body beta-hydroxybutyrate can suppress NLRP3-dependent inflammation. His laboratory found that the pro-longevity hormone FGF21 protects against thymic degeneration and T-cell senescence during ageing, and identified nerve-associated macrophages that regulate adipose tissue and age-related inflammation (Nature Aging, 2025). Using a reverse-translation approach built on samples from the CALERIE-II human caloric restriction trial, his team identified PLA2G7 and SPARC as calorie-restriction-inhibited proteins that affect inflammaging, and in 2026 reported complement deactivation as an immunometabolic checkpoint in calorie-restricted humans (Nature Aging). He is the Waldemar Von Zedtwitz Professor of Pathology and Professor of Immunobiology and Comparative Medicine at Yale School of Medicine, and Director of the Yale Center for Research on Aging (Y-Age). He trained in veterinary medicine in India, did PhD research at the University of Hannover, and completed postdoctoral work at Morehouse School of Medicine and the NIH.
Metrics
- h-index 61 · google scholar as of 2026-09-23 source ↗
Research output
159 works · 18,371 citations · h-index 59 OpenAlex ↗
Selected publications
- The NLRP3 inflammasome instigates obesity-induced inflammation and insulin resistance ↗ 2011 · 2,656 citations
- The ketone metabolite β-hydroxybutyrate blocks NLRP3 inflammasome–mediated inflammatory disease ↗ 2015 · 2,174 citations
- Ghrelin inhibits leptin- and activation-induced proinflammatory cytokine expression by human monocytes and T cells ↗ 2004 · 775 citations
- Ghrelin inhibits leptin- and activation-induced proinflammatory cytokine expression by human monocytes and T cells ↗ 2004 · 728 citations
- Canonical Nlrp3 Inflammasome Links Systemic Low-Grade Inflammation to Functional Decline in Aging ↗ 2013 · 683 citations
Research funding
49 NIH awards · USD 37M total NIH RePORTER ↗
- Competing Renewal P01 National Institute on Aging · 2022 · USD 2M
- Competing Renewal P01 National Institute on Aging · 2023 · USD 2M
- Competing Renewal P01 National Institute on Aging · 2026 · USD 2M
- Competing Renewal P01 National Institute on Aging · 2024 · USD 2M
- Competing Renewal P01 National Institute on Aging · 2025 · USD 2M