Dr. Stevens’ research focuses on the chemistry, biology, and pharmacology of natural products from plants. His research aims to understand how natural products exert beneficial health effects by studying metabolism at a comprehensive level in humans, animal models of disease, and in mammalian cells as well as in microorganisms. His research group pioneered in the discovery of bioactivity of xanthohumol, a natural product from the hops plant, and brought it from the lab bench to phase 1 and 2 clinical trials as a potential drug for treating metabolic and chronic inflammatory disease, such as metabolic syndrome and Crohn’s Disease. Xanthohumol and structurally related prenylated flavonoids remained obscure until his team found them in beer for the first time (1999), discovered that they inhibit cytochrome P450-mediated activation of dietary procarcinogens, thus giving them cancer chemo-preventive properties (2000), and elucidated the biochemical pathways by which xanthohumol slows down carbohydrate and lipid synthesis in rodent models of metabolic syndrome. Dr. Stevens and his team have published over 188 papers, 49 of which report on xanthohumol. His work on xanthohumol has inspired other researchers to investigate xanthohumol and report their findings in over 720 scientific papers to date (2025). Production of xanthohumol has progressed from lab-scale isolation of milligrams by Dr. Stevens (1995) to industrial scale production in kilogram batches for use in animal feeds, nutraceuticals and pharmaceuticals, with a global xanthohumol market value currently exceeding $200 million annually. Dr. Stevens and his team have found novel ways to improve the pharmacokinetics and potency of xanthohumol by synthetic modification, for which they are seeking patent awards.
In 2023, Dr. Stevens initiated a project aimed at discovery of non-psychoactive cannabinoids from hemp for pain relief using artificial intelligence. This multi-disciplinary project involves chemistry, biology, engineering, and machine learning. Dr. Stevens collaborates with researchers in the Global Hemp Innovation Center as well as with stakeholders in the hemp industry worth more than $5 billion annually.
