'I will investigate how certain fat-related molecules (bioactive lipids) disrupt the immune system in alcohol-associated hepatitis (AH) and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH). Using cutting-edge humanized liver models at Yale that accurately mimic human liver disease, I aim to identify which lipids drive disease severity and test whether targeting them can prevent or reverse liver damage.
AH and MASH cause countless deaths worldwide, yet there are no effective treatments. A major obstacle is that current animal models fail to accurately capture the complexity of human liver disease, thereby slowing down drug development. By using humanized liver models, we can finally bridge this gap and discover new pathways for targeted therapies.
The goal is to discover and validate lipids that trigger immune dysfunction in AH and MASH, understand how they fuel disease progression, and test therapies that block these lipids to protect the liver and restore immune balance.
This project will pave the way for effective treatments for AH and MASH, offering hope to patients with few options today. It will improve the success of drug development by using models that better predict human outcomes, reducing wasted resources and time. The findings will inform future research on liver and immune-metabolic diseases, contributing to the development of precision medicine in hepatology.'
