Basic Science Emerging Topic Conference: The LiverLink: Unraveling Systems Biology in Pathogenesis and Treatment of Liver Disease
Date : Saturday, May 2, 8:00 am - Sunday, May 3, 5:00 pm (EDT)
Program Chairs: Savneet Kaur, PhD; Cristina Llorente, PhD; Marti Ortega Ribera, PhD
Taking place at DDW 2026, May 2-3, this two-day ticketed program explores one of hepatology’s most pressing challenges: understanding how disruptions in liver communication networks drive multisystem diseases.
As the liver’s role in systemic homeostasis becomes increasingly evident, researchers face the need to connect insights across the gut, microbiome, adipose tissue, immune system, and brain. Through six expert-led sessions, faculty will highlight the mechanisms linking these systems while sharing how disruptions in these networks drive liver diseases such as MASLD, MASH, ALD, and cholestatic disorders. Faculty will also showcase advances in multi-omics, microbiome science, and immunology.
Attendees will gain translational insights and practical tools to connect basic and clinical science — driving advancements in liver disease prevention and treatment.
To register for AASLD’s Basic Science Emerging Topic Conference or POCUS, please visit ddw.org to register first for DDW® then add these courses to your registration.
Program At-a-Glance
Day 1 – May 2, 2026 (8 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.) Ticketed Course
Session I: Liver-Adipose Tissue Crosstalk
Moderator: Cynthia Hsu, PhD and Nadia Alatrakchi, MD, PhD
Hepatokines in MASLD
• Speaker: Morris F. White, PhD
Plasma Lipidomics Signatures in MASLD
• Speaker: Yaron Rotman, MD, MSc, FAASLD
Dysregulation of Translational Machinery in Adipose Progenitors in Obesity
• Speaker: Claudio J. Villanueva, PhD
Data-Driven Clustering Reveals Distinct MASH Subtype
• Speaker: Violeta Raverdy
Session II: Microbiome in Liver Disease
Moderator: Luca Maccioni, PhD and Savneet Kaur, PhD
Microbiome-Derived Ethanol in Auto-Brewery Syndrome and Treatment
• Speaker: Cynthia L. Hsu, PhD
Key Gut Fungi in Early Life Regulate Metabolic Health Trajectories in Mice
• Speaker: Marie-Claire Arrieta, PhD
Session III: Gut-Liver Axis in Liver Disease
Moderator: Claudio Villanueva, PhD and Bernd Schnabl, MD, FAASLD
Gut-Liver Axis Dysregulation in Hepatitis C and Cirrhosis Revealed by Multi-Omics
• Speaker: Rabab O. Ali, MBBS
Intestinal Barrier Function as a Key Component of the Gut-Liver Axis in ALD
• Speaker: Fernanda Raya Tonetti, PhD
Coordinated Action of a Gut-Liver Pathway Drives Alcohol Detoxification and Consumption
• Speaker: Yaojie Fu, M.D., PhD
Gut Lymphatics: A Therapy for Liver Disease Beyond Microbiome
• Speaker: Savneet Kaur, PhD
Session IV: Liver Disease Regulation by the Immune System
Moderator: Marie-Claire Arrieta, PhD and Cristina Llorente, MS, PhD
Monocyte Transcriptome Across Liver, Brain, and Bone Marrow Aging and ALD
• Speaker: Martí Ortega Ribera, PhD
A Single-Cell ImmuneMap of MASLD/MASH Progression
• Speaker: Nadia Alatrakchi
Intestinal and Intrahepatic CD8⁺ T Cells Regulate Alcohol-Associated Liver Disease Progression
• Speaker: Luca Maccioni, PhD
The Microbiome, Mycobiome, and Virone as Therapeutic Interventions for ALD
• Speaker: Bernd Schnabl, MD, FAASLD
Day 2 – May 3, 2026 (8 a.m. - noon) Ticketed Course
Session I: Therapeutic Interventions for Liver Disease
Moderator: Mark Gordon Swain, MD and Suzanne M. De La Monte, MD, MPH
Nisin Prevents NAFLD via Modulation of Oral-Gut-Liver Axis
• Speaker: Yvonne L. Kapila, PhD
Therapeutic Intervention of mRNA Containing LNP to Treat Steatosis and Fibrosis Induced with a Diet
• Speaker: Valerie B. Gouon-Evans, MD
IL-22 Rewires Gut Immunity to Reverse Fatty Liver Disease
• Speaker: Michael Karin, PhD
Liver-Derived Protein Complex Drives as a Therapeutic Target in ALD-Induced Liver and Gut Injury
• Speaker: Natalia Nieto, PhD
Session II: Liver-Brain Axis
Moderator: Natalia Nieto, PhD and Gyongyi Szabo, MD, PhD, FAASLD
Brain Manganese and Motor Dysfunction: Unleashing the Kynurenine Pathway in Brain and Liver
• Speaker: Somshuvra Mukhopadhyay, M.B.B.S, PhD
Neuroimmune Pathways in the Gut-Liver-Brain Axis: Implications for Chronic Liver Disease and Patient Well-Being
• Speaker: Mark Gordon Swain, MD
Brain Insulin Resistance and Deficiency: A Hidden Driver of Neurodegeneration
• Speaker: Suzanne M. De La Monte, MD, MPH, FAASLD
Liver Regulation of Neurons and Eating Behavior
• Speaker: Tamas Horvath, DVM, PhD
