This session highlights emerging mechanisms by which non-parenchymal cells (NPCs), particularly hepatic stellate cells (HSCs), orchestrate liver fibrogenesis in the context of metabolic dysfunction and chronic injury. Presentations will examine the impact of exosomal microRNAs, inflammasome activation, mitochondrial stress, and Notch/YAP signaling on HSC activation and fibrotic progression. Together, these studies illuminate how cell–cell communication, immune-metabolic crosstalk, and novel therapeutic targets shape liver fibrosis and hepatocellular carcinoma risk.

Abstract Parallel sessions feature oral presentations from the authors of highly-rated abstracts submitted for presentation at The Liver Meeting.

This session will highlight recent data on therapy for chronic hepatitis D, including real-world effectiveness, safety, and predictors of treatment response. Presentations will explore outcomes across various patient populations.<br />
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She has a position as a physician scientist devoted to translating scientific knowledge in Hepatology into the patients care. She received her MD and Ph.D. at the University of Buenos Aires, School of Medicine. She has a master in molecular medicine. Her current clinical and translational research is focused on genetic, epigenetic, and molecular mechanisms implicated in MASLD pathogenesis and disease progression. Dr. Sookoian has published extensively in the field of Liver Diseases, including MASLD/MASH and hepatitis C.

Panu Luukkonen, MD, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Translational Internal Medicine at the University of Helsinki and the Minerva Foundation Institute for Medical Research, Helsinki, Finland. He also works as a clinical doctor at the Transplantation and Liver Surgery unit of the Helsinki University Hospital.<br><br>He obtained his PhD at the University of Helsinki in 2018 and continued advanced research training at Yale University (2019-2022).

Dr. Vos is a professor of pediatrics and vice chair of clinical research for the Department of Pediatrics at Emory and Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. She has studied MASLD in children for over 20 years, leading to improved dietary approaches and advancing the understanding of biomarkers.

Elizabeth Lee is a nurse practitioner at the Toronto Centre for Liver Disease, Toronto General Hospital, University Health Network (UHN) in Toronto, Canada. She has worked for over 16 years in various clinical settings in the community and within UHN, spanning the continuum of chronic liver disease from diagnosis to transplantation.<br><br>Her main clinical focus is on the management of patients with cirrhosis and alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD).

Dr. Ouyang's Lab investigates how metabolic and oxidative stress regulate immune responses, focusing on post-transcriptional regulation in RNA metabolism, protein trafficking, and organelle dynamics in chronic inflammation. It aims to identify cellular effectors and metabolic regulators that maintain liver homeostasis and contribute to chronic liver disease including MASH, ASH, and HCC

Dr. Speliotes is the Keith Henley Endowed Professor of Gastroenterology and Computational Medicine and Bioinformatics at the University of Michigan. She is an internationally leader in the genetics of human obesity, MASLD, and cardiometabolic disease having identified thousands of genetic variants that cause these diseases. She developed bioinformatic methods to identify causal tissues, genes and pathways highlighted by genomic analyses.

Dr. Michalopoulos is Distinguished Professor of Pathology, University of Pittsburgh. He was at the leading edge of the studies associated with the discovery of HGF (Hepatocyte Growth Factor) and its receptor (c-Met). His research covers molecular events involving growth factor and biomatrix signaling during liver regeneration; the capacity of hepatocytes and cholangiocytes to function as facultative stem cells for each other. <br><br>He is a member of AASLD since 1985.