Michael Charlton

Dr. Michael Charlton is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians. He serves as Chief of Hepatology, Director of the Center for Liver Diseases and Medical Director of the Transplant Institute at the University of Chicago. He is Past President of the International Liver Transplant Society. Dr. Charlton previously served as Director of Hepatology and Medical Director of Liver Transplantation at the Mayo Clinic. He has served as principal investigator on National Institutes of Health grants studying the pathophysiology of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, developing a widely used small animal model of NASH. He is a lead investigator for national and international clinical trials in nonalcoholic steatohepatitis and viral hepatitis. He has served as a panel member and writer of AASLD Guidelines for the management of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis.

William Alazawi

William Alazawi is Professor of Hepatology at Queen Mary University London where he leads a translational liver research group that focuses on mechanisms in Steatotic Liver Disease and understanding the risk factors for progression. He is the co-lead for the Clinical Academic Training School and Director of Research at the Blizard Institute. He is a Consultant Hepatologist and the interim Clinical Director in Specialist Medicine at The Royal London Hospital, where he also leads the NAFLD and One-Stop Diagnostic Liver Services.

Lopa Mishra

Lopa Mishra is currently a Professor of Medicine and Merinoff Endowed Chair, Co-Director for The Institute for Bioelectronic Medicine at The Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research, Northwell Health, and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. Current discoveries in Dr. Mishra’s laboratory have led to exciting new findings: Animal models with disruption of TGF-β develop fatty liver and cancers spontaneously on a regular diet reflective of current trends in cancer in the human population and it led to a patent. In addition, Animal models with disruption of TGF-β have an altered microbiome. Mishra discovered that the TGF-β pathway is the effector pathway for the human stem cell syndrome with an 800-fold risk of cancer (Beck-Wiedmann Syndrome). Her research has led to more than 374 peer review articles in Science 2003,2005, PNAS, 2008, JCI, 2013, 2016, Hepatology 2017, Gastroenterology 2018, Cell 2018, Cancer Cell 2018, Cancer Research 2020, Gastroenterology, 2018, 2020, 2021. Dr. Mishra has received many honors including American Gastroenterological Association Award for Top Women in Gastroenterology (2008); In 2016, she was elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). In 2017, she was elected to the governing board of the American Association of Liver Diseases. In 2019 she was elected as a member of the Association of American Physicians (AAP) and in 2020 she received the American Association for Cancer Research Team Science Award (AACR).

Diana Julie Leeming

Diana J Leeming has more than 20 years of experience within extracellular matrix (ECM) research and the development of non-invasive tests for such in fibrotic diseases. Diana J Leeming has extensive knowledge on the use of markers of the ECM for drug development and has more than 200 publications within this scientific area. Her speciality are markers to be used in for drug development and clinical evaluations in patients with chronic liver disease including SLD, PSC as well as patient with pulmonary fibrosis.

Richard Torstenson

Nikolai Naoumov

Nikolai Naoumov is a physician-scientist with a professional career spanning academia, clinical care and drug development, all focused on liver diseases. He is Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians (London) and the Royal College of Pathologists (UK). He led research teams at the Medical Academy Sofia, King’s College Institute of Liver Studies in London, and subsequently as Professor of Hepatology at University College London. Between 2007 and 2021, Prof. Naoumov expanded his contributions to medical science and clinical hepatology as senior executive at Novartis Global Drug Development in Basel, Switzerland. As Global Head, Therapeutic area Hepatology and Transplantation he championed innovation, novel therapies and multiple industry-academia collaborations. In parallel, he continued as Honorary Professor of Hepatology at UCL. Nikolai is also a Fellow of the AASLD and a Fellow of the Association of Physicians of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Current work is focused on AI digital pathology, MASH combination therapies, HBV cure and liver fibrosis.

Michael Pavlides

I am a consultant hepatologist with an academic interest in the clinical application of non-invasive tests for improving the care of people with liver disease.

Alexandra Gatzios

Pharm. Alexandra Gatzios obtained a Master of Science in Drug Development at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) in 2020. Thereafter, she started her PhD trajectory in the In Vitro Liver Disease Modelling team of the In Vitro Toxicology and Dermato-cosmetology (IVTD) department at the VUB and was appointed as Fellow strategic-basic research by the Research Foundation-Flanders (FWO) in 2022. Currently a fourth-year PhD student, she also serves as a Teaching Assistant for the practical courses of Toxicology and 3R Alternative Methods and is an active member of the Innovation Centre for 3R Alternatives (IC-3Rs).

Ying Shang

Ying Shang’s current work involves studying the risk factors and prognosis of chronic liver disease, with a special interest in identifying non-invasive tests to predict the progression and treatment response in patients at high risk for cirrhosis. She received a medical degree in 2014 and a Ph.D. degree in Epidemiology from Karolinska Institutet in 2021, and her previous work was primarily focused on studying the natural history of type 2 diabetes and its connections to cerebrovascular disease and geriatric syndrome in older adults.

Maite G Fernandez de Barrena

Fernandez-Barrena MG´s field of research has been the study of the cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in the progression of Chronic Liver Diseases and in Hepatic and Pancreatic tumor development. Doctoral training in the University of Navarra (Spain). Postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Fernandez-Zapico´s laboratory at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, USA, focused in the characterization of epigenetic pathways regulating hepatic and pancreatic carcinogénesis and appointed as Assistant Professor of Medicine in Mayo Clinic College of Medicine. Fernandez-Barrena MG returned to the Hepatology Department of CIMA and started a new line of research as Principal Investigator. In 2019 she was selected as Ramon y Cajal Fellow granted by Agent of the Spanish Science, Technology and Innovation and in the First Edition of Rising Star by AEEH, 2021. Fernandez-Barrena MG´s group is mainly focused in exploring the epigenetic mechanisms involved in liver diseases and hepatocarcinogenesis and exploiting new avenues for therapeutic intervention.

Krista Rombouts

Krista Rombouts, PhD Professor of Tissue Engineering and Fibrosis and Interim Head of Department – Institute for Liver and Digestive Health – University College London, UK. Current research interests are fibrogenesis: Hepatic Stellate Cell behaviour; liver cancer cell – fibrotic stroma cell interaction; fibrosis in SI-NET and liver metastasis; NAFLD-NASH; innovative 3D cell culture – human biomaterial systems for improvement of new target identification and drug development, with over 80 publications in international peer reviewed scientific Journals (citations 6236, h-index of 41, i10-index of 72). Prof Rombouts has given invited presentations at universities, pharmaceutical companies, and national/international congresses. Prof Rombouts was Editorial Board Member of American Journal of Pathology and Journal of Hepatology and is Guest Editor -Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology – section Bio-fabrication and Associate Editor: Frontiers in Medicine – Hepatobiliary Diseases. Prof Rombouts is EASL Educational Committee member. She has international academic collaborators and industrial partners and is shareholder and consultant of UCL Spin-out Engitix Therapeutics Ltd since 2016.

Jude A Oben

Dr Jude A Oben, MD(Oxon),PhD,FRCP,AGAF (Fellow of the American Gastroenterological Association), studied medicine at Oxford University and Stanford University, USA. He holds a Ph.D in Pharmacology from University College London. After Oxford, initial postgraduate training was at Imperial College London (Royal Post-Graduate Medical School). Subsequent post-graduate training was in Ophthalmology at Imperial College, St Mary’s Hospital. He left Ophthalmology for Gastroenterology-Hepatology. During specialist Gastro-Hep training, he undertook post-doctoral training at Johns Hopkins University, USA, with Prof Anna Mae Diehl. His work at Hopkins combined his interest in Neuroscience with Hepatology: specifically Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) and MASLD. He was awarded Wellcome Trust funding on returning to lead a Research Group at UCL, now at King’s College London. His research focuses on Trans-generational transmission of Obesity and MASLD plus Liver Regeneration and Liver Fibrosis with ANS control. His Clinical Expertise is Obesity, MASLD and Metabolic Endoscopy.

Ferenc Mozes

Ferenc obtained a degree in Control Systems Engineering and a master’s degree in Information Technology before embarking on his journey to study for his doctoral degree in Oxford. His thesis was on liver tissue characterisation using multiparametric MRI in patients with MASLD, with special focus on T1 mapping as a potential non-invasive test to replace or complement liver biopsy. Ferenc then extended the scope of his interest in non-invasive tests by joining the LITMUS consortium to work on the diagnostic, screening and prognostic performance of imaging and wet biomarkers in several target conditions related to MASLD. He is currently working on both prognostic test modelling in patients with MASLD and developing accelerated methods for cardiac phosphorus magnetic resonance spectroscopy data acquisition.

Annelie Falkevall

I defended my thesis on the topic of mitochondrial biogenies at the Stockholm University in Sweden. For my postdoctoral studies I joined Ulf Erikssons lab at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research. During my postdoctoral studies I started to study the Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor B, VEGFB, at the time a growth factor with unknown biological role. During my postdoctoral training the lab joined the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysic at the Karolinska Institute. I published two papers in Nature describing the role of VEGFB, as a lipid regulator, in health and T2DM. I have continued to explore the role of VEGFB in the most common diabetic complications in T2DM, including NAFLD.
We work in close collaboration with a biopharmaceutic company, CSL Limited, and have developed a VEGF-B neutralizing antibody to be used in humans. The VEGF-B antibody entered a phase 2a trial for patients with DKD, currently under evaluation.

Juergen Eckel

Juergen Eckel is a Professor of Clinical Biochemistry and he has been working at the German Diabetes Center in Düsseldorf since 1978. His field of study includes insulin signaling, insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, obesity, adipose tissue and skeletal muscle biology, and organ crosstalk. His research group was the first to directly demonstrate the communication between human adipocytes and skeletal muscle cells. From 2006 to 2011, Prof. Eckel worked as the Acting Director of the Institute of Clinical Biochemistry and Pathobiochemistry at the German Diabetes Center. From 2011 to 2016 he directed the Paul-Langerhans-Group for Integrative Physiology. Prof. Eckel served as a chairperson for several EU COST Actions between 2000 and 2011 and coordinated the EU FP7 project ADAPT. He received several awards and published more than 300 original papers and reviews. Since 2021 he serves as CEO of CureDiab.

Michael P. Cooreman

Dr. Michael P. Cooreman is a gastroenterologist-hepatologist and Chief Medical Officer at Inventiva; before joining Inventiva in 2020 he was Vice President and Global Therapeutic Area Head Gastroenterology and Hepatology at Ferring. He has held R&D leadership roles at Novartis, Merck, Mitsubishi-Tanabe and biotechnology companies, in R&D related to liver and gastrointestinal diseases, immunology, fibrosis, viral diseases and oncology. Before joining R&D in the biopharmaceutical industry, he worked as a staff hepatologist at the Academic Medical Center of the University of Amsterdam.

Rui Castro

Rui E. Castro graduated in Biology and Genetics by the Faculty of Sciences, University of Lisbon, Portugal; and holds a PhD degree in Pharmacy (Biochemistry) by the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Lisbon (FFUL), Portugal and the University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, MN, USA. He is Associate Professor at FFUL and group leader at the Research Institute of Medicines (imed), FFUL. Castro’s laboratory aims to answer fundamental questions on the pathogenesis, diagnostic, and therapeutic targeting of liver diseases. In particular, the role of microRNAs and extracellular vesicles in inter-organ communication in the setting of obesity and metabolic disease; as well as its exploitation for the diagnosis, treatment, monitoring, and prevention of liver disease, constitutes a key research objective. He is member of the Executive Committee of imed and Scientific Committee member at the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL).

Samuel Daniels

Samuel Daniels obtained his PhD from the University of Southern Denmark in Biomedicine which was completed in conjuncture with Nordic Bioscience Biomarkers and Research where he investigated the translational value and utility of fibrosis biomarkers within the metabolic associated steatohepatitis (MASH) in collaboration with clinicians and clinical research centres. Samuel now works at AstraZeneca in early drug development within the cardiovascular, renal and metabolism (CVRM) space, specialising in the usage of biomarkers within Phase 1 to Phase 2 trials.

Juan Basterra

After more than 30 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry Dr. Juan Basterra co-founded and is CEO of Mikrobiomik which will be the first Company worldwide to market in Europe the first biological drug based on the intestinal microbiota for the treatment of intestinal infection by Clostridioides difficile through a single dose of 3 capsules with FSPIM (Full Spectrum & Purified Intestinal Microbiota) technology. The liver is of particular interest to Mikrobiomik and in addition to the EMOTION trial, Mikrobiomik will launch a phase III clinical trial for the treatment of decompensated liver cirrhosis in 8 Spanish hospitals led by the Hospital Clinic of Barcelona.

Alastair Burt

Alastair has over 40 years of experience in liver pathology research and practice, having commenced training with the late Sir Roddy MacSween in Glasgow. He was previously Professor or Pathology and Dean of Clinical Medicine at Newcastle University before becoming Executive Dean at the University of Adelaide, South Australia. He returned to the UK as Professor of Precision and Molecular Pathology in Newcastle in 2019 where he is also currently Theme Lead for Informatics and Precision Care in the Newcastle NIHR Biomedical Research Centre. He has extensive experience with clinical trials in NAFLD and PBC and with the development of novel AI solutions in hepatopathology.

He has published extensively in the field of liver disease with >31,000 citations, and an H-index of 79. He has been Editor in Chief of the last four editions of MacSween’s Pathology of the Liver and was formerly Editor in Chief of two international peer-reviewed journals, Histopathology and Liver International.

Gaye Saginc

Dr. Gaye Saginc is a Programme Lead in Metabolic Diseases and a Senior Systems Biologist at e-therapeutics, a London based biotech company developing RNAi therapeutics. Prior to this position, her academic research was focused on multivariate tumor signaling and network medicine at the University of Copenhagen, and the molecular determinants of endothelial regeneration at the Imperial College London. She has a Ph.D. in Cancer Biology from the Genome Institute of Singapore

Maureen Guichelaar

Maureen Guichelaar M.D. Ph.D, is a consultant of Gastroenterology and Hepatology and has been an active researcher in the field of technology advancements for clinical dilemmas. She performed her PhD-studies at Mayo Clinic (Rochester MN) where she also participated at the Clinical Research Institute and Quality Academy of Medicine. She has subsequently performed studies at Mayo Clinic in the field of MASLD and multi-omics. In addition, she has established her own original research lines, related to eHealth, Radiomics and artificial intelligence. She collaborates with research institutions including University of Twente, Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO) and other (inter)national institutions. She is secretary of the national board of MASLD, member of the writing committee of the national MASLD guideline, member of the scientific committee of Dutch Digestive Foundation, auditor for quality assessments and member of several liver disease-related workgroups and research consortia.

Baijun Kou

Graduated from China in clinical medicine and specialized in Anatomy Pathology. Further training in molecular Pathology and obtained Ph.D. Postdoctoral training in the UK in cancer biology and histopathology. Worked in GE healthcare, Medical Diagnostics group as Pathologist. Now, working in Regeneron Pharmaceuticals as Pathologist (Senior Principal Scientist).

Lars Verschuren

As the lead senior scientist in applied systems biology at TNO, Netherlands, my expertise lies in fusing -omics data with biomedical sciences. Our work, supported by numerous peer-reviewed publications, leverages -omics technologies, Machine Learning and deep biological insights to tackle metabolic diseases like MASLD. We are particularly skilled at performing in silico biomarker prediction, leveraging network biology and data-driven analysis to translate data from preclinical models into valuable clinical insights. These approaches has advanced our understanding of key mechanisms underlying MASLD, and position our work at the forefront of translational science in these critical areas of human disease.

Sheela Upadhyaya

Experienced life sciences industry consultant having been in healthcare for over 25 years. She led the NICE Highly Specialised Technology program, evaluating medicines and technologies. Her most recent role at NICE involved her coordinating the response to the COVID pandemic.

Susanne Michel

Co-founder of Ascenian, an agency for price and reimbursement consulting of new therapies in development. Previously VP of Market Access Europe at Evidera, PricewaterhouseCoopers Strategy Consulting and Department of Health England and Department of Health Berlin, Germany.

Vanessa Hebditch

Vanessa leads the communications, policy and research functions at the leading patient charity for people affected by liver disease, including MASLD, in the UK. She has provided input into several HTAs ensuring that there is meaningful and impactful patient involvement.

Michele Vacca

Prof Michele Vacca, MD, PhD is Associate Professor in Internal Medicine at the “Interdisciplinary Medicine Department” of the University of Bari “Aldo Moro” (Italy), and Medical Consultant at the Internal Medicine Service “Frugoni” of the University Medical Centre of Bari (“Hepatology/MASLD” outpatient clinic). Toward an international cooperation agreement between the University of Bari and the Roger Williams Institute of Hepatology (London, UK), where he is Principal Investigator of the “Hepatic Metabolism and MASLD” Laboratory, he leads an integrated clinical/basic program focussing on hepatic/lipoprotein metabolism, MASLD and MASH-HCC. His laboratory specialises in translational studies, also involving multi-omics, system biology, murine and (multi-organ) in vitro approaches, aimed at characterising molecular pathways involved in MASLD pathophysiology including: 1) obesity and “AT-liver cross-talk” as drivers of liver/lipoprotein metabolic disfunction; 2) metabolic/signalling pathways associated to lipotoxicity and promoting wound-healing responses, MASH progression and MASH-HCC.

Scott Harris

Scott has served as Chief Medical Officer of Altimmune since 2019. He has 20 years of experience of development in gastroenterology, hepatology and metabolism therapeutics. He co-founded Lyric Pharmaceuticals in 2015, where he served as Chief Medical Officer. Dr. Harris also served as Chief Medical Officer of Avaxia Biologics and Ocera Therapeutics, and he headed clinical development at Napo Pharmaceuticals, where he authored the ADVENT study, the first Phase 2/3 adaptive trial to result in a drug approval (Mytesi®, 2012). Dr. Harris has an MD from Harvard Medical School. He completed medical residencies at John Hopkins Hospital and the University of Pennsylvania and a Gastroenterology and Hepatology Fellowship at Yale University School of Medicine. He serves on the scientific advisory board of Protagonist Therapeutics and RedHill Biopharmaceuticals and holds a seat on the faculty of Georgetown University School of Medicine, where he teaches a graduate course in drug development.

Julio Burman

Julio discovered he had Hepatitis C by chance in 1994. He went through three year-long courses on interferon treatment. These years were difficult, and Julio struggled with many challenges and questions and sought support. When he realised there were no support groups or patient associations for liver patients in Israel, Julio established Hetz – the Israeli Organization for Liver Health in 1998, one of the ELPA Members. Today, Julio is cured of HCV. Nevertheless, he dedicates his life to supporting patients and their families, strengthening Hertz’s capacity to advocate for the PATIENTS’ RIGHT TO KNOW they have liver disease and the government’s obligation to screen and treat them. Currently, Julio is directing Hetz. He is the ELPA Vice President responsible for fundraising and the leader of the Working Group on Clinical Trial. He is a patient representative at the National Council of Liver of the Ministry of Health in Israel.

Joe Gogain

Joe Gogain, PhD, is a Director of Clinical Research and Development at SomaLogic, Inc. (now part of Standard BioTools). For the past six years he has worked closely with collaborating partners interested in biomarker and target discovery, as well as diagnostic and prognostic proteomic model development. Gogain is a biological scientist with molecular diagnostic and immunoassay development expertise. Joe has a proven track record of IVD product development under design control and experience in de novo 510(k) regulatory submission processes and requirements. Additionally, Joe has served as a director of national clinical trials for point-of-care diagnostic devices.

Rajarshi Banerjee

Rajarshi Banerjee, MD, PhD has served as CEO and a member of Perspectum’s board of directors since co-founding Perspectum in November 2012. Prior to this, Dr. Banerjee was a research fellow at the University of Oxford and developed the magnetic resonance imaging techniques for rapid non-invasive liver assessment and commercialised the method as LiverMultiScan, which has received 510(k) clearance from the FDA and is used in over 250 sites.

Dr. Banerjee continues to work as a consultant physician with the Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, with research into the phenotyping of liver disease at an individual and population level in adults and children.

 Dr. Banerjee has many years of experience in running clinical trials and working in multidisciplinary scientific teams to develop applications for cutting-edge imaging technology and is a keen advocate of smart trial design.

Dimitar Tonev

Dimitar Tonev graduated and was trained as hepatologist in his native Bulgaria. During his career in pharmaceutical drug development, he took positions of increasing seniority in various pharma and biotech companies with GE and Hepatology focus. He was a medical director/medical monitor of multiple clinical trials in HCV, HBV, PBC, AIH and NASH/MASH. Of note NHSE compassionate use HCV program developed valuable early data of DAA combination efficacy and safety in decompensated cirrhosis. Additionally, he spent some time developing MRI diagnostic technologies elucidation liver inflammation and fibrosis as well as 13C-methacetin breath tests as a way to evaluate residual liver functional capacity. His work in decompensated NASH cirrhosis GULLIVER2 study) was granted an oral late breaker presentation at AASLD 2022. Currently a Global medical lead for Elafibranor, an IPSEN product expecting potential registration as a second line PBC treatment.

Peter Rydqvist

Experienced pharmaceutical industry professional (MSc/PharmD), in total more than 23 years in European, Nordic and Swedish roles, ranging multiple therapeutic areas. Since early 2020, working as European Medical Director at Madrigal Pharmaceuticals in the field of MASLD/MASH.

Paul Hockings