Comprehensive Liver Research Center at UCLA
Leading the fight against MASLD through research, outreach, and innovation.
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Inspiring the next generation of liver research leaders
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The 3rd Annual UCLA Comprehensive Liver Research Center Symposium brings together leading investigators, clinicians, trainees and research professionals for a dynamic day of scientific exchange and collaboration. This annual event showcases leading-edge discoveries in liver biology, metabolism and related fields while fostering new partnerships across disciplines and institutions. A featured poster session will spotlight outstanding liver- and metabolism-related research conducted by graduate students, postdoctoral scholars and junior faculty, creating opportunities for mentorship, networking and scientific discussion.
Pilot & feasibility awardees
The pilot and feasibility mechanism seeks to fund innovative projects that explore basic-translational mechanisms into the pathophysiology of the MASLD-MASH-cirrhosis-HCC spectrum.
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Join us for the UCLA Liver Translational Research (ULTRA) monthly seminar series where invited guest speakers, Comprehensive Liver Research Center faculty and UCLA trainees present their latest research findings and discuss evolving areas of interest and collaborations in liver-related research.
Latest news
Dr. Layla Shojaie selected 2026 AASLD Foundation Emerging Liver Scholar Alumni Leader
The Emerging Liver Scholar (ELS) Alumni Leader Program provides second- and third-year gastroenterology fellows who are graduates of the ELS Program with an opportunity to deepen their engagement with the hepatology community while advancing their professional development. As alumni leaders, participants help shape the next generation of Emerging Liver Scholars by serving as near-peer mentors and ambassadors for the program throughout the award year. Dr. Shojaie was selected for this leadership role in recognition of her commitment to hepatology, leadership, and mentorship within the field.
$3.2M NIH grant to develop AI tool for liver cancer treatment
Drs. Jason Chiang and Kyung have received a $3.2 million, five-year grant from the National Cancer Institute to develop an artificial intelligence (AI)-enhanced imaging platform designed to improve yttrium-90 (Y90) radioembolization planning for patients with liver cancer.
A promising therapeutic approach to combat MASLD progression
A new study from the Dr. Anthony J. Covarrubias Lab identifies p21⁺TREM2⁺ senescent macrophages as a key driver of chronic inflammation in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD).
New T32 grant will support training in metabolism and metabolic disease
This award support MD, PhD, and MD-PhD postdoctoral fellows studying metabolism and metabolic-related diseases including obesity, fatty liver, type 2 diabetes, diabetes complications, and cardiometabolic disorders. The training program is led by Andrea Hevener, PhD; Tamer Sallam, MD, PhD; and Peter Tontonoz, MD, PhD.
Peter Tontonoz, MD, PhD, honored with Basic Research Prize from the American Heart Association
This recognition highlights Dr. Tontonoz’s pioneering research on lipid metabolism and its critical implications for cardiovascular and metabolic diseases.
UCLA study identifies key protein that helps liver cancer resist heat-based treatment
A new study led by UCLA investigators may help explain why certain liver tumors return quickly after thermal ablation, a widely used minimally-invasive, image-guided technique that kills cancer cells by applying intense heat through a needle-like probe.