Liver disease affects more than two billion people, and there are currently only limited therapeutic options. Particularly relevant are non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD – which affects an astounding quarter of the adult world-wide population), and liver cancer ( representing the third leading cause of cancer mortality). A detailed understanding of the liver’s biology under homeostatic and pathological conditions provides will provide an informed foundation for developing targeted and more effective therapies. The application of single cell-based and other novel ‘omics’ technologies has opened the door to a deeper understanding of the underlying pathomechanisms and allows to closely link basic science and clinical studies. These multi-disciplinary approaches can provide essential information to build a framework for the development of novel diagnostic and therapeutic approaches.

This meeting – organized by three leading experts from the US, Europe and Asia with a long history of collaboration, a significant standing among the community of liver researchers, and a track record of successful conference organization – will bring together experts in basic, translational, and clinical liver research from a diversity of perspectives, identities and geographical regions. The goal of the conference is to promote collaboration between scientists in multiple disciplines and to promote the education and growth of new investigators. The conference has five interrelated themes relevant to the state-of-the art in liver biology and pathobiology. Each theme will be covered in one full day. To enhance the engagement of early-career scientists, we plan to implement an alternative to talks from established investigators and those selected from the abstracts; instead, we will have tandem talks, with PIs and postdocs/PhD students presenting jointly (typically the PI providing an introduction to the them and question – the postdoc/PhD student presenting the data and key findings). In addition, a poster session for each theme will further stimulate interactions. A long-term goal is to establish this conference as a regular biannual European event, which would provide an important opportunity to convene leading scientists and trainees in this area in a highly interactive setting and covers a gap as such a meeting currently does not exist.

More information on https://www.aegeanconferences.org/src/App/conferences/view/167