Fueling MASH: Metabolic Drivers and Inflammatory Crosstalk (M1)
April 12-15, 2026
| Fairmont Hotel Vancouver, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Utpal B. Pajvani, Jennifer L. Estall and Ariel E. Feldstein
Scholarship Deadline: Dec. 24, 2025 | Abstract Deadline: Mar. 20, 2026 | Early Registration Deadline: Feb. 12, 2026
| 4:00–8:00 PM |
Registration |
British/Columbia Foyer |
| 6:00–8:00 PM |
Welcome Mixer Sponsored by Lilly |
British/Columbia Foyer |
| 7:30–8:30 AM |
Breakfast |
British/Columbia Ballrooms |
| 8:30–8:40 AM |
Welcome Remarks |
Columbia Ballroom |
| 8:40–10:00 AM |
Keynote Address |
Columbia Ballroom |
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Linda G. Griffith, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Humanizing Drug Discovery: Microphysiological Systems to Model MASH |
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Rohit Loomba, University of California, San Diego, Salk Institute
Translational Update on MASH |
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| 10:00–10:20 AM |
Coffee Break |
British/Columbia Foyer |
| 10:20–10:25 AM |
Award Recipient Acknowledgement |
Columbia Ballroom |
| 10:25–11:50 AM |
Mechanisms of Hepatocyte Metabolic Dysfunction in Obesity |
Columbia Ballroom |
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Rotonya Carr, University of Washington
Unraveling the Role of Lipid Droplet Proteins in MASLD |
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Mark A Herman, Baylor College of Medicine
Carbohydrate Metabolism and Steatosis, Intersection of Hepatokines and Metabolism |
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Jennifer L Estall, Institut de Recherches Cliniques de Montréal
Understanding the Fasting Response in Hepatic Lipid Metabolism |
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| 11:50–1:00 PM |
Poster Setup |
Vancouver Island Room |
| 11:50–5:00 PM |
On Own for Lunch |
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| 1:00–10:00 PM |
Poster Viewing |
Vancouver Island Room |
| 2:30–4:30 PM |
Symposia Spotlight 1: Altered Metabolic Signals in MASH |
Columbia Ballroom |
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James M Eng, IRCM
Obesogenic Diet and Loss of PGC-1α Increase Hepatic SerpinA3N Secretion through Induction of Oxidative Stress |
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Helen M. Roche, University College Dublin
Diet, Metabolism and Innate Immune Training: Systemic Inflammatory Responses Suggest Tolerance or Exhaustion in People with MASH, Compared to MAFLD |
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Haressh Sajiir, National Institutes of Health (NIDDK)
Paired Fasted–Fed Multiomic Profiling of Human Livers Reveals Impaired Adaptive Hepatic Responses in MASH |
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Shijun Deng †, Harvard University
A Cholesterol-sensing NFE2L1-INSIG1 Checkpoint Controls VLDL Secretion and Attenuates MASH Progression |
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Christian Stoess †, University of California, San Diego
IL-18 Signaling Reflects Disease Severity in MASLD and Corresponds to Hepatic Inflammation in Humans |
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Rebecca A Haeusler, Columbia University
Manganese Availability Determines Insulin Sensitivity By Enhancing Akt Activity |
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Xing Zeng, UT Southwestern medial center
Interorganelle Competition for Linoleoyl Phospholipids Underlies Steatotic Liver Pathology |
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Wajahat Z Mehal †, Yale University
Regulation of Free Fatty Acid (FFA) Induced Hepatocyte Dysfunction by FGF21 Receptor Agonism |
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| 4:30–5:00 PM |
Coffee Available |
British/Columbia Foyer |
| 5:00–7:00 PM |
Endocrine Regulators of Hepatocyte Metabolic Functions |
Columbia Ballroom |
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Magdalene K. Montgomery, University of Melbourne
Using Genome-Wide CRISPR Screens to Identify Novel Regulators of Hepatic Lipid Metabolism in MASH |
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Kristina Schoonjans, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne – EPFL
Gut-Liver Axis |
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Timothy P Rolph, Akero Therapeutics
Mechanisms Underlying Therapeutic Effects of FGF21 Analogs in Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatohepatitis (MASH) |
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Tina Vilsbøll, Novo Nordisk
Role of Glucagon and Incretins in MASH |
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| 7:00–8:00 PM |
Social Hour with Dinner |
British/Columbia Ballrooms |
| 7:30–10:00 PM |
Poster Session 1 |
Vancouver Island Room |
| 7:30–8:30 AM |
Breakfast |
British/Columbia Ballrooms |
| 8:00–8:30 AM |
Poster Setup |
Vancouver Island Room |
| 8:15–5:00 PM |
Poster Viewing |
Vancouver Island Room |
| 8:30–11:30 AM |
Intercellular and Interorgan Crosstalk in Development of Liver Disease |
Columbia Ballroom |
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Xingxing Kong, Fudan University
Adipose-Muscle-Liver Crosstalk |
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Ruchi Bansal, University Medical Center Groningen, The Netherlands
Single-Cell Phenomics and EV-Omics to Unravel Cellular and Organ Crosstalk in MASH and Liver Cancer |
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Ornella Barrandon, Cellarity
Revealing Novel MASH Biology at Single Cell Resolution |
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Jonathan B Steinman, Columbia University
Short Talk: Molecular Characterization of Periportal vs. Pericentral Pediatric MASH |
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Jed Friedman, University of Oklahoma
Short Talk: Maternal Western-style Diet Promotes Immune Tolerance and Liver Sinusoidal Endothelial Cell (LSEC) Dysfunction in Nonhuman Primate Juvenile Offspring Liver |
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Dipayan Chaudhuri, University of Utah
Short Talk: A Maladaptive Antiviral Response Drives Liver Injury in MASH |
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Yerim Seong, Korea advanced institute of science and technology
Short Talk: Peripheral Serotonin–HTR2A Signaling as a Therapeutic Target for MASLD |
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| 9:30–9:50 AM |
Coffee Break |
British/Columbia Foyer |
| 11:30–12:30 PM |
Lunch |
British/Columbia Ballrooms |
| 12:00–2:30 PM |
Poster Session 2 |
Vancouver Island Room |
| 3:00–4:30 PM |
Career Roundtable (Joint) |
British Ballroom |
| 4:30–5:00 PM |
Coffee Available |
British/Columbia Foyer |
| 5:00–7:00 PM |
Intrahepatic Determinants of Liver Inflammation and Fibrosis in MASH |
Columbia Ballroom |
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Utpal B. Pajvani, Columbia University Medical Center
Adipogenic Reprogramming of Hepatocytes as a Contributor to Fibrosis |
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Mathias F Heikenwälder, German Cancer Research Center, DKFZ
Fueling MASH: Metabolic Drivers and Inflammatory Crosstalk |
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Cynthia Lebeaupin, Pfizer
Myeloid Cells Contribute to Bystander CD8 T Cell Accumulation in MASH and are Sufficient for Fibrosis |
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Xin (Tony) Tong †, University of Michigan Medical School
Short Talk: Hepatocyte TGF-β-OPR3 Signaling Axis Promotes Hepatic Stellate Cell Activation and Liver Fibrosis in Mice |
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Patrice Mimche, Indiana University
Short Talk: EPHB2 Promotes Diet-induced MASH Liver Fibrosis |
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| 7:00–8:00 PM |
On Own for Dinner |
|
Wednesday, April 15, 2026
| 7:30–8:30 AM |
Breakfast |
British/Columbia Ballrooms |
| 8:30–11:30 AM |
Mechanisms of Liver Regeneration and Progression to HCC |
Columbia Ballroom |
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Hao Zhu, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Somatic Mutations in MASH Progression |
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Robert F. Schwabe, Columbia University
Regulation of Hepatocyte Metabolism by Hepatic Stellate Cells in MASH: Looking Beyond Fibrogenesis |
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KyeongJin Kim, Inha University
Mechanisms of MASH-Induced HCC |
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Mathieu Ferron, Institut de Recherches Cliniques de Montréal
Short Talk: The Vitamin K Oxidoreductase VKORC1L1 Prevents Oxidative Stress in Hepatocytes and Protects Against MASLD and Hepatocellular Carcinoma |
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Junjie Yu, China Pharmaceutical University
Short Talk: Hepatocyte Tet1 integrates retinol signal to drive fibrogenesis in MASH |
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Joel Haas †, INSERM UMR1011
Short Talk: Hepatic Dendritic Cells Display Persistent Metabolic Reprogramming Following MASH Resolution |
|
| 9:30–9:50 AM |
Coffee Break |
British/Columbia Foyer |
| 11:30–5:00 PM |
On Own for Lunch |
|
| 1:00–2:00 PM |
Panel: Perspectives: Personalized Medicine and Patient-Centered Strategies (joint) |
Columbia Ballroom |
| 2:30–4:30 PM |
Symposia Spotlight 2: Inflammation and Fibrosis in the Obese Liver |
Columbia Ballroom |
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WonGun Choi, The Catholic University of Korea
The oxLDL–Pla2g7 Axis Drives LysoPC-Mediated Hepatic Inflammation and Fibrosis in MASH |
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Tabea K Bieler, Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum Heidelberg
IL-17A–Mediated Skin–Liver Crosstalk Accelerates Steatosis and Inflammation in MASLD/MASH |
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Alexandre Caron, Laval University
Loss of Hepatic ADRA1B Exacerbates Inflammation and Fibrosis in Diet-Induced MASLD |
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Chuhan Chung, Inipharm, Inc.
Pharmacologic Blockade of HSD17B13 is Dependent on the PNPLA3 Risk Variant |
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Reem Araji, NIH
Expression of Human HSD17B13 in Mice Recapitulates Endogenous Mouse Hsd17b13-Mediated Hepatic Fibrosis Under MASH-Inducing Conditions |
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Alexander Ledet, Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Attenuation of Protein Translation by Chaperone-Mediated Autophagy Protects Against Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatohepatitis |
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Wen-Wei Tsai, Sagimet Biosciences
Reduction of Plasma Glycine- and Taurine-conjugated Bile Acids Correlated with Histological Improvements in Denifanstat-treated MASH Patients in Phase 2b FASCINATE-2 Trial |
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Francois Briand, Physiogenex
Withdrawal of Semaglutide Results in Weight Regain, Increased Alcohol Intake and Metabolic Disorders in a Diet-Induced Obese Hamster Model of Metald |
|
| 4:30–5:00 PM |
Coffee Available |
British/Columbia Foyer |
| 5:00–6:45 PM |
Emerging Translational Approaches to MASH |
Columbia Ballroom |
| |
Simon J Cockell, University of Newcastle upon Tyne
Proteo-Transcriptomic Profiles in MASLD |
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Diana Julie Leeming, Nordic Bioscience
Circulating Markers of Extracellular Matrix for MASLD Risk Stratification and Prediction of Response to Therapy |
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Katy Wack, PathAI
Bringing Precision to Pathologic Assessment for MASH: Clinical Validation of an AI-based Drug Development Tool |
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Patrice Rioux, Thiogenesis Therapeutics, Corp
Short Talk: TTI-0102 for MASH: Targeting Mitochondrial Dysfunction and Inflammatory Crosstalk in a Converging Cardiometabolic-Renal Syndrome |
|
| 6:45–7:00 PM |
Meeting Wrap-Up: Outcomes and Future Directions (Organizers) |
Columbia Ballroom |
| 7:00–8:00 PM |
Social Hour with Dinner |
British/Columbia Ballrooms |
| 8:00–9:00 PM |
Entertainment |
Columbia Ballroom |
