Grant: Doctoral Research Award: Canada Graduate Scholarships

Currently, 8 million Canadians are living with a condition characterized by the accumulation of fat in the liver (called steatosis). Having excessive amounts of fats in the liver can increase one's risk for other diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular diseases. When fat accumulation is not managed, it causes inflammation (called hepatitis) and scarring of the liver, where dead fibrous tissue replaces healthy living tissue (called fibrosis and cirrhosis). Ultimately, this can lead to end-stage liver failure, where liver transplantation is the only option. To date, there are no effective treatments for preventing or treating liver fat accumulation, inflammation, and scarring. We urgently need to discover novel therapeutic strategies for treating liver diseases. Our research group has discovered a novel enzyme that can regulate the amount of stored fats and scar tissue produced by liver cells grown in a dish. Our research aims to investigate how this enzyme can: 1) regulate the storage and breakdown of fats and 2) alter scar tissue development in mice that are genetically deficient of this enzyme. The findings from this project will allow us to understand the mechanisms by which this novel enzyme functions. The new knowledge obtained on the role of this enzyme in the liver will provide us with possible insights into treatments for either preventing or resolving liver diseases.