School of Medicine

Stravitz-Sanyal Institute for Liver Disease & Metabolic Health

Research

We are at the forefront of developing new treatments and therapies to stop, prevent and reverse liver disease

With a patient-centered approach, the Stravitz-Sanyal Institute will transform lives through translational science. Our team of highly specialized physician-scientists conducts cutting-edge investigations through bench research and clinical trials across a broad spectrum of diseases and conditions related to the liver.

Explore our researchers’ publications in the following areas:

Alcohol-induced hepatitis
Alcohol-induced liver disease
Cirrhosis
Complications of liver disease
Decompensating liver disease
Hepatitis B
Hepatitis C
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC)
Hepato-renal syndrome (HRS)
Liver transplant
Metabolic disease (e.g., diabetes, hypertension, obesity)
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)
Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH)
Primary biliary cholangitis (PBC)
Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC)

As the institute grows, our next step is to apply gene manipulation therapy, a modern medical breakthrough, to bedside treatment for the liver without invasive surgery or medication. This advancement will have immediate benefits to patients here in the Richmond area and impact how we understand and treat the liver worldwide.

Featured Publications

Non-invasive biomarkers of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis: The FNIH NIMBLE project

Diagnosing early-stage NASH is difficult, invasive and expensive. In this letter to the editor of Nature Medicine, Arun Sanyal, M.D., and colleagues describe how the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH) Biomarkers Consortium plans to develop “reliable non-invasive tools for the diagnosis, risk stratification and monitoring of the course of NAFLD.”

A placebo-controlled trial of subcutaneous semaglutide in nonalcoholic steatohepatitis

There are currently no approved therapies for NASH. In this study published in The New England Journal of Medicine, Arun Sanyal, M.D., and an international group of researchers showed that once-daily treatment with semaglutide helped resolve key tissue-related signs of NASH and prevent further fibrosis.

A clinical overview of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: A guide to diagnosis, the clinical features and complications

Primary care providers are most often the first to encounter the early stages of NAFLD. In this paper published in Diabetes, Obesity & Metabolism, Arun Sanyal, M.D. and colleagues from the National University of Singapore detail the two most common presentations of NAFLD and provide guidance for managing and following up with these patients.

Prospective study of outcomes in adults with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

These results published in The New England Journal of Medicine confirm that people with very scarred livers are most at risk for poorer outcomes and pinpoint stopping or reversing fibrosis progression as a way to save a significant number of lives.

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