Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease SIG: Advances in Genetics and Epigenetics in NAFLD: From Pathogenesis to Personalized Medicine

Luca Vittorio Valenti, MD, PhD is an associate professor of Internal Medicine and physician scientist for the Department of Transfusion Medicine and Hematology at Fondazione IRCCS Ca’ Granda Ospedale Policlinico Milano, Italy. His main research interest is understanding the molecular basis of metabolic liver diseases, in particular FLD, iron overload disorders and liver cancer, and to apply these discoveries to the clinical management of patients, through the identification of novel biomarkers, therapeutic strategies and clinical algorithms, in a personalized medicine approach. In collaboration with his international network, he has recently discovered new genetic determinants of FLD. In the iron field, he contributed to establishing the role of body iron accumulation in the pathogenesis of metabolic and cardiovascular complications of insulin resistance, and the therapeutic utility of iron depletion. He uses a variety of tools ranging from epidemiological studies in large cohort of individuals with liver biopsies to human and molecular genetics to understand how a gene mutation results into a phenotype.

Prof. Valenti has served as reviewer for several international Journals (>60) including New England Journal of Medicine, The Lancet, Gastroenterology, Gut, Journal of Clinical Investigation, HEPATOLOGY, Journal of Hepatology, Nature Communications, Circulation, Diabetes, Blood, several Scientific Societies (EASL, AISF), European Institutions. Since 2019, he is Honorary Member of Institute of Hepatology at the King’s College of London, the Liver Trust. He is considered an opinion leader in the field of metabolic liver diseases, as testified by invited talks and moderations of scientific sessions in scientific meetings and seminars in Italy, Europe, Asia, and the USA.