Nina Kimer

New targets for treatment of inflammation and disease progression in cirrhosis

Bridging single cell functions and clinical outcomes in advanced liver disease

Treatment of liver cirrhosis has until now aimed at complications to cirrhosis. There is no drug available that can cure or delay development of cirrhosis. Factors in metabolism, genetics and bacterial composition in the gut may affect development of cirrhosis and complications.
These factors could be target points for new methods of diagnosis and drug development for both treatment and prevention of cirrhosis.

I will use genetics and metagenomics and new state-of-the-art technologies in assessing metabolism and protein transcription in liver cells to find pathways involved in the development of cirrhosis. I will investigate how inflammation and immune response impacts liver cells, aiming to find new targets for drug development.

I will assess how the gut microbiome impacts inflammation, survival and disease progression cirrhosis. This study opens a window into new discoveries of liver function and regeneration as well as potentials for personalizing medical treatment to patients with liver disease.

Mentors

Basic Mentor: Professor Torben Hansen, Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research (CBMR), University of Copenhagen

Clinical Mentor: Professor Flemming Bendtsen, Gastro Unit, Amager Hvidovre Hospital