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Gyongyi Szabo, MD, PhD |
Gyongyi Szabo, MD, PhD, will deliver the National Institutes of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism’s ninth annual Jack Mendelson Honorary Lecture on June 8 at the NIH Clinical Center in Bethesda. Dr. Szabo’s lecture is titled, “Mechanisms of Alcohol-Induced Organ Inflammation and Therapeutic Targets in Alcoholic Hepatitis.” The annual lecture series was established in honor of Dr. Mendelson’s contributions to the field of clinical alcohol research.
Szabo, the Worcester Foundation for Biomedical Research Endowed Chair, professor of medicine, vice chair for research in the Department of Medicine, associate dean for clinical and translational science and director of the MD/PhD Program, is an internationally recognized expert on the relationship between immune function and liver disease. Over the past 30 years, her work has advanced the understanding of how alcohol impairs immune function and contributes to organ injury. Her research has paved the way for potential pharmacotherapies for alcoholic liver disease, and she has made significant contributions in translating research advances into clinical practice.
Szabo has made important discoveries in understanding the role of innate immune signaling in alcohol-induced injury of the liver, as well as of the gut and brain. Her lab identified the role of the inflammasome, an innate immune system receptor and sensor that regulates inflammation, in chronic alcohol-induced liver injury.
Her clinical research currently focuses on alcoholic hepatitis, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and viral hepatitis.
To learn more about the NIAAA lecture series, visit http://www.niaaa.nih.gov/about-niaaa/our-work/research-portfolio/projects-initiatives/keller-and-mendelson-honorary-lecture.
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