Sarah Morel

Thesis title: A multimodal approach to stratification and prognostication in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD)

Biography

Background

During her undergraduate studies at the University of Manchester, Sarah actively sought exposure to diverse areas of biomedicine, gaining valuable experience through research internships in cardiovascular genetics, preclinical immunotherapy, cellular immunometabolism, or even rheumatology.  

During her postgraduate studies at Imperial College London, Sarah joined Dr E. Triantafyllou's Liver Immunology Group and investigated novel immunomodulatory approaches in acute and chronic liver diseases, specifically assessing the ability of Pattern Recognition Receptor (PRR) mechanisms to regulate/reprogram liver macrophages' immune activity, especially anti-microbial, in mouse models for possible translational and therapeutical use in humans.

Prior to commencing her PhD studies in September 2024, Sarah worked as a Research Assistant at the University of Oxford's Translational Gastroenterology and Liver Unit under Prof P. Klenerman and Dr M. FitzPatrick, researching novel non-invasive circulating and tissue-specific biomarkers of both gastrointestinal epithelial damage and adaptive immune response in coeliac disease using targeted proteomic, transcriptomic, and immune-profiling techniques. 

Qualifications

  • BSc (Hons) Biology with Placement Year, The University of Manchester, First Class
  • MSc Immunology, Imperial College London, High Merits

Research summary

Translational Hepatology, Immunology, Gastroenterology, Immunometabolism, Immunotherapy, Multi-Omics, Organoid Technology, Infectiology, Microbiome, Microbiology, Virology, Biomedical Innovation-Driven Entrepreneurship, Biobusiness

Current research interests

Throughout her PhD journey, Sarah plans to adopt a hybrid experimental-computational approach to stratify patients with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), formerly known as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) Affecting more than 1 in 3 adults, MASLD is a leading cause of liver-related morbidity and mortality worldwide. MASLD is particularly challenging to study due to its complex pathogenesis, associated comorbidities, and heterogeneous progression to clinical outcomes. Clinical phenotypes in MASLD are likely shaped by a variable mix of genetic, environmental, and immunological factors, and further modified by associated comorbidities and polypharmacy. Overall, patients experience very different disease trajectories, but we currently lack biomarkers to categorise them and offer personalised clinical care. Exploiting SteatoSITE (a retrospective multimodal MASLD database comprised of 940 histologically-defined patients covering the complete disease severity spectrum) and additional external validation cohorts, Sarah plans to develop tissue and circulating biomarkers to define novel MASLD sub-phenotype(s) at risk of hepatic or extra-hepatic adverse clinical outcomes. To achieve this, she will use a range of techniques including tissue characterisation (e.g., multiplex immunohistochemistry, spatial transcriptomics), measurement of serum markers, and bioinformatics/risk prediction modelling. These results will pave the way for early and effective patient stratification and disease prognostication, as well as uncovering actionable therapeutic targets.
This article was published on