MetALD: Opportunities and Challenges

Robert J. Wong, MD, MS, FACG, FAASLD, is a Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at Stanford University School of Medicine, and a staff physician at the Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Healthcare System. His clinical interests include the management of patients with complex liver diseases, including viral hepatitis, hepatocellular carcinoma, and steatotic liver disease. His research focuses on the epidemiology, outcomes, and health services related to chronic liver diseases, with a particular focus on healthcare disparities among underserved, vulnerable, and ethnic minority populations. His research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health (R01), the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (2017-2019 CTORA Career Development Award), the American College of Gastroenterology, and others. His work has been published in high-impact journals such as JAMA, Hepatology, Gastroenterology, Journal of Hepatology, Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, and The American Journal of Gastroenterology. He has authored over 250 publications with an H-index of 54.

Dr. Winston Dunn is a Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology at the University of Kansas Medical Center, where he has served since 2010 and advanced to full professor in 2025. His distinguished career initially focused on genetic determinants of fibrosis regression, innovative care strategies for Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH), and liver recovery post-Hepatitis C, highlighted by a significant K23-funded NIH project.
Dr. Dunn's recent research has pivoted to pioneering artificial intelligence (AI) applications in hepatology. Notably, his leadership in developing AI-driven prognostic models has culminated in significant publications, including the ALCHAIN model predicting 90-day mortality in alcohol-associated hepatitis, featured prominently in Hepatology. His recent landmark study, "ALADDIN: A Machine Learning Approach to Enhance the Prediction of Significant Fibrosis or Higher in MASLD," published in the American Journal of Gastroenterology, further demonstrates his influential role in advancing clinical prognostic tools in liver disease.
In addition to his groundbreaking research, Dr. Dunn leads multiple high-profile clinical trials funded by industry leaders like Novo Nordisk, Madrigal Pharmaceuticals, and Inventiva, investigating novel therapies for NASH and liver fibrosis. His work exemplifies a remarkable fusion of clinical hepatology and cutting-edge AI technology, substantially improving diagnostics, patient outcomes, and therapeutic strategies on a global scale.

Mads Israelsen, MD, PhD, is an Associate Professor at the Odense Liver Research Center, Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Odense University Hospital, Denmark. His research focuses on the overlap between metabolic dysfunction-driven and alcohol-driven liver disease, with particular emphasis on MetALD. He was principal investigator of the GALA-RIF trial, a randomised clinical study investigating rifaximin in patients with alcohol-related liver disease, published in The Lancet Gastroenterology & Hepatology.
Since the introduction of the steatotic liver disease nomenclature, he has worked to understand its clinical impact, including its effects on patient management and the design of clinical trials. He has a particular interest in the interplay between cardiometabolic and alcohol-related risk factors in SLD, aiming to improve identification, diagnosis, and treatment approaches for this growing patient population.
He is also a co-author of the Lancet Seminar on Steatotic Liver Disease, contributing to shaping the evolving global understanding of this disease spectrum.