WIMR to host new seven-year national liver health program backed by over $15 million

A new seven-year national research program targeting Fatty Liver Disease will be headquartered at the Storr Liver Centre at the Westmead Institute for Medical Research (WIMR), supported by major long-term funding of over $15 million from Snow Medical – believed to be the largest philanthropic donation for liver research in Australian history.

A major new national research initiative backed by Snow Medical will unite leading researchers and clinicians to tackle fatty liver disease – one of the fastest-growing and most under-recognised threats to public health.

The challenge: a rapidly growing health threat

Fatty liver disease (metabolic dysfunction–associated fatty liver disease, MAFLD) affects up to one in three Australian adults and is now among the leading causes of chronic liver disease worldwide. While many people may have few symptoms early on, for some, the disease progresses to advanced scarring (fibrosis), cirrhosis, liver failure and liver cancer, and is also linked to increased cardiovascular and cancer-related mortality.

Globally, deaths among people with fatty liver disease were estimated at 1.2 million in 2015, driven largely by cirrhosis, liver failure, liver cancer and cardiovascular disease, and are projected to rise by 44% to 1.83 million deaths annually by 2030.

The program will address four major unmet needs in fatty liver disease: advancing the understanding of disease pathogenesis, improving non-invasive tests, developing new approaches to therapy and modifying post-liver transplantation outcomes. With no approved pharmatherapies, a key emphasis is improving how fatty liver disease is detected and monitored. By developing and validating better non-invasive approaches to measure fibrosis, the program aims to reduce reliance on biopsy, support more early diagnosis, and facilitate closer tracking of disease progression and response to treatment. This will ultimately translate into real world patient benefit through more accurate clinical decision making, reduced uncertainty for patients, and fewer avoidable follow-up tests and costs as care becomes more targeted over time.

A long-term transformative, national program

The Snow Program for Liver Health brings together a national, multidisciplinary team spanning discovery science, clinical
research and translation:

• Professor Jacob George from The Westmead Institute for Medical Research,
• Professor Geoff McCaughan from Centenary Institute and Royal Prince Alfred Hospital,
• Professor Antje Blumenthal from the University of Queensland,
• Professor Simone Strasser from the University of Sydney and Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, and
• Professor Stephen Simpson from Charles Perkins Centre, University of Sydney.
• Assoc. Prof. Jessica Howell from St Vincent Hospital in Melbourne
• Dr Zina Valaydon from Western Health, Monash University in Melbourne

This consortium of leading researchers, with their vast experience across macrophage biology, ageing research, spatial transcriptomics, bioinformatics, nutritional immune-metabolic, and microbiome studies. Combined with Westmead’s access to large, diverse patient cohorts across the health precinct, the team is well positioned to advance understanding of MAFLD pathogenesis and develop new therapeutic approaches.

Tom Snow, Chair of Snow Medical, reflects on the importance of long-term, high-impact science.

“Fatty liver disease is one of the biggest and most under‑recognised health threats of our time. It affects millions of Australians, yet we still lack the basic scientific Understanding and treatments needed to address it effectively. That is why Snow Medical is committing to long-term, team-based science giving outstanding researchers the stability and resources to tackle problems on this scale.”

“Our family has a close personal connection to this work. My father, Terry Snow, lived with liver disease, and so we know firsthand how devastating and how poorly understood these conditions can be.”

“We need to back Australian science for the long haul, so new discoveries can turn into real change for patients and families. That’s why we are looking across the full spectrum of human health to support researchers who can fundamentally shift the future of care.”

Professor Jacob George, head of the Storr Liver Centre at the Westmead Institute for Medical Research (WIMR), commented on the “transformative” program.

“This is a landmark commitment that allows us to unite Australia’s leading scientific and clinical experts to tackle a disease that has been accelerating faster than the health system can currently respond. Snow Medical’s support gives us the opportunity to conduct bold, collaborative, long-term science, work that simply isn’t possible under conventional short-term funding models.”

Professor Geoff McCaughan from the Centenary Institute said, “one key strengths of this program is its interdisciplinary nature, leveraging basic immune system, metabolic and ageing research, as well as clinical diagnostics and large patient cohorts from diverse backgrounds.”

Sally Castle, the CEO of the Liver Foundation Australia added, “every day we hear from patients living with fatty liver disease who are diagnosed late and struggle to access effective care. This multi-year investment offers real hope that research can lead to earlier diagnosis, better treatments and prevention, particularly for diverse communities in Western Sydney who are disproportionately affected. It is exactly the kind of coordinated patient-focused research effort that is urgently needed.”

Over the next seven years, the Snow Program for Liver Health will support coordinated national research spanning discovery science through translation, with a focus on improving how fatty liver disease is understood, detected, and treated over time. Headquartered at WIMR’s Storr Liver Centre, the program strengthens the Institute’s role in bringing together research and clinical partners to accelerate real-world impact for patients.