Snow Program for Liver Health
A landmark step towards understanding liver disease
Metabolic dysfunction–associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) affects about one in three Australian adults. It is now the leading cause of chronic liver disease nationally and worldwide. The condition varies widely between individuals: most people face a higher risk of heart disease and certain cancers, while a smaller group develop severe liver complications such as cirrhosis, liver failure, and liver cancer. Global deaths linked to fatty liver disease reached 1.2 million in 2015 and are projected to rise to 1.83 million annually by 2030.
Despite many recent clinical trials, no approved medications exist for MAFLD. Lifestyle change remains the only recommended treatment, but this has had limited success at a population level. Better understanding how the disease develops is essential to creating new therapies.
NSW researchers, particularly at the Storr Liver Centre and the Centenary Institute, have led national MAFLD research for decades studying genetics, insulin signalling, the immune system, and other factors that drive disease differences and progression.
This proposal brings together a multidisciplinary team to advance this work using cutting‑edge expertise in macrophage biology, ageing, spatial transcriptomics, bioinformatics, nutrition, immunometabolism, microbiome science, and large, diverse patient cohorts. Their goal is to uncover the mechanisms behind MAFLD and develop new approaches that can lead to effective treatments.
Why this research matters
MAFLD is one of the fastest‑growing and least understood chronic diseases, affecting millions of people who often feel overwhelmed, unsupported, or resigned to a lifetime of health complications. For many, the fear of progression from silent fatty liver disease to cirrhosis, liver failure, or liver cancer creates daily uncertainty. Because no approved medications currently exist, patients are left with limited options. This research directly addresses that gap by uncovering the biological mechanisms that drive the disease, giving patients and their families real reason to believe that more effective, targeted treatments are on the horizon.
By bringing together leading experts in genetics, immunology, metabolism, and advanced diagnostic technologies, this program has the potential to dramatically transform what the future looks like for people living with MAFLD. Understanding why the disease progresses in some individuals and not others will open the door to earlier detection, personalised treatments, and new therapies that can prevent devastating outcomes. For patients who have long felt unseen and underserved, this research represents genuine relief signalling that better care, better treatments, and better quality of life are not only possible, but within reach.
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,
- Associate Professor Simone Strasser from the University of Sydney and Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, and
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 unique 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.
Building a more inclusive research team
Our research team and partner institutions are deeply committed to fostering gender equity and diversity. We believe that bringing together people with different experiences and perspectives strengthens the quality and impact of our work. To support this, we are taking several practical steps.
First, we are welcoming senior female research leaders who will serve as mentors and role models across the program. We are also introducing a dedicated mentoring initiative for early‑career women researchers to help them grow and succeed. In addition, each major part of the project will include an experienced female researcher in a leadership role.
Where vision meets impact: Snow Medical’s commitment to research
Snow Medical is a philanthropic foundation established by Ginette and Terry Snow and their family to invest in the next generation of exceptional biomedical research leaders. Built on the family’s long-standing values of excellence, bold vision, and entrepreneurial spirit, Snow Medical supports outstanding early and mid‑career researchers through the prestigious Snow Fellowship. Their mission is to break researchers free from short‑term, insecure funding cycles and give them the long-term stability, resources, and leadership development needed to build high‑impact, multidisciplinary research programs. Snow Medical’s work is underpinned by strong commitments to integrity, generosity, diversity, and inclusion ensuring the researchers and teams they empower reflect the values and future needs of the broader community.
This commitment is particularly important for the fatty liver research program, where the absence of approved treatments and the rapid rise in disease burden demand bold, sustained scientific innovation. By providing significant, long-term funding and encouraging sensible risk‑taking, Snow Medical enables researchers to pursue ambitious questions that traditional funding often cannot support. Their investment allows teams to harness cutting‑edge technologies, build collaborative networks, and tackle the complex biology driving fatty liver disease with greater depth and creativity. Snow Medical’s support doesn’t just fund research it gives scientists the freedom and confidence to push boundaries, accelerate discovery, and ultimately bring hope to the millions of people affected by fatty liver disease in Australia and around the world.
Over the next seven- years, the Snow Program for Liver Health will support coordinated national research spanning discovery science through to 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.
If you have any questions or need further information, please email communications@wimr.org.au.
