Natural killer cell subsets in the liver: phenotype, function and role in obesity-induced liver disease
Year of award: 2014
Grantholders
Dr Victoria Male
University College London
Project summary
Victoria is an immunologist who is interested in the development and functions of natural killer (NK) cells and their relatives. A special subset of liver-specific NK cells has recently been identified in mice. Victoria aims to investigate whether these cells are also present in the human liver, and to determine their functions in health and disease. In particular, she is interested in whether they have a role in the development and progression of the obesity-associated liver disease non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, which is thought to affect as many as five per cent of adults in the UK.