Genetic association and gene-environment interaction in liver disease, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma

Genetic contributions to the pathogenesis of liver disease, cirrhosis, and liver/biliary cancer are not fully understood. Our project aims to discover genetic factors that contribute to the pathogenesis of liver disease, cirrhosis, and liver or biliary cancers. We will apply both traditional statistical and machine learning approaches. We will identify main effects of genetic factors and also identify gene-gene and gene and gene-environmental interactions. We are particularly interested in studying genetic factors that are modulated by alcohol use, smoking and physical activity. Our goal is to gain a better understanding of genetic and environmental factors on chronic liver diseases. Our work will help inform liver disease etiology, and identify individuals genetically predicted to be at high risk for cirrhosis and liver and biliary cancers.