What if the answer to liver disease is already inside us?
25 July 2025
That’s the bold idea behind Dr Foad Rouhani’s research at the Roger Williams Institute of Liver Studies – and it’s one that could change the future for people with liver disease.
With the help of supporters, Foad and his team are uncovering the secrets of the liver’s natural ability to repair itself – and asking how we might harness that power when the damage is too great for the liver to heal alone.
The liver: the body’s natural repairer
Unlike any other organ in the body, the liver has a remarkable superpower. It can regenerate.
After injury or surgery, it can regrow itself to full size – sometimes in just a few weeks. But for reasons we don’t yet fully understand, this ability doesn’t always work when it’s needed most.
In advanced liver disease, for example, healthy tissue is gradually replaced by scar tissue – and the liver’s internal repair systems become overwhelmed. But in other cases, people develop liver failure rapidly, with little warning and no clear explanation why.
Understanding what causes those breakdowns – and why some people are more susceptible than others – is one of the biggest challenges in liver medicine.
What are somatic mutations – and why do they matter?
That’s where Foad’s work comes in.
He’s one of the UK’s leading experts in somatic mutations – tiny genetic changes that build up in our cells over time. Some of these mutations are harmless. Others can be life-threatening. But some may actually help the liver recover after injury.
By studying the DNA of liver cells from patients with and without liver disease, Foad’s team are mapping how these mutations influence the repair process – and whether they can be used to guide new treatments.
It’s a cutting-edge field of research that blends genetics, cell biology and regenerative medicine – and it could lead to a whole new range of therapies that work with the liver’s own biology to repair damage from within.
Building new liver tissue – from the patient’s own cells
One of the most exciting strands of this research involves growing healthy new liver tissue in the lab – starting with the patient’s own cells.
These lab-grown mini livers, known as organoids, allow researchers to study liver disease in personalised ways, and test new treatments without needing to remove tissue from patients.
In the future, this approach could even be used to grow replacement liver tissue for transplants – using a person’s own genetic material. That would mean no need for donors, and greatly reduce the risk of rejection.
What this means for patients
By understanding how the liver repairs itself – and why that process breaks down – this research could lead to:
It’s ambitious, innovative science – and it’s only possible thanks to supporters.
Will you donate to help Foad’s team find the answers faster?
Donate now
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