NIH-funded research R21 grant

Investigating a new treatment for alcoholic liver disease

Official title: Fumarates for Alcoholic Liver Disease

Funded at University of California at Davis · NIH-10700042 · Data updated 2026-11-12

This study is looking at a new treatment called nicotinamide fumarate (NMF) to see if it can help people with alcoholic liver disease, and it will compare how well it works against another drug, RTA408, using mice to learn more about how these treatments might help in the future.

More Alcoholic Liver Disease research and trials

Quick facts

Grant typeR21 grant
Study typeNIH-funded research
Funding institutionUniversity of California at Davis
NIH-funded
Lab location1 site (Davis, United States)
Project startSeptember 10, 2022
Project endJune 30, 2025
Funding year2023
Award (this year)$229,306
NIH project number5R21AA029558-02
Project IDNIH-10700042 on NIH RePORTER

Who could benefit from this research

Could help

Ideal candidates for this research are individuals diagnosed with alcoholic liver disease who may benefit from new therapeutic options.

Less likely to help

Patients with liver disease caused by factors other than alcohol may not receive benefit from this research.

What this research studies

This research focuses on alcoholic liver disease (ALD), a serious condition with no effective therapies currently available. The team is exploring a novel compound called nicotinamide fumarate (NMF), which has shown promise in preliminary studies for reducing liver injury in animal models. The research will compare the effectiveness of NMF with another drug, RTA408, and aims to understand the underlying mechanisms of how these treatments work. By using mouse models, the researchers hope to pave the way for future clinical applications that could benefit patients suffering from ALD.

Why it matters

Potential benefit: If successful, this research could lead to a new effective treatment for patients with alcoholic liver disease.

How similar studies have gone: While the approach of using fumarates for liver disease is relatively novel, there have been successful applications of similar compounds in other medical conditions.

Where this research is happening

  • University of California at Davis
    Davis, United States
    Active

Researchers

  • Principal investigator: Jiang, Xiaosong Joy — University of California at Davis
  • Study coordinator: Jiang, Xiaosong Joy

Related research

Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.

  • Microbiome and Innate Immune Response in Alcohol-Related Liver Disease

    Researchers are studying how gut bacteria and the body's first-line immune defenses contribute to liver damage from alcohol, with a focus on how a specific bacteria and its toxins affect disease severity.

    NIH research University of California, San Diego · La Jolla, United States · NIH-11543368

  • Lipotoxicity and Alcohol-Related Liver Disease

    This project studies how fatty acids cause liver cell damage in alcohol-related liver disease to help develop new treatments.

    NIH research University of North Carolina Greensboro · Greensboro, United States · NIH-11450399

  • NNMT as a Target to Treat Alcoholic Liver Disease

    A study to see if blocking an enzyme called NNMT can help people with alcoholic liver disease.

    NIH research University of Illinois at Chicago · Chicago, UNITED STATES · NIH-11380807

  • How gut fungi may drive alcohol-related liver damage

    Researchers are looking at whether specific fungi in the gut make liver damage from heavy drinking worse in people with alcohol-related liver disease.

    NIH research University of California, San Diego · La Jolla, United States · NIH-11378956

  • Heat shock protein 90 and alcohol-related liver disease: how macrophages fuel inflammation

    This project looks at how a cellular stress protein, HSP90, affects liver inflammation in people with alcohol-related liver disease by focusing on macrophages.

    NIH research Univ of Massachusetts Med Sch Worcester · Worcester, United States · NIH-11374847

  • Why alcohol-related liver disease can come back after a transplant

    Looking at whether an enzyme called CerS6 helps fat build up in the liver and whether measuring CerS6 can help detect or predict return of alcohol-related liver disease before or after a liver transplant.

    NIH research University of Washington · Seattle, United States · NIH-11329541

About this research

  1. This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
  2. Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
  3. For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.
Last reviewed 2026-11-14 by the Find a Trial editorial team. Information on this page is for educational purposes and is not medical advice. Always consult qualified healthcare professionals about clinical trial participation.