Understanding Liver Disease Progression and Gut Health in Diverse Communities
Official title: Longitudinal Study of Early NAFLD Progression and the Gut Microbiome in Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Whites
Funded at University of Hawaii at Manoa · NIH-11361186 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This research looks at how changes in gut bacteria might be connected to the progression of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) over time in Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and White individuals.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Hawaii at Manoa NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Honolulu, United States) |
| Project start | September 26, 2022 |
| Project end | June 30, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $115,080 |
| NIH project number | 3R01MD018265-04S2 |
| Project ID | NIH-11361186 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
This research involves participants from a previous Multiethnic Cohort Adiposity Phenotype Study, specifically Japanese American, Native Hawaiian, and White individuals aged 60-77 at their baseline assessment.
✕Less likely to help
Patients who are not part of the specific Multiethnic Cohort Adiposity Phenotype Study or who do not have NAFLD may not directly benefit from this particular research opportunity.
What this research studies
We are following up with participants from a previous health project to see how their liver health has changed over about 10 years. Our team will collect new information and samples to understand if specific types of gut bacteria, their metabolic activities, and certain dietary habits are linked to increases in liver fat and scarring. By comparing these factors over time, we hope to uncover important connections between gut health, diet, and the development of NAFLD. This work focuses on understanding these relationships in diverse racial and ethnic groups.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could help us better understand how non-alcoholic fatty liver disease progresses, potentially leading to new ways to prevent or manage this condition.
How similar studies have gone: While smaller, cross-sectional studies have linked gut bacteria to NAFLD, this project offers a novel, large-scale longitudinal approach to understand the temporal relationship.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Hawaii at Manoa
Honolulu, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Lim, Unhee — University of Hawaii at Manoa
- Study coordinator: Lim, Unhee
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
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Long-term study of NAFLD progression and gut bacteria in diverse groups
We’re following people over time to see how the gut microbiome and diet relate to fatty liver disease progression in diverse racial/ethnic groups.
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Long-term gut microbiome and NAFLD progression in diverse adults
A long-term study will follow 300 adults from diverse racial groups to see how their gut bacteria relate to the progression of fatty liver disease over about a decade.
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Understanding Liver Fat and Gut Health in Diverse Communities
This project looks at how gut bacteria and diet might be connected to the progression of fatty liver disease in Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and White individuals.
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Investigating how diet and gut health affect liver disease and Alzheimer's risk in diverse populations
This study is looking at how the gut bacteria and diet affect the early stages of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and liver damage over ten years, especially in people from different backgrounds, to find new ways to prevent and treat these conditions.
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Investigating how gut bacteria affect liver disease progression in diverse populations
This study is looking at how the bacteria in our gut and what we eat might affect the worsening of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) over time in Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Whites, and it involves tracking participants for almost ten years to learn more about these connections.
-
Multi-agent AI to annotate enzymes in the human gut microbiome
A team at a major university will build an AI system that automatically curates and labels the functions of enzymes in the human gut microbiome to speed up understanding their health effects.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.