Early Career Researchers

Miss Shaili Patel is a Clinical Research Fellow at the Transplant Surgery Department at St James’s Hospital and the University of Leeds.

Leeds Hospitals Charity part-funded an early career research project, alongside a private donor, Mr Butterworth, whose wife was a patient on the liver transplant department at St James’s Hospital.

Miss Shaili Patel is a Specialty Surgical Registrar, with a special interest in HPB and Transplant Surgery. She spearheaded this project developing a laboratory-based model to study regeneration of donated human livers. She hopes to inspire others to pursue research, who share her passion.

“Liver is the only solid organ that regenerates following surgical removal of part or transplantation of a portion of donor liver. Up to 30% of healthy liver can be removed and it grows back,” she explains.

"Liver failure after major liver surgery or partial liver transplant is a serious complication and its frequency can be as high as 20%. These patients have considerably higher risk of death (16%) compared to others. The post-surgery outcomes depend on a complex interplay between the quality of liver and the amount of liver remaining after surgery. Regeneration is triggered by increased blood flow through a small portion of the remaining or transplanted liver. However, the underlying mechanisms are still poorly understood. Most of the research is based on small animal studies, findings of which do not translate accurately to human liver growth. Excessively high blood pressure in relatively smaller liver portion can cause mechanical damage to cells lining blood vessels. Regeneration or tissue damage depends on the ability of liver to cope with blood pressure changes. Tissue damage may result in Small for Size Syndrome (SFSS), which can cause liver failure.”

 “The University of Leeds discovered a protein called PIEZO1 expressed in cells lining blood vessels of the liver and were the pioneers in demonstrating its role in the formation of new blood vessels. PIEZO1 responds to increased blood flow, stimulates formation of new blood vessels and has a potential role in regeneration.”

 “To our knowledge, human split liver normothermic perfusion studies to investigate effects of high blood pressure and flow, regenerative physiology and the role of PIEZO1 have not been attempted before. Our project aspires to recreate a first in the world laboratory -based model to study the effects of blood pressure and flow on liver cell injury and regeneration, and trial therapies targeting the PIEZO1 protein. This is a unique opportunity only available to us at Leeds Hospitals, supported by our strong research background in the field, to investigate PIEZO1 using novel technology and human livers.”

"Our research will be the first step towards graft reengineering to obtain survivable livers. Findings will help understand issues contributing to early liver failure after surgery and guide development of therapies for preventing liver failure, thereby improving patient survival for both major cancer resections and partial living donor liver transplantations.”

“We are very thankful to Leeds Hospitals Charity and Mr. Butterworth - we would not have been able to setup this project without your support.”

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