Congratulations to Dr. Wanqing Liu, who is being awarded a new STTR grant, which focuses on the development of a gene therapy as a precision medicine to treat alcohol-associated liver disease (AALD). 

AALD is among the most common chronic liver diseases affecting numerous people both in the US and globally. However, there is currently no FDA approved treatment for AALD.

Dr. Liu's new grant is a collaborative effort between WSU and GeneToBe, Inc, a startup company located in Ann Arbor, MI. Together, Dr. Liu and GeneToBe plan to develop a novel gene therapy, combined with liver-specific drug delivery, to treat AALD patients who carry specific genetic variants. This NIAAA-sponsored grant will help the collaborative team to identify the best drug candidate and kick off the Investigational New Drug (IND)-enabling toxicological studies, a critical step towards translating the therapeutics to human clinical trials.