Guest Editors
Wei Liu
Department of Hepatic Surgery and Liver Transplantation Center, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University
Professor Wei Liu is a principal investigator, doctoral supervisor, and the director of the Liver Disease Laboratory at the Liver Disease Research Center of the Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University. His research program is dedicated to addressing fundamental challenges in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), with a focus on investigating the molecular mechanisms of tumor metastasis and recurrence, as well as advancing organ cold preservation techniques for liver transplantation.Professor Wei Liu has established an impressive academic record with numerous publications in high-impact peer-reviewed journals and has led multiple research projects supported by national and provincial grants. His work bridges basic science and clinical translation, contributing to improved strategies for HCC treatment and liver transplantation outcomes.
Zhongheng Li
Department of Hepatic Surgery and Liver Transplantation Center, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University
Zhongheng Li is a research affiliate specializing in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and liver transplantation. He earned his master's degree from Sun Yat-sen University, where his research focused on elucidating the mechanisms of HCC recurrence and developing novel strategies for its prevention. His research efforts have culminated in first-author publications in peer-reviewed SCI-indexed journals. Committed to supporting the scientific community, he also serves as a peer reviewer for journals like BMC Cancer. His current research focuses on integrating multi-omics approaches to develop predictive models for HCC recurrence and to uncover the key molecular drivers with underlying mechanisms.
Collection Overview
Liver diseases, including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), liver fibrosis and cirrhosis, Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease (MASLD), and viral hepatitis, remain major contributors to global morbidity and mortality. Despite advances in treatments such as liver transplantation and emerging systemic therapies like immunotherapy and targeted therapies, many liver diseases are still diagnosed at advanced stages, with high recurrence rates and limited therapeutic options. The ongoing challenges related to disease progression and recurrence underscore the urgent need for refined methodologies to explore disease mechanisms and identify innovative therapeutic strategies.
This Methods Collection will compile cutting-edge video protocols that advance research in liver diseases, with a particular focus on HCC and metabolic liver diseases. It will emphasize the development and utilization of robust animal models, including humanized mouse models, to study a wide range of liver pathologies and investigate key aspects of disease progression. Organoids that accurately replicate clinical features such as HCC and immune responses will also be featured, offering new opportunities for disease modeling and therapeutic testing. Additionally, standardized protocols for liver resection, transplantation, and ischemia–reperfusion injury models will be provided to enhance reproducibility and guide laboratories in establishing reliable surgical systems.
Beyond model development, this collection will highlight state-of-the-art techniques for assessing liver diseases, including mechanistic investigations of intercellular interactions and immune crosstalk within the liver microenvironment. It will also showcase innovative preclinical trial designs that bridge laboratory research with clinical applications. Complementary approaches such as AI-assisted analysis for predictive modeling, multi-omics integration (spatial omics, radiomics, pathomics), and nanotechnology-based delivery systems will be included, reflecting the rapidly evolving field of hepatology and therapeutic development across a wide spectrum of liver diseases.
By combining both classical and cutting-edge methodologies in a visual, step-by-step format, this collection aims to enhance reproducibility, foster interdisciplinary collaboration, and accelerate the discovery of effective interventions for liver diseases.
