Transplant is the only option now for liver failure, but it’s not for everyone. One Mayo Clinic M.D./Ph. D. student and her mentor are researching ways to regenerate liver cells as a possible treatment for end-stage liver disease.
“Research provides us with the understanding to develop tools to make big changes in clinical problems like those facing patients with liver failure,” says Nguyen. “I want to be on the forefront of developing medical technologies that provide alternatives. I derive a lot of passion for research through thinking about the future patients I will be treating in the clinic.”
Nguyen is a fifth-year M.D.-Ph. D. student in the Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine, who is also completing her Ph.D. in regenerative sciences through the Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences.
Her research is focused on redirecting human embryonic stem cells to become liver cells with the potential for cell, tissue and organ repair. This research is aimed at providing an alternative to a liver transplant.
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