ITMAP Seminar Series: Jonathan Steinman, MD, PhD “Mapping the Spatial Pathophysiology of Pediatric MASH”

The Institute for Translational Medicine and Pharmacology welcomes Dr. Jonathan Steinman, Instructor in Pediatrics in the Division of Pediatric Endocrinology at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, to present his work on metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) in children. Dr. Steinman will discuss how studying the liver in its native spatial context can help explain why this disease often takes a different, and frequently more aggressive, course in young patients than in adults. MASH, the progressive inflammatory form of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease, is now the leading cause of chronic liver disease in children, yet its pathogenesis in this population remains poorly understood. Much of what the field knows is drawn from adult disease, even though pediatric MASH often presents with a distinct histologic pattern. Working with patient tissue samples and advanced sequencing technologies, Dr. Steinman and his colleagues are mapping how injury, inflammation, and fibrosis are organized across the pediatric liver, and how these patterns diverge from what is seen in adults. His talk will address what these spatial maps reveal about disease mechanisms and how they may point toward more targeted treatments for children. A physician-scientist at the Naomi Berrie Diabetes Center, Dr. Steinman completed his undergraduate studies at Harvard University and earned his MD at Weill Cornell Medical College alongside a PhD in chemistry, before completing his pediatric residency and pediatric endocrinology fellowship at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia. He cares for children with diabetes, obesity, and other endocrine conditions, and leads research, developed with mentor Utpal Pajvani, MD, PhD, on why obesity-related diseases such as type 2 diabetes and MASH behave differently in children. Hosted by Institute Director, Mone Zaidi, M.D., PhD.