SteatoSITE is a unique gene-to-outcome data resource which is catalysing multi-sector collaborations to improve the understanding, prevention, and treatment of Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease (MASLD).
SteatoSITE contains data from 940 patients in Scotland with MASLD - the most common cause of liver disease that affects more than a third of people worldwide.
One in twenty people with MASLD will go on to develop cirrhosis (severe liver scarring), which can lead to fatal health problems including liver complications or associated conditions such as heart disease and non-liver cancers. Being able to predict who is likely to develop these severe outcomes, as well as who is likely to respond to new treatments, could improve outcomes for millions worldwide suffering from MASLD.
SteatoSITE combines tissue-derived metrics and clinical data such as pathology scores, hepatic RNA sequencing, and routine health data from electronic patient records. It was co-created with funding from Innovate UK by the University of Edinburgh and the Precision Medicine Scotland Innovation Centre in Glasgow, using tissue from the NHS Biorepository network and data from 12 of the 14 Scottish National Health Service (NHS) boards through the Scottish Safe Haven Network. The SteatoSITE data commons has now migrated from the University of Glasgow to the University of Edinburgh and is provided via a secure cloud-based data storage platform.
The combined dataset enables research with AI technologies using these multimodal inputs, exemplified by the Innovate UK Eureka-funded international INTErPRET-NAFLD collaboration between University of Edinburgh clinical academic pathology and hepatology investigators and key players at the forefront of NHS AI adoption (Bering, UK), digital pathology (HistoIndex, Singapore) and data preparation (BioDev, UK) to develop impactful tools that meet the needs of global public health.
Professor Jonathan Fallowfield of the Institute for Regeneration and
Repair, who co-created SteatoSITE with Professor Tim Kendall, said:
The INTErPRET-NAFLD collaboration demonstrates that multimodal human databases like SteatoSITE are the preeminent model for studying complex diseases. It showcases Scotland as an ideal place to undertake healthcare research using real-world data and I hope the approach provides a template for other researchers studying different conditions."
Co-creator Professor Tim Kendall, said:
The added value of studying the longitudinal real-world clinical data in SteatoSITE over highly curated trial cohorts is that the insights derived are much more readily translatable to clinical practice and the diversity and nuance of real lives."
SteatoSITE is being supported by Edinburgh Innovations (EI), the
University of Edinburgh’s commercialisation service. Dr Susan Bodie, Director of Innovation Development and Licensing at EI, said:
This collaboration is a fantastic example of how we can drive innovation in healthcare research using the ‘triple helix’ of partners: the NHS, UK academia, and industry, benefitting from the unique healthcare ecosystem available at Edinburgh BioQuarter."
University of Edinburgh investigators have already received funding from many sources, including GSK, Guts UK, Innovate UK, Enterprise Singapore, Medical Research Council, Wellcome Trust and Horizon Europe to undertake projects that exploit the full potential of the SteatoSITE resource.
EI's profile on Jonathan Fallowfield
Institute for Regeneration and Repair
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