The Team
Collaborators & Societies
We work with outstanding academic groups, clinical teams, consortia, and industry partners around the world.
Collaborations
Academic
Anna Schurich
King's College London, Department of Infectious Diseases
Advancing tumour slice models of liver cancers for immune cell therapy development.
Visit →Academic
Luca Urbani
King's College London, Roger Williams Institute of Liver Studies
Role of mitochondria in Hepatic Stellate Cells (HSC) and organotypic liver models.
Visit →Academic
Pedro Baptista
Center for Biomedical Research Network Liver and Digestive Diseases (CIBERehd), Zaragoza
Translational validation of gut microbiota-derived peptides in liver regeneration and fibrosis using Precision-Cut Liver Slices.
Visit →Academic
Maddy Parsons
King's College London, Randall Centre for Cell & Molecular Biophysics
Advanced bioimaging and microscopy approaches applied to patient derived tissue models.
Visit →Academic
Michele Vacca
University of Bari Aldo Moro, Roger Williams Institute of Liver Studies
Nutritional interventions and therapeutic potential of polyphenols in Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease (MASLD), ex vivo models of MASLD.
Visit →Academic
Shilpa Chokshi
University of Plymouth
Organotypic models of liver disease and liver cancer, role of mitochondria morphology in Alcohol-related Liver Disease (ALD).
Visit →Academic
Geltrude Mingrone
Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, King's College London
Perilipins and mitochondria in Steatotic Liver Disease (SLD).
Visit →Academic
Peter Starkel
Université Catholique de Louvain and Cliniques Universitaires Saint Luc, Brussels
Characterisation of mitochondrial alterations in patients with alcohol use disorder (AUD) and alcohol related liver disease (ALD).
Visit →Academic
Filip Braet
University of Sydney
Characterisation of megamitochondria by electron microscopy in human tissue derived models.
Visit →Academic
Marta Giacomello
University of Padova
Imaging analysis to study mitochondrial morphometrics.
Visit →Academic
TITAN Consortium
Prof Jesús M. Bañales, Dr Pedro Rodrigues, Prof Fernando Cossío, Dr Iván Rivilla, Prof Jean Charles Nault, Dr Sandra Rebouissou, Prof Ana Lleo, Dr Michela Polidoro
Development of novel therapeutic strategies for liver cancer. Testing efficacy of cisplatin derivatives in cholangiocarcinoma preclinical models.
Visit →Academic
PCLS Global Consensus
Elena Palma, Jordi Gracia Sancho, Jelena Mann, Peter Olinga, Barbara Testoni, Andres Roca Suarez, Shilpa Chokshi, Fiona Oakley, Leo A.B. van Grunsven, Giovanni Sorrentino, Jagdeep Nanchahal, John Bischof, Mirco Castoldi, Sonya MacParland, Yongtao Wang, Scott Friedman
International initiative led by Dr Elena Palma involving leading experts in precision cut liver slices with the aim to build consensus around terminology, experimental design, quality control, minimum reporting requirements and interpretation of results.
Clinical
Liver Histopathology Laboratory
King's College Hospital
Characterisation of mitochondrial alterations in patients with alcohol use disorder (AUD) and alcohol related liver disease (ALD).
Societies and Committees
ESBRA - European Society for Biomedical Research on Alcohol
The Palma Lab is an active member of the ESBRA community, contributing to initiatives that advance alcohol related research, education, and scientific collaboration across Europe.
Dr Elena Palma is Chair of the ESBRA Early Career Investigators and Communication Committee, supporting visibility, networking, mentorship, and career development for early career researchers in alcohol research.
Visit →Societies and Committees
EASL - European Association for the Study of the Liver
The Palma Lab actively participates in initiatives organised by EASL, contributing to education, translational hepatology, and basic liver research.
Dr Elena Palma served as Course Director of the EASL Basic Science School “Precision Cut Liver Slices and Liver Organoids: versatile ex vivo models of liver disease” in 2022 and 2024. She was also part of the faculty at the EASL Congress in 2025 and 2026 and is among the organisers of the EASL Steatotic Liver Disease (SLD) Summit 2027.
Visit →