Southampton metabolic liver disease expert delivers prestigious lecture
Professor Chris Byrne has used a national stage to highlight growing evidence that a common metabolic liver disease can affect health far beyond the liver itself.
He is one of only a handful of UK experts to give the keynote talk at HEART UK's annual conference in the past four decades.
His lecture focused on metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), a common condition caused by excess fat building up in the liver.
Increasingly, researchers are recognising that MASLD can affect many aspects of health.
Internationally recognised expert
Professor Byrne is an internationally recognised expert in metabolic liver disease, dyslipidaemias and type 2 diabetes.
He is Professor of Metabolic Medicine at the University of Southampton and University Hospital Southampton. His research forms part of the Nutrition, Lifestyle and Metabolism theme of the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre: Southampton.
In 2026, he was included in the measuresHE Talent Global top 100 list for research contribution in Health Sciences. He has published over 600 peer-reviewed papers, cited almost 70,000 times.
Prestigious honour
HEART UK is the UK’s only charity dedicated to supporting people affected by high cholesterol and raising awareness of its impact on heart health.
The Myant Lecture is HEART UK’s highest-profile keynote lecture. It is named in honour of Dr Nick Myant, widely regarded as a pioneer of lipid research in the UK.
Professor Byrne gave the Myant Lecture at HEART UK’s 39th Annual Medical and Scientific Conference in Nottingham.
Global health challenge
MASLD affects millions of people worldwide. Researchers are increasingly recognising its importance as a major public health challenge.
Prof Byrne’s talk highlighted the growing recognition of MASLD as a condition that affects multiple aspects of health, extending beyond the liver itself.
Discussing the lecture, Professor Byrne said:
“It is a great honour for the MASLD team, the Faculty and the NIHR BRC to be awarded this keynote lecture, and to be one of only nine UK recipients to receive this award in the last 38 years.”
A recording of Professor Byrne’s lecture is available to watch online.
