University of California - Irvine Apr 15 2026 A research team led by the University of California, Irvine's Joe C. Wen School of Population & Public Health has uncovered a critical biological link explaining why individuals with metabolic dysfunction–associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), or fatty liver disease, face significantly worse outcomes from certain foodborne infections. The study published this week in the journal Gut Microbes is the first to show how changes in the connection