Skip to content

Bioscience PhD Programs

Main Navigation

Jessica Shay

Assistant Professor of Medicine

Adjunct in Nutrition and Integrative Physiology

Metabolism, Cancer, Stem Cells, Development, Regenerative Medicine

Josh Andersen

Molecular Biology Program

Education

B.S. from University of Texas at Austin
 
M.D. from University of Pennsylvania
 
Ph.D. from University of Pennsylvania 

Links

Lab Page

PubMed Literature Search

jessica.shay@hsc.utah.edu 

 

Research

The Shay lab investigates how nutritional and metabolic environments regulate cellular identity and adaptive tissue responses. Using the liver as a model system, we seek to understand how nutrient-responsive signaling pathways determine whether injured tissues undergo successful regeneration or progress toward chronic disease and cancer. Our work is driven by a central question: How does metabolic state govern hepatocyte fate to determine adaptive regeneration versus malignant transformation? By defining the mechanisms through which metabolic cues shape cellular plasticity, we aim to uncover fundamental principles that extend beyond liver biology and reveal new therapeutic opportunities.

Our research integrates mouse models, metabolic physiology, and human translational studies to investigate how dietary, hormonal, and microbial signals regulate liver regeneration, metabolic disease, and hepatocellular carcinoma. Current areas of investigation include the metabolic regulation of liver regeneration, the control of hepatocyte identity and plasticity during chronic metabolic stress, the mechanisms by which maladaptive metabolic programs promote early liver cancer, and the development of metabolism-based therapeutic strategies that restore regenerative capacity and improve liver health.

References (Selected Publications)

  1. Shay JES #, Chi F #, Tzouanas CN, Han S, Zhang X, Ten Hoeve J, Williams KJ, Neptun S, Sever T, Fuentes I, Bhatia SN, Calibasi-Kocal G, Vander Heiden MG, Shalek AK, Yilmaz ÖH. Ketogenic diet mediates intestinal tumorigenesis through lipids not ketones. Nature. (2026) # indicates equal authorship DOI: 10.1038/s41586-026-10779-y
  2. Tzouanas CN #, Shay JES #, Sherman MS #, Rubin AJ, Mead BE, Dao TT, Butzlaff T, Mana MD, Kolb KE, Walesky C, Pepe-Mooney BJ, Smith CJ, Prakadan SM, Ramseier ML, Tong EY, Joung J, Chi F, McMahon-Skates T, Winston CL, Jeong WJ, Aney KJ, Chen E, Nissim S, Zhang F, Deshpande V, Lauer GM, Goessling W, Yilmaz ÖH, Shalek AK (2025). Chronic metabolic stress drives developmental programs and loss of tissue functions in non-transformed liver that mirror tumor states and stratify survival. Cell, 189(2):435-460.e28. # indicates equal authorship
  3. Chi, F, Zhang, Q, Shay JES, Ten Hoeve, J, Yuan, Y, Shin, H, Solanki, S, Shah, YM, Agudo, J, and Yilmaz, OH, Dietary cysteine enhances intestinal stemness via CD8+ T cell-derived IL-22. Nature, 647(8090):706-715.
  4. Shay JES, Yilmaz ÖH (2025). Dietary and metabolic effects on intestinal stem cells in health and disease. Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol, 22(1):23-38.
  5. Corey KE, Nakrour N, Bethea ED, Shay JES, Andersson KL, Bhan I, Friedman LS, Kambadakone AR, Dichtel LE, Chung RT, Harisinghani M (2025). Real-World Assessment of Liver Corrected T1 and Magnetic Resonance Elastography in Predicting Liver Disease Progression. Liver Int, 45(9), e70280.
  6. Shay JES #, Vannier A #, Tsai S, Mahle R, Diaz PM, Przybyszewski E, Challa PK, Patel SJ, Suzuki J, Schaefer E, Goodman RP, Luther J (2023). Moderate-high intensity exercise associates with reduced incident alcohol-associated liver disease in high-risk patients. Alcohol Alcohol, 58(5), 472-477. # indicates equal authorship
  7. Vannier AGL, Przybyszewski EM, Shay JES, Patel SJ, Schaefer E, Goodman RP, Luther J (2023). Psychotherapy for Alcohol Use Disorder Is Associated With Reduced Risk of Incident Alcohol-Associated Liver Disease. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol, 21(6), 1571-1580.e7.
  8. Su A, Almazan E, Sakulsaengprapha V, Shay JES, Wittstein I, Hammami M, Pustavoitau A, Rizkalla N, Alqahtani S, Woreta T, Hamilton JP, Kohli R, Ottmann SE, Gurakar A, Chen PH (2023). High Coronary Artery Calcium Score Is Associated With Increased Major Adverse Cardiac Events After Liver Transplantation. Transplant Direct, 9(2), e1426.
  9. Kummerlowe C, Mwakamui S, Hughes TK, Mulugeta N, Mudenda V, Besa E, Zyambo K, Shay JES, Fleming I, Vukovic M, Doran BA, Aicher TP, Wadsworth MH 2nd, Bramante JT, Uchida AM, Fardoos R, Asowata OE, Herbert N, Yilmaz ÖH, Kløverpris HN, Garber JJ, Ordovas-Montañes J, Gartner ZJ, Wallach T, Shalek AK, Kelly P (2022). Single-cell profiling of environmental enteropathy reveals signatures of epithelial remodeling and immune activation. Sci Transl Med, 14(660), eabi8633.
  10. DiGiacomo DV, Shay JES, Crotty R, Yang N, Bloom P, Corey K, Barmettler S, Farmer JR (2022). Liver Stiffness by Transient Elastography Correlates With Degree of Portal Hypertension in Common Variable Immunodeficiency Patients With Nodular Regenerative Hyperplasia. Front Immunol, 13, 864550.
  11. Vannier AGL, Shay JES, Fomin V, Patel SJ, Schaefer E, Goodman RP, Luther J (2022). Incidence and Progression of Alcohol-Associated Liver Disease After Medical Therapy for Alcohol Use Disorder. JAMA Netw Open, 5(5), e2213014.
  12. Li DK, Platt JM, Shay JES, Yarze JC (2019). Sterile cerebrospinal fluid ascites presenting as high SAAG ascites: a case report. BMC Gastroenterol, 19(1), 200.
  13. James TW #, Shay JES #, Furfaro D, Ozseker B, Russell SD, Pustavoitau A, Rizkalla N, Saberi B, Philosophe B, Cameron AM, Gurakar A (2019). Cardiac Events Within the 30-Day Postoperative Period Is Associated With Increased 1-Year Mortality Among Deceased-Donor Liver Transplant Recipients. Exp Clin Transplant, 17(3), 370-374. # indicates equal authorship
  14. Lin N, Shay JES, Xie H, Lee DSM, Skuli N, Tang Q, Zhou Z, Azzam A, Meng H, Wang H, FitzGerald GA, Simon MC (2018). Myeloid Cell Hypoxia-Inducible Factors Promote Resolution of Inflammation in Experimental Colitis. Front Immunol, 9, 2565.
  15. Krock BL, Eisinger-Mathason TS, Giannoukos DN, Shay JES, Gohil M, Lee DS, Nakazawa MS,Sesen J, Skuli N, Simon MC (2015). The aryl hydrocarbon receptor nuclear translocator is an essential regulator of murine hematopoietic stem cell viability. Blood, 125(21), 3263-72.
  16. Mucaj V, Lee SS, Skuli N, Giannoukos DN, Qiu B, Eisinger-Mathason TS, Nakazawa MS, Shay JES, Gopal PP, Venneti S, Lal P, Minn AJ, Simon MC, Mathew LK (2015). MicroRNA-124 expression counteracts pro-survival stress responses in glioblastoma. Oncogene, 34(17), 2204-14.
  17. Shay JES, Imtiyaz HZ, Sivanand S, Durham AC, Skuli N, Hsu S, Mucaj V, Eisinger-Mathason TS, Krock BL, Giannoukos DN, Simon MC (2014). Inhibition of hypoxia-inducible factors limits tumor progression in a mouse model of colorectal cancer. Carcinogenesis, 35(5), 1067-77.
  18. Eisinger-Mathason TS, Zhang M, Qiu Q, Skuli N, Nakazawa MS, Karakasheva T, Mucaj V, Shay JES, Stangenberg L, Sadri N, Puré E, Yoon SS, Kirsch DG, Simon MC (2013). Hypoxia-dependent modification of collagen networks promotes sarcoma metastasis. Cancer Discov, 3(10), 1190-205.
  19. Wise DR #, Ward PS #, Shay JES, Cross JR, Gruber JJ, Sachdeva UM, Platt JM, DeMatteo RG, Simon MC, Thompson CB (2011). Hypoxia promotes isocitrate dehydrogenase-dependent carboxylation of α-ketoglutarate to citrate to support cell growth and viability. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 108(49), 19611-6. # indicates equal authorship
Last Updated: 7/29/26