Gyongyi Szabo

Gyongyi Szabo, MD, PhD is an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Medicine at UMass Chan Medical School's T.H. Chan School of Medicine. She maintains dual affiliations with Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Beth Israel Lahey Health. Dr. Szabo holds expertise in gastroenterology and hepatology with a specialization in alcohol-related liver diseases, immune mechanisms in hepatitis C virus infection, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

Dr. Szabo earned her MD from University of Debrecen School of Medicine in Hungary and her PhD in Immunology from the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. Her clinical training includes an Internal Medicine Residency and Gastroenterology and Hepatology Fellowship at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center in Worcester, MA. Her research focuses on immune alterations induced by alcohol consumption, intracellular signaling pathways in leukocytes, and immune mechanisms leading to increased liver injury in HCV plus alcohol. She has developed several experimental models to study alcohol-induced liver disease and its intersection with viral hepatitis and metabolic liver conditions.

Her recent publications demonstrate a strong emphasis on neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs), inflammasome signaling, and the role of various molecular pathways in alcohol-associated liver injury. Her work spans from basic science investigations of immune cell function to clinical trials evaluating therapeutic approaches for severe alcohol-associated hepatitis. Dr. Szabo's research program has established her as a leading investigator in the field of alcohol-related liver disease, with particular contributions to understanding how moderate alcohol consumption affects immune function and contributes to liver pathology.

Dr. Szabo currently serves as an investigator for the national HALT-C trial supported by NIH and is developing clinical trials for therapeutic approaches in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Her laboratory maintains active research programs examining the effects of alcohol on antigen-presenting cell function, T-cell activation, and intracellular signaling mechanisms in immune cells.