The art of liver healing: novel prognostic biomarkers and therapeutic approaches around liver transplantation

"The Art of Liver Healing: Novel Prognostic Biomarkers and Therapeutic Approaches Around Liver Transplantation" is the result of two years of research at the Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at the UMCG. This thesis aims to investigate the role of diet-derived components and extracellular vesicles as prognostic biomarkers after liver transplantation, as well as therapeutic targets for liver fibrosis in the context of end-stage liver diseases. The thesis is divided into two parts, separated by an intermezzo that includes a printed gallery of the author’s artwork, which is one of the novel features of this book.

Its title was inspired by its findings, which demonstrate that medical sciences are not merely black and white; even the gold standards for treatments and diagnoses evolve and vary according to populations. This adaptability is precisely what elevates medical sciences to an art form: the nuances and shades of grey, the continuous transformation in our understanding of health and disease, and the realization that responses within an organism can differ based on various conditions and predispositions. Each person is unique. This ongoing transformation makes medical sciences a beautiful art, a vibrant canvas filled with diverse colours, representing the exploration of numerous possibilities that could, hopefully, result in clinical benefits.