Ana Claudia Maretti Garcia, PhD

Dr. Maretti-Garcia’s research focuses on uncovering how the immune system contributes to the progression of chronic liver diseases. She specializes in advanced transcriptomic and real-time cellular behavior assays, leveraging these technologies to investigate the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying liver dysfunction. Dr. Maretti-Garcia has developed an innovative in vitro framework for studying MASLD by integrating 3D human liver spheroids and multi-omic technologies. Using this approach, she aims to investigate how environmental pollutants, like PFAS, influence the progression of MASLD and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Dr. Maretti-Garcia is also interested in the role of dietary factors in the onset of MASLD and in identifying new strategies for disease prevention and treatment.

• USC: USC Dean’s Pilot Award, 2024
• AASLD: Presidential Poster of Distinction, 2023
• USC: USC President Sustainability Initiative Award, 2023
• USC: RCLD Young Investigator Award, 2017-2018
• AASLD: Basic Science Young Investigator Travel Award, 2016
• AASLD: Presidential Poster of Distinction, 2016
• Brazilian Society of Protozoology: Best Scientific Presentation Award, 2007

• Associations between per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease in adolescents and young adults: modifying roles of age, lifestyle factors, and PNPLA3 genotype. Environ Res. 2026 Jan 01; 288(Pt 2):123320.. View in PubMed
• Translational framework linking perfluoroheptanoic acid (PFHpA) exposure to metabolic dysfunction associated steatotic liver disease in adolescents. Commun Med (Lond). 2025 Oct 29; 5(1):430.. View in PubMed
• Assessing the impact of perfluoroalkyl substances on liver health: a comprehensive study using multi-donor human liver spheroids. Environ Int. 2025 Sep; 203:109763.. View in PubMed
• Senescence-related genes are associated with the immunopathology signature of American tegumentary leishmaniasis lesions and may predict progression to mucosal leishmaniasis. Clin Exp Immunol. 2025 Jan 21; 219(1).. View in PubMed
• Examining disparities in PFAS plasma concentrations: Impact of drinking water contamination, food access, proximity to industrial facilities and superfund sites. Environ Res. 2025 Jan 01; 264(Pt 1):120370.. View in PubMed
• PFHpA alters lipid metabolism and increases the risk of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease in youth-a translational research framework. medRxiv. 2024 Jul 03.. View in PubMed
• Circulating Neutrophil Profiles Undergo a Dynamic Shift during Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatohepatitis (MASH) Progression. Biomedicines. 2024 May 16; 12(5).. View in PubMed
• Chronic HCV infection promotes cytotoxicity in antigen-specific CD8+ T cells regardless of virus specificity. Frontiers in Virology. 2023; 3.
• Editorial: New strategies for the treatment of diseases caused by trypanosomatid parasites. Front. Cell. Infect. Microbiol. 2023; 13.
• Etiology of end-stage liver cirrhosis impacts hepatic natural killer cell heterogenicity. Front Immunol. 2023; 14:1137034.
• Hepatic damage caused by long-term high cholesterol intake induces a dysfunctional restorative macrophage population in experimental NASH. Front Immunol. 2022; 13:968366.
• Single-cell transcriptomic analyses of T cells in chronic HCV-infected patients dominated by DAA-induced interferon signaling changes. PLoS Pathog. 2021 08; 17(8):e1009799.. View in PubMed
• Cholesterol-Induced M4-Like Macrophages Recruit Neutrophils and Induce NETosis. Front Immunol. 2021; 12:671073.. View in PubMed
• Susceptibility of Rat Steatotic Liver to Ischemia-Reperfusion Is Treatable With Liver-Selective Matrix Metalloproteinase Inhibition. Hepatology. 2020 11; 72(5):1771-1785.. View in PubMed
• Sinusoids as Drivers of Liver Development: More Than Simple Chemistry. Hepatology. 2019 08; 70(2):737-739.. View in PubMed
• Incomplete Differentiation of Engrafted Bone Marrow Endothelial Progenitor Cells Initiates Hepatic Fibrosis in the Rat. Hepatology. 2019 03; 69(3):1259-1272.. View in PubMed
• Liver-Selective MMP-9 Inhibition in the Rat Eliminates Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury and Accelerates Liver Regeneration. Hepatology. 2019 01; 69(1):314-328.. View in PubMed
• Liver Sinusoidal Endothelial Cell: An Update. Semin Liver Dis. 2017 11; 37(4):377-387.. View in PubMed
• Severity of tegumentary leishmaniasis is not exclusively associated with Leishmania RNA virus 1 infection in Brazil. Mem Inst Oswaldo Cruz. 2013 Aug; 108(5):665-7.. View in PubMed
• Efficacy of synthetic peptides RP-1 and AA-RP-1 against Leishmania species in vitro and in vivo. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2012 Feb; 56(2):658-65.. View in PubMed
• Transcriptome patterns from primary cutaneous Leishmania braziliensis infections associate with eventual development of mucosal disease in humans. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2012; 6(9):e1816.. View in PubMed
• MMP-9 activity is induced by Leishmania braziliensis infection and correlates with mucosal leishmaniasis. Acta Trop. 2011 Aug; 119(2-3):160-4.. View in PubMed
• Influence of the Notch system in the therapeutic response of American tegumentary leishmaniasis. Br J Dermatol. 2011 Jun; 164(6):1228-34.. View in PubMed
• Therapeutic failure in American cutaneous leishmaniasis is associated with gelatinase activity and cytokine expression. Clin Exp Immunol. 2011 Feb; 163(2):207-14.. View in PubMed
• LXR deficiency confers increased protection against visceral Leishmania infection in mice. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2010 Nov 16; 4(11):e886.. View in PubMed

• DeLeve, Laurie
• Tsukamoto, Hidekazu
• Papadopoulos, Vassilios
• Zlokovic, Berislav
• Terrault, Norah
• Gonzalez, Frank
• Chatzi, Vaia
• Goodrich, Jesse
• Kaplowitz, Neil
• Conti, David
• Baumert, Brittney