Liver fibrosis and its end-stage sequelae of cirrhosis and liver cancer are major causes of morbidity and mortality in Australia and throughout the world and their prevalence is rising, largely due to the increasing impact of chronic liver diseases including non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and biliary diseases. It is hoped better disease prevention and more effective therapies will help reduce this disease burden. However, there remains a major need to identify potentially modifiable factors which exacerbate liver injury and fibrosis and to develop therapies that can prevent or slow liver scarring. This is particularly true for NAFLD, a disease which affects up to 30% of the adult population and is now a major cause of the premature illness and death, but for which there is still no established drug therapy.