Jessica E. Shay
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Jessica E. Shay, MD, PhD

Languages spoken: English

Clinical Locations

Primary Location

Redwood Health Center

1525 West 2100 South
Salt Lake City , UT 84119
801-213-9900
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University of Utah Hospital

General Internal Medicine, Area E
50 N Medical Dr
Salt Lake City , UT 84132
801-213-9797
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Jessica E. S. Shay, MD, PhD, is a hepatologist at the University of Utah who specializes in the care of patients with metabolic liver diseases, including fatty liver disease (MASLD), steatohepatitis (MASH), cirrhosis, and related complications. She is board certified in both gastroenterology and obesity medicine and has a particular interest in how nutrition and weight-related factors impact liver health.

Dr. Shay earned her MD and PhD at the University of Pennsylvania, completed her internal medicine residency at Johns Hopkins Hospital, and her gastroenterology fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital. She later conducted research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where she studied how diet and metabolism contribute to liver disease development and progression.

As a physician-scientist, Dr. Shay integrates her clinical experience with cutting-edge research to better understand the role of metabolic health in liver disease. Her goal is to develop more effective, personalized tools for prevention and treatment. She is committed to providing compassionate, evidence-based care tailored to each patient’s needs, and she works closely with her patients to improve both liver and overall health.

Specialties

Board Certification

American Board of Obesity Medicine
American Board of Internal Medicine
American Board of Internal Medicine (Sub: Gastroenterology)

Jessica E. S. Shay, MD, PhD, is a hepatologist at the University of Utah who specializes in the care of patients with metabolic liver diseases, including fatty liver disease (MASLD), steatohepatitis (MASH), cirrhosis, and related complications. She is board certified in both gastroenterology and obesity medicine and has a particular interest in how nutrition and weight-related factors impact liver health.

Dr. Shay earned her MD and PhD at the University of Pennsylvania, completed her internal medicine residency at Johns Hopkins Hospital, and her gastroenterology fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital. She later conducted research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where she studied how diet and metabolism contribute to liver disease development and progression.

As a physician-scientist, Dr. Shay integrates her clinical experience with cutting-edge research to better understand the role of metabolic health in liver disease. Her goal is to develop more effective, personalized tools for prevention and treatment. She is committed to providing compassionate, evidence-based care tailored to each patient’s needs, and she works closely with her patients to improve both liver and overall health.

Board Certification and Academic Information

Academic Departments Internal Medicine -Assistant Professor
Academic Divisions Gastroenterology
Board Certification
American Board of Obesity Medicine
American Board of Internal Medicine
American Board of Internal Medicine (Sub: Gastroenterology)

Education history

Undergraduate Biology - University of Texas at Austin B.S.
Professional Medical Medicine - Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania M.D.
Doctoral Training Cancer Biology - Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania Ph.D.
Internship Internal Medicine - Johns Hopkins Hospital Intern
Residency Internal Medicine - Johns Hopkins Hospital Resident
Fellowship Gastroenterology & Hepatology - Massachusetts General Hospital Research and Clinical Fellow
Postdoctoral Training Massachusetts Institute of Technology Postdoctoral Researcher

Selected Publications

Journal Article

  1. Shay JES, Chi F, Tzouanas CN, Hoeve JT, Williams KJ, Sever T, Fuentes I, Yilmaz Ö (2025). Dietary lipids, not ketone body metabolites, influence intestinal tumorigenesis in a ketogenic diet. bioRxiv,
  2. Chi F, Zhang Q, Shay JES, Hoeve JT, Yuan Y, Yang Z, Shin H, Solanki S, Shah YM, Agudo J, Yilmaz Ö (2025). Dietary cysteine enhances intestinal stemness via CD8(+) T cell-derived IL-22. bioRxiv,
  3. Corey KE, Nakrour N, Bethea ED, Shay JE, Andersson KL, Bhan I, Friedman LS, Kambadakone AR, Dichtel LE, Chung RT, Harisinghani (2025). Real-World Assessment of Liver Corrected T1 and Magnetic Resonance Elastography in Predicting Liver Disease Progression. Liver international, 45(9), e70280.
  4. Tzouanas CN, Sherman MS, Shay JES, 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, Yilmaz ÖH, Goessling W, Shalek AK (2023). Chronic metabolic stress drives developmental programs and loss of tissue functions in non-transformed liver that mirror tumor states and stratify survival. bioRxiv.
  5. 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.
  6. Su A, Almazan E, Sakulsaengprapha V, Shay J, 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.
  7. Vannier AGL, Przybyszewski EM, Shay J, 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. 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.
  9. 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.
  10. DiGiacomo DV, Shay JE, 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. 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.
  12. 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.
  13. 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.
  14. Krock BL, Eisinger-Mathason TS, Giannoukos DN, Shay JE, 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.
  15. Mucaj V, Lee SS, Skuli N, Giannoukos DN, Qiu B, Eisinger-Mathason TS, Nakazawa MS, Shay JE, 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.
  16. Shay JE, 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.
  17. Eisinger-Mathason TS, Zhang M, Qiu Q, Skuli N, Nakazawa MS, Karakasheva T, Mucaj V, Shay JE, 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.
  18. Wise DR, Ward PS, Shay JE, Cross JR, Gruber JJ, Sachdeva UM, Platt JM, DeMatteo RG, Simon MC, Thompson CB (2011). Hypoxia promotes isocitrate dehydrogenase-dependent carboxylation of ¿-ketoglutarate to citrate to support cell growth and viability. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 108(49), 19611-6.

Review

  1. Shay JES, Yilmaz ÖH (2024). Dietary and metabolic effects on intestinal stem cells in health and disease. [Review]. Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol.
  2. Shay JES, Singh A (2023). The Effect of Obesity on Gastrointestinal Disease. [Review]. Gastroenterol Clin North Am, 52, (2), 403-415.
  3. Shay JES, Hamilton JP (2018). Hepatic fibrosis: Avenues of investigation and clinical implications. [Review]. Clin Liver Dis (Hoboken), 11, (5), 111-114.
  4. Mucaj V, Shay JE, Simon MC (2012). Effects of hypoxia and HIFs on cancer metabolism. [Review]. Int J Hematol, 95, (5), 464-70.
  5. Shay JE, Celeste Simon M (2012). Hypoxia-inducible factors: crosstalk between inflammation and metabolism. [Review]. Semin Cell Dev Biol, 23, (4), 389-94.