Members

The Global NASH Council ™ has been formed to bring together international experts to discuss, collaborate and contribute to the field of NASH. Given the global nature of NAFLD and NASH, it is important to include perspectives from different regions of the world, assess the clinical and economic impact of NASH based on the realities of each country and region. The Global NASH Council ™ meets in person twice per year as well as communicate through several Web-meetings. The in-person meetings are designed to discuss new topics in the field of NASH and design joint projects that will contribute to the understanding of this important liver disease. The Council members also form selected collaborative teams to address specific issues such as region-specific economic impact of NAFLD. Most members of the Global NASH Council ™ are also active participating sites for the the Global NASH Registry ™ and Global Liver Registry ™.
The members are divided (color coded) into those who are primarily involved in NASH, Liver Disease (HCV, HBV, HDV, ALD and PBC) or those who are involved in all of these areas..

Services and Projects Publications and Presentations

The Members of the Council are growing but include the following:

Zobair Younossi, MD, MPH (Chair)
Medical Education:
University of Rochester School of Medicine (MD).
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Chairman of the Global NASH Council
Professor and Chairman, Beatty Liver and Obesity Research Program, Inova Health System
Area of Research interests:
Pioneering research in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, patient reported outcomes, health-related quality of life, economic analysis and outcomes research in liver disease.
Publications and Presentations:
Authored 757 articles, 3 books, 7 journal supplements, 26 book chapters and 1074 abstracts for international scientific meetings and has an H-index of 111.
Comments:
Zobair M Younossi MD MPH is the Chairman of the Global NASH Council as well as the Professor and Chairman of the Beatty Liver and Obesity Research Program at Inova Health System. Dr. Younossi earned his medical degree from the University of Rochester School of Medicine (Alpha Omega Alpha, 1989) and completed his postgraduate training (medicine, gastroenterology and hepatology) at Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation, while earning his Master of Public Health degree with multiple honours (Hanlon Award and Outstanding Student Award) from San Diego State University. He is the current President and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Chronic Liver Disease Foundation (CLDF, 2018-Present). He has served as the Chairman, Department of Medicine, Inova Fairfax Medical Campus (2011-Jan 2024) and the President of Inova Medicine (2019-January 2024). He has also served as the Vice President of Research for Inova Health System (2007-2018), the Chairman of Clinical Research for Inova Health System (2019-2022) and a member and Vice Chair of Inova Health Foundation Board of Trustees (2008-2023) as well as a member of the Board of American College of Gastroenterology Institute. He has represented the American Association of Liver Disease and American Gastroenterological Association at different congressional meetings. He has over 30 years of pioneering research in the field of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD or MASLD) and outcomes research in liver disease, including topics related to health-related quality of life and other patient reported outcomes (PROs). He has authored 757 articles, 3 books, 7 journal supplements, 26 book chapters and 1074 abstracts for international scientific meetings and has an H-index of 112. He has been ranked among Highly Ranked Scholars-Life Time in the area of Liver Disease, NAFLD/MASLD and related areas by Scholar-GPS.
Dr. Younossi's academic experience also includes being the co-editor of Liver International, Associate Editor of J of Hepatology and serving on the editorial board of a number of important medical journals. In addition to research, Dr. Younossi has been actively involved in teaching students, residents, post-doctoral candidates and fellows. He has also served as the Chair, the Director or the Faculty for a number national and international scientific and CME related programs. He has given over 500 presentations in scientific and international meetings.
Faisal Abaalkhail MBBS, FRCPC, FACP
Medical Education:
King AbdulAziz University - MBBS
McGill University - Desautels Faculty of Management
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Transplant Hepatologist and Gastroenterologist at King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center in Riyadh
President of the Saudi Society for the Study of Liver Disease and Transplantation (SASLT)
Area of Research interests:
Liver Transplantation, Viral hepatitis and Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease
Publications and Presentations:
Authored over 53 articles and numerous abstracts
Comments:
Dr. Abaalkhail is currently working as a consultant Transplant Hepatologist and Gastroenterologist at King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center in Riyadh and Adjunct Professor in the College of Medicine at Al Faisal University in Riyadh. He is the president of the Saudi Society for the Study of Liver Disease and Transplantation (SASLT) and the Governor of American College of Physician (ACP) Saudi Arabia chapter. He is also an active board member of the Pan Arab Society of Liver Transplantation. He was also the former Liver Transplant Chairman at King Fahad Specialist Hospital in Dammam. Dr. Abaalkhail is the leading author of the SASLT guidelines for liver transplantation and update in the management of Hepatitis B Virus (HBV).
Manal F. Abdelmalek, MD, MPH
Medical Education:
University of Missour-Kansas City (Combined BA/MD Degree), Kansas City, Missouri, 1992
Internal Medicine Residency, Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Medicine, Rochester, MN, 1995
Gastroenterology and Hepatology Fellowship, Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Medicine, Scottsdale AZ and Rochester, MN, 1998
Masters of Public Health and Epidemiology, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, 2005
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Professor of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN
Director, MASLD Clinical Research Program, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota
Founder and Director of Mayo DeLivers ECHO for Liver Health, Rochester, Minnesota
Area of Research interests:
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, epidemiology, risk-factors for fibrosis progression, biomarker development, emerging therapeutics, clinical trials.
Publications and Presentations:
Authored or co-authored 200+ publications and presentations.
Comments:
Dr. Abdelmalek’s research focuses on the MASLD/MASH, associated risk factors for disease acquisition and progression and novel approaches to treatment. Her research has provided key insights into the association of fructose with MASLD acquisition and fibrosis progression. She has expertise in clinical-translational research, the design and conduct of clinical trials, including investigator-initiated, industry sponsored and NIH-funded clinical studies evaluating new therapies and biomarkers for MASLD/MASH. She collaborates extensively to transition new compounds to first-in-man clinical studies and translate clinic-to-bench and bench-to-clinic research to define pathogenic mechanisms underlying MASLD acquisition and progression. She is a member of the Liver Forum, and advisor / consultant to many industries, FDA, and biomarker development companies in the area of diagnostics and therapeutics for MASH. She is the Principal Investigator on several clincial trial, a member of the AASLD Global Outreach and Engagement Committee and past member of the AASLD and ACG Clinical Research Committees. Dr. Abdelmalek is a Fellow of American College of Physicians, American College of Gastroenterology, American Association for the Study of Liver Disease and an Associate Editor of HEPATOLOGY.
Moncheri Adebayo, MSN, FNP-BC
Medical Education:
University of Maryland, Baltimore, Bachelor of Science in Nursing
University of Maryland, Baltimore, Master of Science in Nursing
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Transplant Hepatology Nurse Practitioner, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University of Maryland Medical Center, Baltimore, MD
Area of Research interests:
Cirrhosis, MASLD, liver transplantation, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), autoimmune hepatitis and cholestatic liver disease.
Publications and Presentations:
Multiple presentations at AASLD Liver Meeting
Comments:
Moncheri Adebayo, MSN, FNP-BC is a Transplant Hepatology Nurse Practitioner. Her clinical and research interests include liver cirrhosis and the outcome of liver disease. She is also focused on the diagnosis and management of MASLD, liver transplantation, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), autoimmune hepatitis and cholestatic liver disease. Mrs. Adebayo is an Associate member of the American Association for the Study of Liver Disease (AASLD) and a member of Gastroenterology and Hepatology for Advanced Practice Providers (GHAPP). She has also participated in pharmaceutical APP Advisory boards.
Gulnara Aghayeva, MD, PhD
Medical Education:
Azerbaijan Medical University (Baku, Azerbaijan)
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Associate Professor of Sechenov Medical University, Baku branch, Internal Diseases Department
Head of the Liver Diseases Center
Head of the Azerbaijan Gastroenterologists and Hepatologists Association
Area of Research interests:
Viral hepatitis B, C, D, MAFLD, liver cirrhosis
Publications and Presentations:
Professor Agahyeva has published over 30 research articles, is co-author of “Association of Pre-Transplant Renal Function with Outcomes after Liver Transplantation in Patients with Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis” manuscript (Submitted to Liver Transplantation journal 2018), and Advancing the global public health agenda for NAFLD: Consensus statement. Nature reviews, Gastroenterology and Hepatology, October, 2021. Over 700 presentations in different regions of Azerbaijan and abroad.
Comments:
Professor Aghayeva is the founder and President of Azerbaijan Gastroenterologists and Hepatologists. Member of APASL since 2004. Member of the APASL Executive Council (2020). President of APASL STC 2019.
Researcher of “Metabolic changes and its influence to results of antiviral treatment in HCV patients” 2010-2011.
Since 2018 - Member of Editorial Board in Journal “Toxicology”, Azerbaijan.
Co-moderator in Closed Door meeting “Viral Hepatitis Delta in Eurasia”, EASL, Expert Advisory Board.
Member of the Committee of Azerbaijan National Antidoping Agency (AMADA)- 2017-2023
Course Director of Hepatitis B Masterclass Webinar Series, International Education System (INEDSYS)-2020
President and co-founder Annual International Gastro-Hepato-Onkology Summit
Aijaz Ahmed, MD
Medical Education:
Fellowship: Stanford University Gastroenterology Fellowship (1999) CA
Internship: Dow Medical College (1991) Pakistan
Medical Education: Dow Medical College (1990) Pakistan.
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Professor of Medicine (Gastroenterology and Hepatology) at the Stanford University Medical Center.
Member, Stanford Diabetes Research Center
Area of Research interests:
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and viral hepatitis.
Publications and Presentations:
Over 150 publications and presentations.
Comments:
Dr. Ahmed’s research interests include nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and viral hepatitis. He has focused my research to database analysis/outcomes and translational research in these areas. While database analysis has been critical in outlining trends in NAFLD and viral hepatitis epidemiology, translational research has provided insight into disease mechanism and future therapies. He collaborates with several basic science colleagues and act as clinical mentor for young investigators involved in translational research. He is also interested and act as adjunct faculty in biodesign and health policy. He has participated in several clinical trials as a co-investigator.
Seema Alam, MBBS, MD
Medical Education:
Dr. Alam did her MBBS in 1987 and MD (Paediatrics) in 1992 from prestigious JNMC, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh.
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Professor and Head in the Department of Paediatric Hepatology, Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences, New Delhi, India. For last 30 years, she is working as Faculty with focused research in the field of Paediatric Gastroenterology and Hepatology.
Area of Research interests:
Wilson’ Disease, PALF, Metabolic Liver Disease, Viral Hepatitis, Autoimmune Diseases, HCC
Publications and Presentations:
Professor Alam is author of more than 150 papers in reputed international and national journals including several chapters in the Gastroenterology and Hepatology text books.
Comments:
Professor Alam is Current President (Jan 2024-Dec 2025) of Indian Society of Paediatric Gastroenterology Hepatology and Nutrition (ISPGHAN).
Shahinul Alam, MD
Medical Education:
Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Medical University Doctor of Medicine (M.D.), Hepatology (1996 - 2002)
Chittaging Medical College, Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) (1986 - 1993)
Dhaka College (1983-1985)
Bangladesh College of Physicians and Surgeons (BCPS) FCPS (Medicine)
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Prof Shahinul Alam is working in the Department of Hepatology of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) and is the pioneer scientist of the country on “Metabolic Associated Fatty Liver Disease (MAFLD/NAFLD).
General Secretary of the Hepatology Society, Dhaka, Bangladesh organized the International Hepatology Conference biannually since 2009.
Area of Research interests:
NAFLD/MASLD and ACLF
Publications and Presentations:
As an eminent scientist, he has 160 publications, of these 92 full articles in national and international journals, 3 books, and 1 book chapter. In recognition of these, in Google Scholar his citation is 2271, h- index is 19 and i- 10 index is 33 and in Research Gate his score is 30.16. He presented his research papers in 15 international conferences in UK, Singapore, India, Australia, China, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Turkey and Hongkong.
Comments:
Prof Dr. Md Shahinul Alam is the pioneer scientist of the country on “Metabolic Associated Fatty Liver Disease (MAFLD/NAFLD). Though the disease is the most common cause of chronic liver disease; the burden, risk factors, genetic and environmental causes, possible lifestyle modification, and pharmacological treatment was 1st time explored by scientist in Bangladesh. Not only in the country he coauthored the “Clinical practice guidelines for the diagnosis and management of metabolic associated fatty liver disease “in 2020 for the Asia Pacific region also. This novel guideline defined the new nomenclature, evaluation and management of fatty liver disease, contributed by scientists from Australia, Japan, China, Singapore, South Korea, India and Bangladesh. Professor Shahinul was awarded by the Asian Pacific Association for the Study of the Liver (APASL) in 2004 in Delhi, India, by the American Association for the Study of the Liver (AASLD) in 2008 in Seoul, South Korea, USA- Japan Joint Medical Science Award (USJMSCP-NIH-APASL) in 2009 at Hongkong, Travel Bursary Award at Indonesia, China and Turkey in 2005, 2010 and 2015 respectively.
He has supervised 15theses and co-supervised5theses of students who were awarded Doctorate of Medicine (MD) Hepatology degrees. He was awarded grants as Principal Investigator and Co-Investigator of 7 research projects of BSMMU. As Course Coordinator and Member Secretary of the Curriculum Committee of the MD Hepatology course, he contributed heavily tothe development of the “Residency Based” curriculum that started in 2011 in BSMMU and upgraded the scenario of post-graduatecourses of the country. As Member Secretary of the Institutional Quality Assurance Committee (IQAC) of the Department of Hepatology of the university, he organized the evaluation and recommended the upgradation of the course. He is a member of the Editorial Board of the World Journal of Hepatology. He is currently contributing as a reviewer of leading scientific publishers of the world including Elsevier, Springer, Blackwell Publishing, Wiley, and Springer Nature.
In recognition of international collaboration for science, he is representing scientists from Bangladesh for “The Acute on Chronic Liver Failure Research Consortium (AARC) and contributed tothe development and upgradation of management guidelines several times. It is the largest collaboration for the research of the disease from 29 countries. In addition to these, he was trained in “Epidemiology and Biostatistics Using SPSS for Windows” by NIPSOM and the University of Cambridge and in “Workshop on Utilization of Computer in Data Analysis” by Bangladesh Medical Research Council. His extracurricular activities were awarded by the Scout Jamboree, National Science Fair, and Bangladesh Shishu Academy.
Professor Md Shahinul Alam has been working as General Secretary of the Hepatology Society, Dhaka, Bangladesh organized the International Hepatology Conference biannually since 2009. He earned the copyright of Food Pyramid on “Dietary Advice for Fatty Liver Patients of Bangladesh”. He is a member of the Asian Pacific Association for the Study of the Liver (APASL), the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL), a Life Member of the Indian Society of Gastroenterology, Life member of the Indian National Association for the Study of the Liver (INASL), Associate Member of British Society of Gastroenterology (BSG), Member, European Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ESGE) and a Life member, Indian Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ISGE).
William Alazawi, MA(Cantab), PhD, FRCP
Medical Education:
University of Cambridge, UK (MA, MB BChir and PhD)
Royal College of Physicians of London, UK (FRCP)
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Professor of Hepatology, Queen Mary University London
Director of Research, Blizard Institute
Principal Investigator, Barts Metabolism Network
Area of Research interests:
Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease: mechanisms of disease including metabolism, inflammation and fibrosis, epidemiology, clinical trials and clinical care pathways
Publications and Presentations:
Widely published in MASLD and models of liver injury - https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3891-5914
Comments:
Professor Alazawi leads a basic and clinical research group which studies the mechanisms and potential treatments of liver disease with funding from the MRC and Wellcome amongst other bodies. He is particularly interested in the development of MASH and fibrosis and understanding its pathogenesis in order to better inform clinical care of patients. This includes identifying the triggers for the switch into steatohepatitis and the initiation of fibrosis with current projects including the role of Toll-like receptors, immune cells (particularly t cell populations) and dietary factors in the development of MASH. His group undertakes genomic and population studies to determine risk factors for disease progression and translate this knowledge into pathways of care for people with MASLD. He is often invited to speak internationally and has an established track record in delivering high quality educational material to specialist as well as lay audiences.
Said A. Al-Busafi, BSc, MD, FRCPC
Medical Education:
Dr. Said A. Al-Busafi earned his Bachelor of Science with Honors (BSc Hons.) in 1999 and a Doctor of Medicine (MD) in 2002 from Sultan Qaboos University. He completed his postgraduate training in internal medicine and gastroenterology and obtained his Fellowship from the Royal College of Physicians of Canada (FRCPC). He also undertook a transplantation hepatology fellowship at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. He is double board-certified in internal medicine and gastroenterology from the American Board of Internal Medicine and the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Dr. Al-Busafi serves as a Senior Consultant and Head of the Gastroenterology Unit at Sultan Qaboos University Hospital. He is also an Associate Professor at the College of Medicine and Health Sciences at Sultan Qaboos University, where he actively contributes to medical education and mentors students, medical and surgical residents, and junior faculty members. Additionally, he holds the position of Assistant Dean of Training and Community Services at the college.
Dr. Al-Busafi is a member of various professional societies and served on the Education Steering Committee of the Oman Internal Medicine Training Program and the Oman Medical Specialty Board. He is a member of the Scientific Committee for Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology programs in the Arab Board of Health Specialization. In addition to chairing and co-chairing several committees focused on teaching and research, he serves on the Editorial Board of the Saudi Journal of Gastroenterology.
Area of Research interests:
Dr. Al-Busafi’s research primarily focuses on hepatology, with notable contributions to viral hepatitis (Hepatitis B and C), liver cirrhosis, portal hypertension, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), and hepatocellular carcinoma. He has also conducted research on managing chronic liver diseases in Oman, improving patient outcomes, and exploring inflammatory bowel disease and colorectal neoplasia.
Publications and Presentations:
Dr. Al-Busafi has published extensively in high-impact medical journals, including studies on hepatitis C virus predictors and clinical outcomes in liver disease. His work has been presented at numerous national and international conferences, advancing the understanding of chronic liver diseases, especially those in the Middle East.
To date, Dr. Al-Busafi has published 46 peer-reviewed papers in Scopus, including in top-tier journals such as The Lancet Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Journal of Hepatology, Journal of Viral Hepatitis, Metabolism, Vaccines, EClinical Medicine, and Liver International. According to Google Scholar (October 2024), his work has been cited 5,553 times, with an h-index of 26. On Scopus (October 2024), his citations total 4,067, with an h-index of 15.
Comments:
Dr. Al-Busafi is recognized for his pioneering research in gastroenterology and hepatology, particularly in understanding liver disease progression and treatment. He is deeply involved in training the next generation of healthcare professionals in Oman and globally. His leadership and contributions to clinical research have significantly advanced the medical field in Oman, making him a respected figure in gastroenterology.
Hamad Al-Ibrahim, MD, MPhil, EMBA
Medical Education:
Ph.D. in Public Policy Analysis, Pardee RAND Graduate School (Expected 2023), Specializing in Artificial Intelligence in Health.
MPhil in Policy Analysis, Pardee RAND Graduate School (2020)
EMBA, HEC Paris (2013), Major in Entrepreneurship and Innovation
MD, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (2006)
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Assistant Policy Researcher at RAND Corporation (2018 - Present)
Vice President of the Antidoping Lab in Qatar (2016-2020)
Chairman of Qatar Science and Technology Park (2015-2018)
Executive Vice President, Qatar Foundation Research and Development (2015-2018)
Area of Research interests:
Specializing in the intersection of public policy and artificial intelligence, particularly in health applications.
Focus on strategic policy planning, innovation in health care systems, and the application of AI in public funding agencies.
Publications and Presentations:
Authored a few peer-reviewed journal articles and policy reports on public health, policy analysis, and strategic planning. (https://www.rand.org/about/people/a/al-ibrahim_hamad.html#publications)
Presented research findings in various academic and policy forums, demonstrating expertise in health policy, strategic planning, and AI applications.
Comments:
Hamad Al-Ibrahim is actively engaged in policy research and development, focusing on the applications of artificial intelligence (AI) in the decision-making process. His academic and professional journey has been marked by leadership roles in prestigious organizations, where he has led strategic initiatives to drive innovation in research and policy planning. With a solid academic background and rich professional experience, Hamad is committed to advancing research and development in AI and public policy.
Bandar Aljudaibi, MBBS, MHM, FRCPC
Medical Education:
King Saud University
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Chairman of Liver and Small Bowel Health Centre, Organ Transplant Center of Excellence, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre
Adult Transplant Hepatologist, King Faisal Special hospital and Research Centre
Area of Research interests:
Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease, frailty and sarcopenia in liver transplant candidates, and transplant oncology.
Comments:
Dr. Aljudaibi has been the Chairman of the Liver and Small Bowel Health Centre at King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre since 2024. Prior to joining KFSH, Dr. Aljudaibi served as the Medical Director of Liver Transplant at Strong Memorial Hospital and was a Professor of Medicine and Surgery at the University of Rochester.
Dr. Aljudaibi received his training in medicine, clinical pharmacology, gastroenterology, and hepatology at Western University in London, Canada. He then joined Western University as an Assistant Professor in the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology. During his tenure at Western University, he also completed a Master's degree in Health Care Management from McGill University in Montreal, Canada.
Dr. Aljudaibi has been the principal investigator of several clinical trials and served on the governing board of the New York Liver Transplant Center. He is currently a member of the International Liver Transplant Society Education and Scholarship Committee.
Naim Alkhouri, MD
Medical Education:
University of Damascus (MD).
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Chief Medical Officer (CMO) and Director of the Fatty Liver Program at Arizona Liver Health (ALH).
Area of Research interests:
Pioneering research in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease biomarkers and drug development, Epidemiology and outcomes research in liver disease including liver transplantation.
Publications and Presentations:
Authored over 230 articles, 15 book chapters, over 400 abstracts at scientific meetings and over 200 faculty lectures. His current h Index is 61 (July 2023).
Comments:
Naim Alkhouri, M.D., is the Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Chief of Transplant Hepatology, and Director of the Fatty Liver Program at Arizona Liver Health (ALH) in Phoenix, AZ. Prior to joining ALH, Dr. Alkhouri served as the director of the Metabolic Health Center at the Texas Liver Institute and Associate Professor of Medicine and Pediatric at the University of Texas (UT) Health in San Antonio, TX.
Dr. Alkhouri completed his Gastroenterology and Transplant Hepatology training at the renowned Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, OH where he was also appointed Assistant Professor of Medicine and Director of the Metabolic Liver Disease Clinic at the Cleveland Clinic Digestive Disease and Surgery Institute.
Dr. Alkhouri is a key opinion leader in the field of NASH therapeutics and an advisor/ consultant to many pharmaceutical and biomarker development companies. He is Principal Investigator on several multicenter global NASH trials and a member of the AASLD NASH Special Interest Group (NASH SIG).
Dr. Alkhouri has been published in over 230 publications to include publications in the New England Journal of Medicine, Lancet, JAMA, Nature Medicine, Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Journal of Hepatology. He presents his work at both national and international medical conferences.
Khalid Al-Naamani, BSc, MD, FRCPC, FRCP (Edin.) FAGA
Medical Education:
BSc, College of Medicine, Sultan Qaboos University, Oman (1995)
MD, College of Medicine, Sultan Qaboos University, Oman (1998)
FRCPC, Internal Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, Canada (2004)
FRCPC, Gastroenterology, McGill University, Montreal, Canada (2006)
Fellowship in Therapeutic Endoscopy, Hepatology and Liver Transplantation from McGill University, Montreal, Canada (2008)
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Senior Consultant Hepatology and liver transplantation, Armed Forces Hospital, Muscat, Oman
Chairman of Oman national liver transplant scientific committee
Chairman of Medical Research Ethics committee at Forces Medical Services, Oman
Area of Research interests:
Steatotic Liver Disease, Hepatocellular Carcinoma, Autoimmune liver disease, Hepatitis B, and Live Transplantation
Publications and Presentations:
More than 50 publications in international peer-reviewed journals
Comments:
Dr Al-Naamani has completed his hepatology and liver transplantation fellowship from McGill University, Montreal, Canada and currently he is the chairman of Oman national liver transplant scientific committee and the chairman of follow up health care committee at Oman Medical Specialty Board. He has established two specialized hepatology clinics at Sultan Qaboos University Hospital and the Armed Forces Hospital, Muscat, Oman. He is also an associate editor at Sultan Qaboos University medical Journal and a member of the medical research ethics committee at college of medicine, Sultan Qaboos University.
Alina M. Allen, MD
Medical Education:
Gr. T. Popa University of Medicine and Pharmacy (2005) MD
Saint Louis University School of Medicine (2010) Residency
Saint Louis University School of Medicine (2011) Chief Resident
Gastroenterology Fellowship Program, Programs in Rochester, Mayo School of Graduate Medical Education, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine (2014)
Transplant Hepatology Fellowship, Mayo Graduate School of Medicine, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine (2015)
BASIC SCIENCE MASTERS, Clinical and Translational Science, Programs, Mayo Graduate School, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine (2023)
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Gastroenterologist, Internist, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota
Founder and Director of the NAFLD Clinic at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota
Area of Research interests:
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, biomarker development, predictive outcome modeling, large database research, digital hepatology, artificial intelligence, epidemiology
Publications and Presentations:
Authored or co-authored more than 50 publications and presentations.
Comments:
Dr. Allen’s work aims to develop easily accessible methods for screening and predicting disease trajectory in patients with NAFLD. Early identification of this disease could improve outcomes and prevent complications such as cirrhosis, liver cancer, the need for transplantation, and death. Areas of focus include noninvasive biomarker development for NASH, individualized prediction of future development of cirrhosis and complications using MRE, population-based research using large data sets and use of artificial intelligence methods to develop predictive models of future risk of liver events and mortality. She is the founder and Director of the NAFLD Clinic at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN.
Hussain Abdulrahman Al-Omar, MSc, PhD
Education:
Executive Education in Business Strategy and Financial Performance, INSEAD Business School, INSEAD, Fontainebleau, France (2019).
PhD in Clinical Practice and Medication Use (Health Economics and Outcomes Research), Faculty of Life Sciences and Medicine, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom (2017).
MSc in Clinical Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (2007).
BSc in Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (1999/2000).
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Associate Professor, Department of Clinical Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Director, Health Technology Assessment Fellowship Program, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Advisor, Pharmaceutical Pricing and Reimbursement, Center for National Health Insurance, Saudi Arabia.
Director, Health Technology Assessment Unit, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Area of Research interests:
Health Technology Assessment, Managed Entry Agreements, Innovative Payment Models for Health Technologies, Pricing and Reimbursement, Economic Evaluation (advanced and de novo economic modeling), Health Policy/Pharmaceutical Policy, Value Based Procurement.
Publications and Presentations:
Authored or co-authored more than 50 publications and presentations.
Comments:
Dr. Al-Omar is a consultant and associate professor of pharmacoeconomics and pharmaceutical policy in the Department of Clinical Pharmacy at King Saud University. Also at KSU, he is Director of the Health Technology Assessment (HTA) unit and the HTA fellowship program. Dr. Al-Omar founded the first university-based HTA unit at KSU in 2020 to serve the needs of health policy and decision-makers in both public and private sectors while keeping them informed using scientific approaches and robust methods. He also co-founded the Pharmacoeconomics Research Unit at KSU in 2007 to be the first university-based unit in the country dedicated to identifying, measuring, and comparing the costs and consequences of pharmaceutical products and services. Dr. Al-Omar further works as senior advisor for several healthcare organizations. Dr. Al-Omar is known internationally as a global subject matter expert in the fields of HTA and pricing and reimbursement. He has given a number of talks and presentations on HTA, both nationally and internationally, to healthcare professionals, industry representatives, and policy and decision-makers. He actively collaborates as a researcher with local and international institutions, has authored several landmark studies on HTA and managed entry agreements in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA).
Saleh Alqahtani, MD
Medical Education:
MD, King Abdul Aziz University (1999)
University of Western Internal Medicine (2004)
University of Calgary / Gastroenterology (2007)
Mayo Clinic School of Medicine/Hepatology (2008)
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Chairman and CEO, Royal Clinics, Saudi Arabia
Professor of Medicine, Alfaisal University/King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Associate Professor of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, NY, US
Area of Research interests:
Fatty Liver Disease, Viral hepatitis, Liver Cancer; Obesity
Publications and Presentations:
Multiple publications in international peer-reviewed journals, Internationally invited speaker at scientific conferences, Author of book chapters
Comments:
Dr. Alqahtani is currently the Chairman and CEO of the Royal Clinics in Saudi Arabia. Prior to joining the Royal Clinics, he was the Medical Director of International Digestive and Liver Services at Johns Hopkins Hospital, USA. Dr. Alqahtani earned his medical degree from the King Abdulaziz University, Saudi Arabia and completed his postgraduate training in gastroenterology at the University of Calgary, Canada, followed by an advanced Liver Disease fellowship at the Mayo Clinic, USA.
Dr. Alqahtani is the recipient of several awards and honors and serves as a member on editorial and advisory boards. He has published extensively in peer-reviewed journals, has authored book chapters and is an expert in liver, digestive diseases and endoscopy. He has been the principal investigator of clinical trials related to the management of viral hepatitis and fatty liver disease, including novel agents, and the co-investigator for many clinical trials in liver cancer, liver cirrhosis and outcome of liver transplantation. Dr. Alqahtani is a regional and internationally invited speaker at scientific conferences in the United States, Middle East, Latin America, Asia and Europe.
Dr. Alqahtani is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine in Gastroenterology, Transplant Hepatology and Obesity Medicine, and is a member of professional societies including the American College of Gastroenterology, the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, the European Association for the Study of the Liver, the Mayo Clinic Alumni Association, and the Johns Hopkins Alumni Association.
Khalid Alswat, MD, FACP, MRCP, MBA-IHM
Medical Education:
MBBS from the School of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah (1997)
Postgraduate training at King Saud University, and a Hepatology fellowship from the University of Toronto, Canada (2008)
MBA from Frankfurt School of Finance and Management (2020)
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Professor and Consultant Hepatologist, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Director of Liver Disease Research Canter, College of Medicine, King Saud University.
Area of Research interests:
Clinical research on Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, viral hepatitis, and non-invasive test of liver fibrosis.
Publications and Presentations:
Professor Alswat has published over 80 peer-reviewed papers on liver disease and multiple national policy documents and has given numerous scientific and educational presentations on NAFLD and other liver diseases.
Quentin M. Anstee BSc(Hons), MB BS, PhD, MRCP(UK), FRCP
Medical Education:
Trained in medicine at University College London where he was awarded a First Class Honours degree and won First Prize in Medicine in the final MB BS examination
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Chair of Experimental Hepatology and the Deputy-Dean of Research & Innovation in the Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle University, UK.
Honorary Consultant Hepatologist in the Liver Transplant Unit at Newcastle’s Freeman Hospital where he leads one of the largest Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) clinical services in the U.K.
Area of Research interests:
Pathophysiology, natural history, diagnosis and treatment of NAFLD.
Comments:
Prof Anstee’s translational research has made major contributions across the pathophysiology, natural history, diagnosis and treatment of NAFLD. His work has provided key insights into temporal changes in steatohepatitis during disease evolution, identified genetic and epigenetic modifiers of liver disease progression and hepatocellular carcinoma risk, and has substantially advanced the field of biomarker development in liver disease. He coordinates two major international research consortia that are studying NAFLD pathogenesis and developing/validating accurate biomarkers to assist the diagnosis, risk-stratification and monitoring of patients with NAFLD: ‘EPoS’ Elucidating Pathways of Steatohepatitis (EU H2020 funded €6 million, 2015-2019) and ‘LITMUS’ Liver Investigation: Testing Marker Utility in Steatohepatitis (EU IMI2 funded €47.3 million, 2017-2023). He leads the European NAFLD Registry and is the chief investigator of multiple ongoing clinical trials assessing new medical therapies for NAFLD. He is an Associate Editor of the Journal of Hepatology.
Juan Pablo Arab, MD
Medical Education:
Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile and Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA.
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Associate Professor of Medicine at the Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, and the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Schulich School of Medicine, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada.
Area of Research interests:
Steatotic liver disease [alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD) and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD)], Epidemiology and outcomes research in liver disease including liver transplantation.
Publications and Presentations:
Authored over 170 articles, 15 book chapters. His current h Index is 40 (October 2023).
Comments:
Dr. Arab is Associate Professor of Medicine at the Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, and the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Schulich School of Medicine, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada. Trained at the Pontificia Universidad Catolica, Chile and Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA.
Dr. Arab is a Gastroenterology and Hepatology specialist, Transplant Hepatologist, and Clinical Researcher with an interest in clinical/translational research and epidemiology in steatotic liver disease [alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD) and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD)]. He has published more than 170 peer-reviewed papers, co-authored several book chapters, and delivered lectures on liver-related topics at national and international meetings. He has also participated in the generation of clinical practice guidelines for alcohol-related liver disease, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, and hepatorenal syndrome and regularly serves as an expert reviewer of research grants and scientific research abstracts for multiple societies, funding agencies, and international peer-reviewed journals.
He is an Associate Editor for Hepatology (flagship AASLD journal). Additionally, he is spearheading international collaboration groups aiming to study alcohol-associated liver disease and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (AH-LATIN and Global AlcHep BigData Network). Dr. Arab is a member of the AASLD Global Outreach and Engagement Committee. He is currently the Vice-Chair of the Special Interest Group on alcohol-associated liver disease of the AASLD. Additionally, he is the Chair of the Education and Scholarship Committee of the International Liver Transplantation Society (ILTS).
Ilona Argirion, PhD, MPH
Medical Education:
National Cancer Institute, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, Postdoctoral Fellow
University of Michigan, PhD in Environmental and Occupational Epidemiology
University of Michigan, MPH in Epidemiologic Methods and Applications
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Assistant Professor, Georgetown University Medical Center
Affiliate, National Cancer Institute
Area of Research interests:
Molecular epidemiology, hepatobiliary cancers, natural progression of disease, Infections and immunoepidemiology, biomarker development, predictive modeling, artificial intelligence, pathology.
Publications and Presentations:
Authored or co-authored more than 40 publications and presentations
Comments:
Dr. Ilona Argirion is a tenure-track Assistant Professor at the Georgetown University Medical Center. Her research largely focuses on the immunoepidemiology of cancers with infectious etiology, with a special interest in hepatobiliary cancers. Her multifaceted research portfolio includes the evaluation of biological differences in hepatic disease progression among those chronically infected with hepatitis B and C, the impact of hepatitis D on hepatic disease progression, and understanding the underlying etiology and biology of biliary tract cancers.
Marco Arrese Jimenez MD, FAASLD
Medical Education:
M. D., University of Chile, School of Medicine (1987)
Internal Medicine Residency, Catholic University of Chile, School of Medicine (1988-1991)
Chief Resident (1990-1991), Catholic University of Chile, School of Medicine (1991)
Gastroenterology Fellowship, Department of Gastroenterology, Catholic University of Chile, School of Medicine (1991-1993)
Research Fellowship (Experimental Hepatology), Supported by the Fogarty International Center, NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA. Gastroenterology/Hepatology section, Department of Pediatrics, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA (1995-1997)
Specialty:
Hepatology
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Professor of Medicine, Department of Gastroenterology, School of Medicine, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (http://medicina.uc.cl)
Area of Research interests:
Steatotic Liver Disease, Crhonic liver disease, Bile Acids, Cholestasis, DILI
Publications and Presentations:
Professor Arrese Jimenez has published mote than 200 peer reviewed papers and has delivered more than 70 international lectures on topics of liver disease.
Tarik Asselah, MD, PhD
Medical Education:
University of Paris-Cité, and Hôpital Beaujon, Assitance Publique des Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP), Clichy, France.
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Full Professor of Medicine and Hepatology, caring for patients at Hôpital Beaujon, Assitance Publique des Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP), Clichy, France, and teaching at the University of Paris-Cité, France. Professor Asselah is the Head of Viral Hepatitis at Institut national de la santé et de la recherche médicale (INSERM ; UMR 1149), Centre de Recherche sur l’Inflammation).
Area of Research interests:
Prof. Asselah’s fields of research include chronic liver diseases, translational medicine, precision medicine, and treatment of viral hepatitis (HBV, HCV and HDV). Prof. Asselah is a coordinator/principal investigator for many international clinical trials of therapies for chronic viral hepatitis with particular interest in early phase development (from phase I to III) of new direct acting antiviral therapies.
Publications and Presentations:
Authored 300 articles in major journals (The New England Journal of Medicine, The Lancet, Gastroenterology, Hepatology, Journal of Hepatology, etc…) with over 15,000 total citations (H-index = 61). He has authored 3 books, 10 journal supplements, 20 book chapters.
Comments:
Prof. Asselah has coordinated at the international level major international clinical trials on viral hepatitis, such as Solstice (NCT05461170, Vir Biotechnology), MYR-204 (NCT03852433, Gilead), Octopus (NCT05275023, Janssen), and Endurance-4 (NCT02636595, AbbVie) studies. Prof. Asselah was an expert for the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) Clinical Practice Guidelines on hepatitis delta virus in 2023.
He has been selected as a Rising Star in Gastroenterology in 2009 by the United European Gastroenterology (UEG) in appreciation of his outstanding scientific work. He received awards for his genomic studies on HCV in 2005 from the French Association for Liver Disease (AFEF), and for his leadership in hepatology in 2019 from the Czech Hepatology Society. In 2023, Prof. Asselah received the Faculty Outstanding Research Output Award from the Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine of Hong Kong.
Munkhjargal Ayurzana MD
Medical Education:
Mongolian National University of Medical Sciences (MD)
Management Academy of Mongolia (MBA)
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Project leader, Hepatitis free Mongolia funded by the Rotary Foundation since 2016.
Consultant and auditor of the quality management system and accreditation of healthcare organizations.
Area of Research interests:
Prevention, screening and treatment of the liver disease.
Publications and Presentations:
Authored and reviewed multiple national policy documents and presentations.
Comments:
Dr. Munkhjargal Ayurzana initiated and managed the liver disease prevention program in Mongolia funded by the Rotary Foundation. Dr. Munkhjargal conducted Country Pilot for Validation of Elimination of Viral Hepatitis as a Public Health Problem in Mongolia in 2022 with the WHO guidance. Also, Dr. Munkhjargal provided consultancy on viral hepatitis prevention and capacity building for health care workers to support Healthy Liver Program by the Government of Mongolia.
Meena B. Bansal, MD
Medical Education:
Weill-Cornell Medical School
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Tenured Professor of Medicine,
Director, MASLD/MASH (NAFLD/NASH) Center of Excellence
Director, Translational Research, Division of Liver Diseases, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Area of Research interests:
MASLD/MASH: Predictive algorithms of fibrosis progression and regression, sub-phenotyping of the heterogenous NASH population, non-invasive assessments of liver fibrosis, and novel population screening and therapeutic approaches.
Molecular mechanisms of Liver Inflammation and Fibrosis
HIV and liver disease
Publications and Presentations:
50+ publications, 15+ Invited Reviews, Editorial, and Textbook Chapters, 6 current Active Grants, PI on 10 Current NASH Clinical Trials. 150+ Invited Lectures
Comments:
Dr. Bansal joined the faculty at Mount Sinai in 2001 after completing Gastroenterology Fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania. In 2002 she became the Transplant Hepatology Fellowship Director, leading one of the largest transplant hepatology fellowships in the United States. While remaining clinically active, she had also developed an NIH-funded basic research program focusing on understanding underlying molecular mechanisms of liver fibrosis/cirrhosis in an effort to develop novel anti-fibrotic therapies. Her current research interests focus on how HIV may promote hepatic inflammation and fibrosis as well as novel therapeutic strategies for Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH). She became the Director of Translational Research in the Division of Liver Diseases in 2013 and is the principal investigator in a number of clinical trials for the treatment of NASH. From 2015-2021 Dr. Bansal served as the Chief Medical Officer of Mount Sinai Care LLC (2015-2018), Deputy Chief Medical Officer for Mount Sinai Health Partners (2015-2021), and Vice-President in Pop Health for Quality and Efficiency (2017-2021). In these roles, Dr. Bansal had the opportunity to translate findings from research/clinical trials to address population health needs, generate millions of quality bonus dollars in value-based care contracts, and understand payor relations in an ever-changing healthcare landscape. From 2019-2021, she served as Secretary of the American Association of the Study of Liver Diseases. In 2022, she became the Director of the newly formed MASLD/MASH (NAFLD/NASH) Center of Excellence at Mount Sinai where she is focused on developing a longitudinal registry for predictive algorithms of fibrosis progression and regression, sub-phenotyping of the heterogenous NASH population, non-invasive assessments of liver fibrosis, and novel population screening and therapeutic approaches.
Diana Barb, M.D., F.A.C.E., DABOM
Medical Education:
George E. Palade University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Romania (2000) MD
Internship and Endocrinology Residency, University of Medicine and Pharmacy Targu-Mures, Romania (2004)
Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA (2006)
J. Willis Hurst Internal Medicine Residency Program, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA (2011)
Emory University Endocrinology Fellowship Program, Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Atlanta, GA (2013)
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Clinical Associate Professor, Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
Area of Research interests:
Metabolic associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), formerly known as nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), insulin resistance and obesity.
Publications and Presentations:
Authored or co-authored peer reviewed publications and presentations in MASLD field.
Comments:
Dr. Diana Barb is a Clinical Associate Professor in the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism at the University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida. She received her medical degree in Romania from the University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Targu Mures. She did a two-year research fellowship, focusing on obesity, and adipokines at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts, followed by Internal Medicine Residency and Endocrinology Fellowship at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. Dr. Diana Barb is board certified in internal medicine (ABIM), general endocrinology, and obesity medicine (ABOM). Her research areas of specialization are in obesity and metabolism, with a particular focus on metabolic associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), formerly known as nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). She is a co-investigator in clinical trials in NAFLD and participated in AACE and AASLD NAFLD guidelines committees.
Jessica Bartholomew, MSN, APRN, FNP-C
Medical Education:
Master of Science in Nursing – University of Texas HSC at Houston
Bachelor of Science in Nursing – University of Texas HSC at Houston
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Sub-Investigator at Houston Research Institute
Area of Research interests:
Viral hepatitis, MASLD/MASH, liver cirrhosis, non-invasive testing
Comments:
Jessica Bartholomew is a dedicated Nurse Practitioner with extensive experience in hepatology. She began her healthcare career as a registered nurse in 2013 and transitioned to gastroenterology in 2016. Since 2021, she has provided comprehensive care as a GI Nurse Practitioner with Texas Digestive Disease Consultants. In 2024, she joined the Houston Research Institute as a sub-investigator. Jessica actively participates in projects aimed at enhancing the understanding and management of liver diseases, particularly MASLD/MASH. As a sub-investigator on multiple trials, she contributes to research initiatives that advance hepatology practice. She is committed to improving patient outcomes through evidence-based care and collaborative efforts in hepatology.
Rita Basu MD
Medical Education:
Jawaharlal Institute of Post-Graduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER), Pondicherry, India
Mayo Graduate School of Medical Education: Fellowship in Endocrinology
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Professor of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Department of Medicine.
Clinical Education Director of the Center of Diabetes Technology.
Vice Chair Institutional Review Board –Health Sciences Research, School of Medicine, University of Virginia
Area of Research interests:
Developing advanced treatments for diabetes, as well as using state-of-the-art methods she pioneered in her very productive career spanning over 20 years at Mayo Clinic and now at the University of Virginia to investigate abnormal carbohydrate metabolism in both type 1 and type 2 diabetes. Her research focusses on the pathophysiology of pre-diabetes, type 2 diabetes, and other metabolic diseases such as NAFLD/NASH and she leads an international program in education of diabetes technology. Her goal is to provide state-of-the-art technology to all patients with diabetes to improve their management and care. More information on https://med.virginia.edu/diabetes-technology/faculty/rita-basu
Publications and Presentations:
Dr. Rita Basu has more than 130 publications. Partial bibliography.
Comments:
Dr. Rita Basu, MD., is a tenured Professor in the Division of Endocrinology, department of Medicine at the University of Virginia. She was recruited from the Mayo Clinic, Rochester where she was a faculty since 1995 (career spanning 23 years) to lead a Center for Diabetes Excellence at UVA as part of their Strategic Investment Plan. She has a long history of leading clinical trials and research in integrated physiology of diabetes and remains continuously funded by the National Institute of Health in USA for three decades and is a prolific author in high impact journals. She serves on the scientific sessions planning committee for the American Diabetes Association. Professor Basu is the Clinical Education Director of a National and International program for education and training for advanced management of diabetes using technology (CGM, Pumps etc.) at the UVA. She continues to be involved in ethics and human subject’s protections. Her mission is to improve care of patients with diabetes and other metabolic disorders using state of the art technologies being developed at the UVA.
Ramon Bataller, MD, PhD
Medical Education:
Medicine at the University of Valencia
University of Barcelona
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Chief of the Liver Unit, University of Barcelona
Comments:
Dr. Bataller graduated from Medicine at the University of Valencia, and completed his liver fellowship and the PhD in the University of Barcelona. After a research fellowship at Chapel Hill in USA, he started working in the Hospital Clinic in Barcelona in 2003 focusing clinically and research wise on ArLD. He spent the last decade in the USA and served as a Chief of Hepatology in the University of Pittsburgh. He led the international InTeam consortium to study alcohol-related hepatitis and build a multidisciplinary team to treat patients with ArLD. 10 months ago, he returned to Barcelona where he currently serves as a Chief of the Liver Unit.
Sherona Bau, ACNP, MSN
Medical Education:
Acute Care Nurse Practitioner at University of California, Los Angeles
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Acuter Care Nurse Practitioner at the Pfleger Liver Institute at University of California, Los Angeles
Faculty, Gastroenterology and Hepatology Advanced Practice Providers (GHAPP)
Area of Research interests:
Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease, viral hepatitis, cholestatic liver diseases, and alcohol-associated liver disease
Publications and Presentations:
Over 10 co-authored publications and over 30 public presentations
Comments:
Sherona Bau, ACNP is an Acute Care Nurse Practitioner at the Pfleger Liver Institute at UCLA over a decade. She is also a faulty in GHAPP and a speaker for National and Regional GHAPP conference since 2017. She is also a speaker for AGACNP program over the past 8 years at UCLA.
Michael Betel, MSc, BA
Medical Education:
MSc Photography, Brooks Institute, Santa Barbara, CA; BA, York University, Toronto, Canada
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
President and Founder, Fatty Liver Alliance
Area of Research interests:
MASLD/NAFLD, MASH/NASH
Publications and Presentations:
Michael has authored, and contributed to publications, posters and conference abstracts and presented at a number of international conferences and summit. He is a member of several community advisory boards focused on MASLD and MASH.
Comments:
Michael has held senior leadership roles in the Pharmaceutical industry, as well as volunteered and worked in the not-for-profit charity sector. Michael is on the Community Advisory Board of the Canadian Association for the Study of the Liver, and on the committee to develop MASLD/MASH Guidance Statements.
Ajeet Singh Bhadoria, MBBS, MD
Medical Education:
MBBS in 2003
MD (Community Medicine) in 2009
Post Graduate Diploma (Epidemiology) in 2013
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Additional Professor, Community and Family Medicine at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Rishikesh, India
Faculty in-charge, Preventive Hepatology, AIIMS Rishikesh, India
Visiting Professor, University of South Wales (2023-2028)
Area of Research interests:
Preventive Hepatology, Epidemiology, MASLD (NAFLD), Obesity, Viral Hepatitis, Alcoholic Liver Diseases and Liver Cancer
Publications and Presentations:
Dr Bhadoria has authored more than 150 scientific publications majorly on Preventive Hepatology including epidemiology and preventive aspects of liver diseases) in renowned journals like The Lancet and The Lancet Gastro Hepatology, The Gut, The Gastroenterology, The Liver International etc. He has attended and presented research work in more than 20 international scientific meetings hosted by WHO, EASL AASLD APASL INASL etc.
He is Editor of upcoming text book on Preventive Hepatology by Taylor and Francis and has authored several chapters in the text books on Community Medicine, Public Health, Epidemiology and Research Methodology.
He’s managing editor of Journal of Medical Evidence- an official publication of AIIMS Rishikesh.
Bibliometric indices: Scholar: H-index 28, i10-index: 58; citation index 5,200
Comments:
Dr Bhadoria is practicing and promoting Preventive Hepatology. He is running Preventive Hepatology clinic with liver and fatty liver clinics at AIIMS Rishikesh providing comprehensive preventive care on liver diseases to patients and their relatives. He is also running satellite Preventive Hepatology clinics in community as well as in special settings like Prisons.
Dr Bhadoria is a master trainer for multiple capacity building efforts on Preventive Hepatology mainly focusing on fatty liver and viral hepatitis in India. He has developed 4 module training on NAFLD for medical officers with Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI).
Dr Bhadoria is an active Member of Indian National Association for Study of the Liver (INASL and European Association for the Study of Liver (EASL)He is national convener of INASL Task Force on Preventive Hepatology and active member of the INASL Task Force on Alcoholic Liver Diseases and contributing in Indian consortium on MASLD (ICOM-D).
Neeraj Bhala, MBChB, MSc(Epi), FRCP, FRACP, FRCPE, DPhil(Oxon)
Medical Education:
DPhil in Clinical Medicine and Epidemiology, Nuffield Department of Population Health, University of Oxford.
Awarded Fellowship of Royal College of Physicians of Australasia, London and Edinburgh (Elected Council Member of latter).
Master of Science in Epidemiology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
MBChB. University of Sheffield Medical School.
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Clinical Associate Professor of Gastroenterology (with tenure), Nottingham Digestive Diseases Centre, University of Nottingham Medical School, UK.
Consultant Physician and Gastroenterologist, Queens Medical Centre, Nottingham. Recently Visiting Scientist at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA.
Previously Site Lead for GI Medicine, Alcohol Care Team Lead, Associate Medical Director, Senior Research Fellow and Consultant Physician and Gastroenterologist at Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham.
Previously Consultant Gastroenterologist and Hepatologist at Wellington Regional Hospital and University of Otago Medical School, North Island, New Zealand.
Previous MRC Health of the Public Research Fellowship at Clinical Trial Service Unit (now Nuffield Department of Population Health), University of Oxford.
Area of Research interests:
Research interests focus on burden of GI/liver diseases incl. preventative hepatology.
Global health partnerships and capacity building incl. service development/prevention.
Applied health and implementation approaches incl. integrated informatics.
Publications and Presentations:
Dr. Bhala has published more than 120 manuscripts in epidemiology, clinical GI/liver medicine, including multiple papers in the Lancet, British Medical Journal, Gut and Hepatology and he has an H-index of 55.
Comments:
Dr Bhala is a Gastroenterology and Hepatology specialist, and Clinical/Population Health Researcher with an interest in epidemiology and implementation science in steatotic liver diseases [alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD) and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD)]. He has published more than 120 peer-reviewed papers and delivered lectures on GI/liver-related topics at national/international meetings. He regularly serves as an expert reviewer of research grants and scientific research abstracts for multiple societies, funding agencies, and international peer-reviewed journals with a focus on tackling burden of preventable non-communicable diseases globally.
Starting as a research interest as a junior doctor in alcohol-associated and steatotic liver disease, Dr Bhala was awarded the inaugural Royal College of Physicians Sheila Sherlock Award and has led collaborative international studies to understand the population health burden more reliably, securing competitive funding and fellowships. He has worked with policymakers in the UK and Europe, being invited to regional, national and international initiatives such as the Lancet Liver Commission and Global Burden of Disease Risk Factors working groups.
Dr Bhala led development of Alcohol Care Teams and GI medicine site leadership at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham. He has led on locoregional and nationally funded projects to tackle inequalities in liver disease, being awarded the Midlands Gastroenterology Anniversary Prize and a National Clinical Impact Award. After being awarded a competitive exchange award, he was a Visiting Scientist/Consultant at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA learning about artificial intelligence and population health in GI/liver diseases.
Dr Bhala was elected to the Council of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh and holds roles in the British Society of Gastroenterology and United European Gastroenterology Federation. He has been appointed to a tenured Clinical Associate Professor/Consultant Physician role at the Nottingham Digestive Diseases Centre, Queens Medical Centre and University of Nottingham Medical School with a focus on population health research and global impact in GI/liver diseases.
Jérôme Boursier, MD PhD
Medical Education:
Trained in medicine (2006) and PhD (2011) at Angers University
Post doctoral fellowship at Duke University (2013, Pr Anna Mae Diehl)
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Professor of Medicine at Angers University (2016)
Head of the HIFIH Laboratory (SFR ICAT 4208) at Angers University
Head of the Hepato-Gastroenterology Department at Angers University Hospital
Co-coordinator of the University Hospital Federation Grand Ouest-NASH
Area of Research interests:
Long-standing interest and expertise in natural history, diagnosis, and treatment of steatotic liver diseases.
Publications and Presentations:
Author/co-authors of over 200 papers in international peer reviewed journals, over 150 faculty lectures.
Comments:
Jerome Boursier’s research has made major contributions to the field on non-invasive testing of liver lesions in chronic liver diseases. Initially in chronic viral hepatitis C and now in NAFLD, he has contributed to the development and validation of several tests now widely used in clinical practice. He coordinates several research programs on the non-invasive diagnosis, screening, and prognosis assessment in chronic liver diseases through national research programs, multicenter cohorts, and an international academic/industrial network. He is the General Secretary of the French Association for the Study of the liver (2022-2025)
Paul N Brennan, B.Sc (Hons), MRes, MB ChB, MRCP(UK)
Medical Education:
Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery (MB ChB), University of Dundee, School of Medicine, Dundee, United Kingdom (2012)
Doctorate of Medicine (DM), University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom 2023 Exp
Higher Specialist training – Gastroenterology, Hepatology and G(I)M
European Specialty Examination in Gastroenterology and Hepatology (ESEGH) (2020)
Advanced Liver Transplant Training, Scottish Liver Transplant Unit, Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, United Kingdom (2022)
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Clinical Lecturer (Assistant Professor) and Honorary Specialist Registrar in GI, Hepatology and G(I)M University of Dundee, School of Medicine and NHS Tayside
Area of Research interests:
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), Epidemiology and Natural history of NAFLD, Biomarker Validation, Intelligent Liver Function Testing (iLFT), Early identification strategies for liver disease, Translational Studies and Cellular Therapeutics for CLD.
Publications and Presentations:
I have authored or co-authored more than 40 publications, presentations, in addition to a number of invited national and international lectures.
Comments:
Dr Brennan’s research focuses on the utility of early detection of fibrosis and the translational space therein. Other aspects of interest relate to the use of intelligent liver function testing (iLFT) to improve the diagnosis of liver disease in primary care, in addition to the development of precision approaches for metabolic syndrome and alcohol-related liver disease (ArLD).
I also have an interest in frailty in advanced liver disease, the use of prognostic scores to aid prehabilitation and anticipatory care planning, symptom burden minimisation, and, palliative care integration in pathways of care. As a result of my doctoral studies, I continue to develop an interest in trial design in liver disease, and the utility of autologous or modified iPSC-based cell therapies in promoting advanced fibrosis resolution. Finally, I have a keen interest in health and social determinants relating to referral for transplantation, and poor outcomes relating to lower socioeconomic class.
Fernando Bril, MD
Medical Education:
Instituto Universitario CEMIC, Buenos Aires, Argentina (MD).
Internal Medicine Residency, Instituto Universitario CEMIC, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Research Fellowship, Endocrinology Diabetes and Metabolism, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL.
Internal Medicine Internship, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL.
Internal Medicine Residency, University of Alabama at Birmingham, AL.
Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism Fellowship, University of Alabama at Birmingham, AL.
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Assistant Professor in the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism and Associate Scientist of the UAB Comprehensive Diabetes Center at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, AL.
Area of Research interests:
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), recently renamed metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), adipose tissue dysfunction, insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes and obesity.
Publications and Presentations:
Dr. Bril has over 70 manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals on the areas of NAFLD/MASLD, obesity, and type 2 diabetes, and has given numerous presentations on these topics on national and international meetings.
Comments:
Even before completing medical school, he had a strong interest in clinical research and biostatistics, embarking early-on on a career as a physician-scientist. After completing residency in Argentina, he joined the University of Florida (UF) in Gainesville, FL to complete a research fellowship/post-doc in the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism. He then completed another internal medicine residency and endocrinology fellowship in the USA at University of Alabama at Birmingham. His main research interest has been to understand the metabolic pathways that promote the progression of MASLD in the setting of increased insulin resistance, identify markers for early diagnosis, and assess pharmacological approaches that may be able to change the natural history of the disease. He has successfully applied and combined complex techniques, such as euglycemic hyperinsulinemic clamps, the use of stable isotopes to measure different metabolic fluxes (i.e., glucose turnover, de novo lipogenesis, gluconeogenesis, and/or lipolysis rates), liver magnetic resonance 1H- and 31P-spectroscopy and elastography, and targeted/untargeted metabolomics, among others, to try to answer those questions.
Kimberly Brown, MD, FAASLD, FAST, AGAF
Medical Education:
B.S. Psychology University of Michigan
M.D. Wayne State University School of Medicine
Residency and Chief Residency Internal Medicine University of Michigan
Fellowship Gastroenterology and Hepatology University of Michigan
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Professor of Medicine Wayne State University
Associate Medical Director Henry Ford Transplant Institute
Medical Director Transplant Outreach Services Henry Ford Hospital
Area of Research interests:
Transplantation, Viral Hepatitis, Medical Education, Alcohol Related Liver Disease, MAFLD/MASH/Met-ALD. Cirrhosis and complications of Portal Hypertension.
Publications and Presentations:
Over 97 publications, 131 abstracts and 8 book chapters
Comments:
Kimberly Brown, MD, FAASLD, FAST, AGAF is Professor of Medicine at Wayne State University and the Associate Medical Director of the Henry Ford Hospital Transplant Institute at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit and the Medical Director of Transplant Outreach Services. She is board certified in both Gastroenterology and Transplant Hepatology. She has served previously as Division Chief of Gastroenterology (2004-2023), Medical Director of Liver Transplantation (1994-2004) and Program Director Gastroenterology Fellowship (2004-2008). She has served as board member AST (2008-2010), Secretary-Treasurer AST (2012-2012), Treasurer AST (2013-2014), Board Member Transplant Hepatology Board (2003-2009), SEP Board Member Transplant hepatology 2013-2016), AASLD Secretary (2016-2019), AASLD Foundation Board (2021 to present) and is currently the Chair of the AASLD Foundation Board. She has been a board member of the Chronic Liver Disease Foundation (2010-2019) and has served as the Secretary of the CLDF since 2019. She has served on a variety of Hospital Boards and Hospital and Society Committees as well as the UNOS Liver and Intestine Committee and the Region 10 Regional Review Board. She has over 300 presentations and has served as PI or sub-I on over 48 clinical trials.
Elisabetta Bugianesi MD, PhD
Medical Education:
Clinical researcher graduated at the School of Medicine of the University of Bologna, Italy. Se became specialized in Internal Medicine and later PhD in Hepatology at the University of Bologna and Modena. Her post-graduate training included a PhD fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic and at Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, USA, from 1995 to 1998 where she became expert in the use of stable isotopes to study in vivo metabolism and started a pioneering research activity on NAFLD under the guidance of Prof AJ McCullough
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Associate Professor of Gastroenterology, University of Torino, Italy
Area of Research interests:
Dr. Bugianesi is the national principal investigator of FP7 funded Fatty Liver: Inhibition of Progression (FLIP) consortium (2010-2013), assembling the largest cohort to date of highly phenotyped, histologically characterized patients with NAFLD for the genetics work-package and she is currently involved in other two major EU funded research consortia: ‘EPoS’ Elucidating Pathways of Steatohepatitis (EU H2020 funded €6 million, 2015-2019) and ‘LITMUS’ Liver Investigation: Testing Marker Utility in Steatohepatitis (EU IMI2 funded €34 million, 2017-2022), where she has the role of national lead for Italy.
Publications and Presentations:
Dr. Bugianesi has had 182 publications with Impact Factor of 1274, Scopus H-Index (1990-2019) of 56 (Scopus) and 14,584 Scopus Citations (1990-2017)
Comments:
Dr. Bugianesi is an international acknowledged expert on Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) with over 15-years of experience in the field where she has made a particular impact with work describing the metabolic mechanisms of insulin resistance related to the onset and progression of liver damage, the natural history of the disease including the first demonstration of HCC as a complication of NASH-related liver disease, the development of non-invasive markers of fibrosis including the NAFLD Fibrosis score, currently recommended by the EASL-EASD-EASO Clinical practice Guidelines on NAFLD (J Hepatology, 2016) and the involvement in several trials for the treatment of NAFLD/NASH.
Patrizia Burra, MD, PhD
Medical Education:
Medical Degree at Padova University, Italy (1984).
Specialization on Gastroenterology and Endoscopy at Padova University, Italy (1988).
Visiting Researcher at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, UK (1988-1991).
PhD on Gastroenterology, University of Modena and Padova, Italy (1993).
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Full Professor of Gastroenterology, Department of Surgery, Oncology and Gastroenterology, University of Padova, Italy.
Head of Multivisceral Transplant Unit, Padova University Hospital, Italy.
ViceRector on Research Training, University of Padova, Italy.
Area of Research interests:
Clinical and translational studies in the setting of liver transplantation, mainly regarding antiviral therapy for HCV recurrence, HBV prophylaxis after transplantation, acute alcoholic hepatitis as early indication for liver transplantation, liver transplantation for NASH and NAFLD, adherence to medical treatments and quality of life of transplant recipients.
Publications and Presentations:
Author of 320 articles in international peer-reviewed journals, with an H-index of 52 (Scopus-January 2020) and over 1000 presentations in national and international congresses.
Comments:
She has previously served as President of ELITA, Vice President of ESOT, Chair of ILTS Education Committee, Treasurer of ILTS and ILTS President. She is now Past President of ILTS. She served EASL for 5 years, as EU Policy Councilor until 2016. She is also President of the NGO Marina Minnaja Foundation for the research and study of liver transplantation.
Currently she is Co-chair of The Lancet – EASL Commission on liver diseases in Europe from 2018, Deputy Editor of Journal of Hepatology from 2019 and Associate Editor of Transplant International and Digestive and Liver Disease.
Maria Buti, MD, PhD
Medical Education:
Medical Degree at the University of Barcelona
PhD in Internal Medicine at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Professor of Medicine and Chief of Hepatology- Internal Medicine and at the Vall d'Hebron University Hospital in Barcelona, Spain.
Area of Research interests:
Research focus on diagnosis and therapy of vIral Hepatitis particularly Hepatitis B, C and D.
Publications and Presentations:
Published more than 450 papers the field of liver disease, with numerous papers on viral hepatitis and contributions to books.
Comments:
Dr. Buti has particípated in the commite of EASL Clinical Practice Guidelines on hepatitis B J Hepatol 2017. She has been President of the Spanish Association for the . Study of the LIver from 2017 to 2019. She is currently member of the Governing Board of the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) from 2019 and EASL EU Policy Councilor
Bolormaa Buuveibaatar MD, PhD
Medical Education:
State Medical University of Irkutsk, Russia
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Associate Professor of Gastroenterology Center, The First Central Hospital of Mongolia
Member of Liver transplantation team
Board member of Mongolian Gastroenterology Association
Head of Mongolian MASLD Society
Area of Research interests:
Viral hepatitis B, D, C, Liver cirrhosis and complications, MASLD
Publications and Presentations:
Professor Bolormaa.B has published over 40 abstracts and articles both in Mongolia and internationally.
Comments:
Clinical interests include all areas of hepatology including viral hepatitis B, D infection, liver cirrhosis and its complications, liver transplantation including ABOi transplantation. In addition, Dr. Bolormaa manages patients with decompensated liver cirrhosis including HRS, SBP, ACLF.
Dr. Bolormaa, as a transplant hepatologist, is responsible for evaluating patients who need liver transplantation and monitoring those who have undergone the procedure. Her role is crucial in ensuring the best possible outcomes for liver transplant patients, both before and after the surgery.
She is a member of the coordination committee for the Mongolian national program for the prevention, control, and elimination of viral hepatitis.
Aung Hlaing Bwa, MBBS, MRCP, MRCPE, FRCP
Medical Education:
MBBS (2008), University of Medicine, Mandalay, Myanmar
MRCP (UK) (2104)
Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, FRCP Edin (2019)
Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of London, FRCP London (2020)
Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow, FRCP (Glasg) (2021)
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Consultant Hepatologist, Yangon GI and Liver Centre, Yangon, Myanmar
Clinical Director, Yangon GI and Liver Centre, Yangon, Myanmar
Executive Committee, Myanmar GI and Liver Society (MGLS)
Executive Committee, GI and Liver Foundation, Myanmar (MGLF)
Member of International Relationship Committee, GI and Liver Foundation (GLF), Myanmar
Member of Clinical Guidance Development Committee, GI and Liver Foundation (GLF), Myanmar
Area of Research interests:
Steatotic Liver Disease, Hepatocellular Carcinoma, Hepatitis B and C, and Alcohol related liver disease (ALD), Acute on Chronic Liver Failure (ACLF)
Publications and Presentations:
Authored or co-authored more than 20 publications and presentations. A number of presentations at the international conference and delivered over 200 faculty lectures nationally.
Comments:
Dr. Aung Hlaing Bwa completed his medical degree (MBBS) from the University of Medicine, Mandalay, Myanmar in 2008. He obtained his MRCP (UK) in 2014 and went on to specialize in hepatology under the mentorship of Prof Khin Maung Win. He spent 1 year at University of Pennsylvania, USA, studying hepatology and trasnaplant hepatology under the guidance of Prof K. Rajender Reddy, Prof Abraham Shaked and Prof Kim M. Olthoff. He also completed 3 months International Fellowship Program of Korean Liver Cancer Association (KLCA), in Seoul, South Korea under Prof Seung Kew Yoon at Seoul St. Mary Hospital, The Catholic University of Korea. He was elected as Fellow of the Royal College of Physician (FRCP) of Edinburgh, London and Glasgow. He is also an active member of the AASLD, EASL and APASL.
Jose Luis Calleja Panero, MD, PhD
Medical Education:
Medical Degree (1990). Universidad Autónoma de Madrid
PhD: Doctoral Thesis: Non invasive evaluation of the portal flor and forearm flor to predict the portal presure response to pharmacological treatment” 1997. SPECIAL NATIONAL AWARD
Associate Proffesor of Medicine. Universidad Autonoma de Madrid. 2003-2011
Professor of Medicine. Universidad Autonoma de Madrid since 2011
Full Professor of Medicine. Universidad Autonoma de Madrid since 2022
Head of the Gastroenterology and Hepatology Service. University Hospital Puerta de Hierro. Madrid since 2018
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Participates in the National Hepatitis Plan since 2015 and is an active member of the Hepatitis C Observatory of the Community of Madrid.
Director of the most important registry in hepatitis C treatments (Hepa C) until 2018.
Member of the board of directors of the Spanish registry of NASH (HEPAMET) and he is part of the National Consensus on diagnosis and management of NASH.
Member of EASL (number 13852)
Member of the Board of Spanish Society of Gastroenterology (SEPD)
Publications and Presentations:
Main author of more tan 250 publications in national and international publications journals.
Number of publications: 366. Citations: 9,048. Index H 44. 5 six-year research fellowships.
Comments:
He leads one of the most active research groups in Hepatology in Spain and is Deputy Director and member of the Board of Directors of the Puerta de Hierro Research Institute in Madrid. This Institute is composed of more than 200 scientists in different aspects of biomedicine with a significant impact on research in Spain.
He is principal investigator in several research projects (public and private) and international multicenter clinical trials. He has been principal investigator of different projects in viral hepatitis, cirrhosis and NASH, with more than 50 different studies at present.
He has received funding for NAFLD projects from the Instituto Nacional Carlos III for the last 9 years.
President of the Spanish Association for the study os the Liver from 2021 to 2023.
He has received several awards and recognitions: Member of the "Real Academia Española de Medicina" since 2002, National Research Award. Ministry of Education 1997, Dr. Diaz Rubio" Award. Royal Spanish Academy of Medicine. 2000
Elizabeth Carey, MD
Medical Education:
University of Illinois College of Medicine, MD
Mayo Clinic in Arizona Internal Medicine, Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Transplant Hepatology
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Transplant Hepatologist and Director of Hepatology, Mayo Clinic in Arizona
Professor of Medicine, Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine
Area of Research interests:
Cholestatic liver disease, functional status in liver transplantation, outcomes in liver transplantation
Publications and Presentations:
Authored over 100 articles including consensus and invited guidance documents, over 150 abstracts, 6 book chapters, and edited 2 books.
Patrizia Carrieri, PhD
Medical Education:
University of Rome La Sapienza, Doctor in Medical Statistics, PhD in Public Health
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Senior Researcher at Sciences économiques et sociales de la santé and traitement de l'information médicale (SESSTIM) at the French Institute of Health and Medical Research (INSERM), Marseille, France
Area of Research interests:
Interventional research for people at risk of or living with a liver disease, liver cancer prevention, impact of social conditions and behaviours on clinical outcomes, patient reported outcomes, social inequities, stigma and harm reduction.
Publications and Presentations:
She authored approximately 400 articles including book chapters. Her current H-index is 46 (July 2022).
Comments:
For several years P. Carrieri has been coordinating a line of research on access to prevention and care for people at risk of or living with a liver disease - people who use drugs, people with unhealthy alcohol use, migrants, people with obesity. This research also integrates community-based research approaches. She is leading the public health research line of several cohorts of patients with liver disease. More recently, she has conducted research on barriers to access to care for people with alcohol use disorders, novel therapeutic interventions to reduce stigma and other alcohol-related harms and on the needs and interventions for people with NAFLD/NASH. She is member of the Scientific Committee of two French doctoral schools (ED62, ED292) and she has mentored 12 PhD students. She is also member of the Scientific Committee of Santé Publique France, the main Institute guiding public health actions to protect the health of French citizens.
Laurent Castera, MD, PhD
Medical Education:
Medical degree from the University of Paris-VI
PhD from the University of Paris-XII
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Professor of Hepatology at the University of Paris-VII (Department of Hepatology, Hopital Beaujon, Clichy, France).
Visiting Professor of Medicine in University College of London (Institute of Liver and Digestive Health, Royal Free Hospital London, UK).
Area of Research interests:
Research interests focus on non-invasive methods for liver fibrosis assessment, NAFLD and viral hepatitis.
Publications and Presentations:
Published more than 180 papers in international peer reviewed journals and also serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Hepatology, Gut and Liver International.
Comments:
Dr. Castera has been the chairman of the first international guidelines on the use of non-invasive tests (EASL-ALEH Clinical Practice Guidelines J Hepatol 2015). He has served on the Scientific Committee of the United European Gastroenterology (UEG) from 2011 to 2013 and on the Council of UEG since 2017. He has been a member of the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) Governing Board from 2012 to 2013, EASL Vice Secretary from 2013 to 2015 and EASL Secretary General from 2015 to 2017.
Graciela Elia Castro-Narro MD, MHSc
Medical Education:
Autonomous University of Coahuila, Mexico (MD)
National Autonomous University of Mexico (Internal Medicine, Gastroenterology, Endoscopy)
Autonomous University of Barcelona (Hepatology and Liver transplant)
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
President of the Latin American Association for the Study of the Liver ALEH (2022-2024)
Head of Hepatology and Transplant Unit at Medica Sur Hospital, Mexico
Gastroenterologist and Hepatologist at the National Institute of Medical Sciences and Nutrition “Salvador Zubirán”, Mexico
Professor of gastroenterology at the Panamerican University, Mexico.
Academic of the National Academy of Medicine of Mexico and the Mexican Academy of Surgery.
Area of Research interests:
MASLD, MASH, Viral Hepatitis, Cirrhosis, Hepatic Encephalopathy, LAL-D and pre and post Liver Transplant.
Publications and Presentations:
Author/co-author of over 50 articles in peer-reviewed journals. Editor of 11 books, author/co-author of over 60 book chapters and over 300 faculty lectures.
Comments:
Dr. Castro-Narro dedicates her efforts to the elimination of the hepatitis C virus as part of the Hepatitis C Observatory in Mexico along with other organizations, specially in vulnerable populations. She actively works in awareness, prevention, and early detection of hepatic steatosis. She has held the role of president of the Mexican Association of Hepatology (2018 - 2020) where she worked together with the Mexican Association of Gastroenterology and the Mexican Association of Endoscopy to exchange knowledge and to achieve greater diffusion in the prevention of liver diseases. She has organized and participated in consensuses on Metabolic Hepatic Steatosis and related to alcohol, among others. Member of the Editorial Board of Annals of Hepatology, Board of Directors of ALEH and participated in the Delphi process for Nomenclature change of NAFLD/NASH.
Cyrielle Caussy, MD, PhD
Medical Education:
Medical Degree (2013) and PhD (2015) at Lyon 1 University
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Professor of Medicine at Endocrinology Diabetes Nutrition Department - Lyon University Hospital-Lyon 1 University
Medical Director adjunct at the Rhône-Alpes Research Center for Human Nutrition
Co-Leader of the research program in Nutrition Cardiovascular Metabolism at Lyon University Hospital
Co-president of the French national AFEF/SFD Liver and Diabetes study group.
Area of Research interests:
Metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MASLD) including non-invasive biomarkers, pathophysiology especially involving the gut-liver axis, multidisciplinary clinical care pathways.
Publications and Presentations:
Author/co-authors of over 50 publications in peer-reviewed journals and several national and international invited lectures, h-index 24
Comments:
Dr Cyrielle Caussy is a Professor of Nutrition and an Endocrinologist-Diabetologist at Lyon 1 University and Lyon South Hospital in France. She is also the medical director adjunct of the Rhône-Alpes Research Center for Human Nutrition (CRNH Rhône-Alpes) with a strong expertise in conducting clinical research in the Nutrition. Pr Caussy’ s main field of research interests are insulin-resistance, obesity and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) at the CarMen laboratory (Cardio-Metabolism, Diabetes and Nutrition). She completed a 2-year advanced research training at the NAFLD Research Center, University of California at San Diego directed by Dr Rohit Loomba. She now has a specific interest in non-invasive biomarkers and pathophysiology of NAFLD especially in high-risk population such as type 2 diabetes and obese patients. She is also co-leading a clinical and research program focused on metabolic liver disease at the Lyon Hepatology Institute.
Wah-Kheong Chan MBBS, MRCP, PhD
Medical Education:
Dr. Wah-Kheong Chan received his M.B.B.S. from the University of Malaya in 2005 and his M.R.C.P. in 2008. He completed his fellowship in Gastroenterology and Hepatology at the University of Malaya Medical Centre in 2013 and his Ph.D. on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease at the University of Malaya in 2015.
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Professor at the University of Malaya and Senior Consultant Gastroenterologist and Hepatologist at the University of Malaya Medical Centre and the University of Malaya Specialist Centre. He is a Member of the Academy of Medicine of Malaysia and a Committee Member for the Malaysian Society of Gastroenterology and Hepatology. He is the Scientific Co-Chair for Hepatology for the Asia Pacific Digestive Week 2020. He is a member of the Asia-Pacific Working Party on Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease and the Gut and Obesity in Asia (GO ASIA) Workgroup.
Area of Research interests:
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
Publications and Presentations:
He has published over 50 full papers in peer-reviewed journals and presented in both local and international conferences.
Comments:
Associate Editor for the Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, and is a reviewer for several international journals.
Yogesh K Chawla MBBS, MD, DM
Medical Education:
Dr. Chawla did his MBBS in 1974, MD (Internal Medicine) in 1978 and DM (Gastroenterology) from AIIMS, New Delhi in 1982
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Former Director and Emeritus Professor, PGIMER
Former Prof. and Head, Department of Hepatology, PGIMER, Chandigarh (India)
Chairman Academics and Professor Emeritus,Kalinga Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS), Bhubaneswar, Member, Institute Body AIIMS, Bhubaneswar, Chairman, Academic Committee, JIPMER, Pondicherry, Member, Academic Committee, ILBS, New Delhi, Chairman, Scientific Advisory Committee, AIIMS Bibinagar, Hyderabad, Member, Governing Council, SRMC, Chennai, Member, Board of Management, JSS Academy of Higher Education and Research, Mysuru
Area of Research interests:
NAFLD, ACLF, Liver Transplantation, ALF,HCC
Publications and Presentations:
Professor Y K Chawla is author of more than 475 papers (283 International 192 National) in reputed journals including several chapters in the Gastroenterology and Hepatology text books.
Comments:
Prof Y K Chawla has been Member, American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, Member, European Association for Study of Liver, Fellow of the American College of Gastroenterology, Member, International Association for Study of Liver, Member, Asian Pacific Association for Study of Liver. He is also The Fellow, National Academy of Medical Sciences, Life Member, Indian Association for Study of Liver (INASL), Life Member, Indian Society of Gastroenterology and Endoscopy Society of India.
Prof Chawla was the President, Indian National Association for the Study of Liver (2006-2009), Governor, American College of Gastroenterology, Indian Region (2006-2011) He is a recipient of various awards and honours from National and International societies and Government of India namely Padma Shri, the 4th highest Civilian Award. He started First DM (Three Year Fellowship) Hepatology programme in the country, Started the First Liver Intensive Care Unit in the country in a Government Hospital.
Narendra Singh Choudhary, MD, DM
Medical Education:
MD in medicine in 2008 and DM in hepatology in 2011
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Senior consultant in hepatology and liver transplantation at Medanta the Medicity Hospital, Gurugram, India
Area of Research interests:
NAFLD, cirrhosis and complications, liver transplantation
Publications and Presentations:
Author or coauthor of more than 150 papers in peer-reviewed journals, Scopus and several book chapters.
Comments:
Dr. Narendra Singh Choudhary is a senior consultant at hepatology and institute of liver transplantation and regenerative medicine, Medanta – The Medicity. After completing of M.B.B.S. and M.D. (internal Medicine), he completed D.M. (Hepatology) from PGI, Chandigarh in 2011. He won several awards at scientific meets and was elected as a fellow of the Indian National Association for Study of the Liver (INASL). He participated in several NASH trials.
Abhijit Chowdhury MD
Medical Education:
Training in Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology- Hepatology from Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education & Research, Chandigarh, India.
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Secretary, Board of Governors, Indian Institute of Liver and Digestive Sciences, Sonarpur, West Bengal, India.
B. Professor and Head, Department of Hepatology, Institute of Post Graduate Medical Education and Research, Kolkata, India.
Area of Research interests:
Population Based Epidemiology of Liver Diseases. Pathogenesis and characterization of NAFLD in Non-Obese individuals.
Publications and Presentations:
Published more than 100 papers and five book chapters.
Comments:
Dr. Abhijit Chowdhury graduated from North Bengal Medical College and did his residency in Internal Medicine as well as Fellowship training in Gastroenterology – Hepatology at Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh. He joined the faculty of School of Digestive and Liver Diseases at Institute of Post Graduate Medical Education and Research, Kolkata in 1994, was the chair of the School where is serving as Professor and Head , Hepatology till date.
He is also the secretary of Liver Foundation, West Bengal – a NGO involved in research in liver diseases including Institution building and also in broader public health issues in the context of developing countries. He had been involved in establishing and development of Indian Institute of Liver and Digestive Sciences (www.iilds.in), a newly developed Institute through absolute philanthropic donation from all over the globe. Dr. Chowdhury is Director of a Health and Demographic Surveillance system (www.shds.in) for population based analytical and implementation research in Public Health.
David E. Cohen MD, PhD
Medical Education:
Received medical degree from Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts. Earned a PhD in physiology and biophysics at Harvard University. Completed his residency and served as a research fellow in internal medicine at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. Completed a clinical fellowship and a research fellowship in gastroenterology at Harvard Medical School and Brigham Women’s Hospital, and served as a senior fellow in hepatology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Chief of the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at Weill Cornell Medical College.
Co-director of the Center for Advanced Digestive Care at Weill Cornell Medical College and New York Presbyterian Hospital.
Area of Research interests:
Lipid-mediated control of nutrient metabolism and the control energy homeostasis in the pathogenesis of obesity-related disorders.
Publications and Presentations:
Over 150 publications and more than 250 presentations. His research has been published in journals including Nature Structural Biology, Nature Medicine, Journal of Clinical Investigation, Science Signaling, Hepatology, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, American Journal of Physiology, Journal of Lipid Research, Journal of Biological Chemistry, Gene, FASEB Journal, FEBS Letters, Biochemical Journal, and Biochemistry.
Comments:
Dr. Cohen is a fellow of the American College of Physicians, of the American Gastroenterological Association and of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases. He is also a member of the American Diabetes Association, the American Society for Clinical Investigation, the Interurban Clinical Club and the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Dr Cohen is the current Editor-in-chief of Hepatology. He is on the editorial boards of Trends in Endocrinology and Metabolism (Cell Press) and the Journal of Biological Chemistry. He was an associate editor for Seminars in Liver Disease. He is a reviewer for several scientific journals, including the Cell Metabolism, Nature Medicine, American Journal of Physiology, The New England Journal of Medicine, Gastroenterology, Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology, Journal of Clinical Investigation, Diabetes and Lipids.
He has served as a member of the NIH Hepatobiliary Pathophysiology Study Section and as Chair of the American Heart Association Lipoprotein and Lipid Metabolism Study Section, National Chapter. Finally, he is the recipient of numerous awards, including the American Liver Foundation Research Prize, an American Liver Foundation Liver Scholar Award, an International HDL Research Award, a Hirschl Career Scientist Award and an NIH MERIT Award. He was also an Established Investigator of the American Heart Association. Dr. Cohen is currently the recipient of 2 NIH R01 grants in addition the MERIT Award.
Massimo Colombo MD, Prof
Medical Education:
Professor Colombo gained his medical degree from the University of Milan, before completing a residency in gastroenterology at IRCCS Maggiore Hospital. Subsequently he undertook an international fellowship in liver diseases at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, USA(1974-1975), before returning to IRCCS Maggiore Hospital.
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Director of the Liver Center and Private General Medicine 8 at San Raffaele Hospital ,Milan,Italy and Chairman of EASL International Liver Foundation, Geneva, Switzerland.
In the past 3 years he has been Director of the Center of Translational Research in Hepatology at Humanitas Hospital, Milan, Italy.
In the previous 15 years, he has been Chairman of the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology and Chairman of the Department of Medicine and Liver, Kidney, Lung, Bone Marrow and Organ Transplantation at IRCCS Maggiore Hospital in Milan, Italy.
He has also been a Professor of Medicine and Gastroenterology at the University of Milan for more than 25 years.
Area of Research interests:
Professor Colombo’s research interests include the diagnosis and treatment of viral hepatitis and liver cancer.
Publications and Presentations:
Authored more than 500 original manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals, with an H-index of 104(Google Scholar) and 57,369 citations.
Comments:
A member of many professional societies including EASL, AASLD and several Italian societies, he is the recipient of numerous awards including the 2010 European Association Study Liver (EASL) Recognition Award for outstanding medical and scientific contributions, the Italian Association for the Study of the Liver (AISF) Distinguished Service Award, the Thannhauser Medal Award of the German Society of Gastroenterology and the Nelson Fausto Award of the International Liver Cancer Association(ILCA). Professor Colombo was Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Hepatology from 2005–2009 and currently sits of the editorial boards of many hepatology journals,is Special Section Editor of Journal of Hepatology(2015-2019), Strategic Advisor of Editor of Liver International(2015-2019) and contributor of Selected Summary for Gastroenterology(2000-2021).He was Associate Editor of Journal of Hepatology in 1996-2000 and chaired the writing committees of EASL Clinical Practice Guidelines of Benign Liver Tumors in 2014 and of Occupational Liver Diseases in 2017. In September 2016 he was appointed Chairman of EASL International Liver Foundation (Geneva, Switzerland).
AhmedCordie, MD
Medical Education:
Kasr Alani medical school, faculty of medicine, Cairo University.
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Consultant physician and assistant professor at the department of Endemic Medicine, Cairo University Hospitals.
Founder of Kasr Al-Aini HIV and Viral Hepatitis Fighting Group and coordinator of the Supreme Council of University Hospitals (SCU) Committee for Medical Virology and Blood-borne Pathogens.
The immediate past Chief of the HCV/HIV Co-infection Program at the National Committee for Combating Viral Hepatitis (NCCVH).
Area of Research interests:
Viral hepatitis treatment and epidemiology, NITs for hepatic fibrosis, Liver disease among PLHIV, MASH/HIV interplay, access to medicine.
Publications and Presentations:
Since 2017, Dr Cordie’s team has been conducting research in Egypt to identify and address gaps in evidence. They have published over 30 international papers in high-impact journals and have had over 50 abstracts and presentations accepted at international scientific meetings.
Comments:
Dr. Cordie began his research activities by studying the predictive abilities of various non-invasive biochemical tests and scores in detecting significant liver fibrosis among Egyptian populations diagnosed with chronic HCV infection.
Through his research studies about the safety and efficacy of locally manufactured generic medications, he provided evidence on the safety and efficacy of generic sofosbuvir and daclatasvir in the treatment of HIV/HCV-coinfected patients with HCV genotype 4, which resulted in the development of the first national guidelines for the treatment of HIV /viral hepatitis co-infection.
Moreover, the success of the coinfection clinic as a model of care that provides onsite management of HCV among patients with HIV/HCV coinfection has galvanised the Ministry of Health to launch a domestically funded free treatment programme for hepatitis C targeting PLHIV coinciding with the presidential campaign “100 million healths” and was extended to include 14 clinics across the country.
His current activities include establishing the first speciality clinics at Cairo University Hospitals and other Egyptian university hospitals to manage liver-related disorders and non-communicable diseases like dyslipidemia, steatosis (SLD/MASH), and cardiovascular disorders in PLHIV. These clinics also address co-infection with viral hepatitis. Recently, these clinics have begun extending their services to the general population at risk for SLD.
Kathleen Corey, MD, MPH
Medical Education:
MD, Duke University School of Medicine.
MMSc, Harvard University.
Residency, Massachusetts General Hospital.
Fellowship, Massachusetts General Hospital.
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Director, MGH Fatty Liver Clinic, MGH Gastrointestinal Unit.
Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School.
Area of Research interests:
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and the development of non-invasive biomarkers for the diagnosis and monitoring of NAFLD. Dr. Corey has lectured regionally and nationally on NAFLD.
Lipid metabolism in patients with steatosis and steatohepatitis as well as the development of non-invasive biomarkers for the diagnosis and monitoring of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Dr. Corey also studies the interaction between obstructive sleep apnea and fatty liver disease. Dr. Corey also participates in numerous clinical trials including studies for hepatitis B and C treatment and post-transplant prevention of hepatitis C infection.
Publications and Presentations:
Dr. Corey has more than 80 published articles.
Comments:
Clinical interests include all areas of hepatology including non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), viral hepatitis including hepatitis B, C and D infection, autoimmune hepatitis, cholestatic liver disease including primary biliary cirrhosis and primary sclerosing cholangitis. In addition, Dr. Corey treats patients with hereditary forms of liver disease including hemochromatosis and alpha-1-antitrypsin disease. Dr. Corey is also a transplant hepatologist and evaluates patients in need of liver transplantation and cares for patients after liver transplant. Dr. Corey also performs endoscopies including diagnostic and therapeutic upper endoscopy and colonoscopy.
Javier Crespo, MD, PhD
Medical Education:
Medical Degree at the University of Cantabria.
PhD in Hepatology at the Universitat University of Cantabria. Extraordinary Doctorate Award.
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Chief of the Gastroenterology and Hepatology Unit. University Hospital Marqués de Valdecilla.
Director of the Digestive Diseases Research Group in the Marqués de Valdecilla Research Institute (IDIVAL).
Professor of Medicine at the University of Cantabria.
Area of Research interests:
Stable research lines in viral hepatitis (more than 25 years) and MASLD (I started in 2001 with the publication of an original manuscript in Hepatology).
Publications and Presentations:
Published more than 250 papers the field of liver disease, with numerous papers on viral hepatitis and MASLD and contributions to books.
Comments:
Director of the Research group in Marqués de Valdecilla Research Institute (IDIVAL-HUMV) and Head of the clinical group associated with CIBERehd (GVC16 / EHD / 4), a multidisciplinary and transversal group that includes biologists, biotechnologists, chemists, nurses, and physicians among its components. Member of the Strategic Plan of the National Health System to tackle hepatitis C infection. Director of Spanish Registry of Metabolic Associated Liver Disease (HEPAMET). Past-President of the National Commission of the Digestive Specialty. Past-President of the Spanish Society of Digestive Diseases (SEPD). Six-year research periods: 5. PhD thesis supervised: 8 PhD. Thesis ongoing: 8. H-index: 60 (google scholarship). Citations 19.600
ORICID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8248-0172
Kenneth Cusi, M.D., F.A.C.P., F.A.C.E.
Medical Education:
He received his medical degree and completed his internal medicine residency in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Dr. Cusi completed a fellowship in Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism at Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas.
He was a faculty at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, Texas (1993-94; 1997-2011) focusing on the role insulin resistance to the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). He later focused on the mechanisms of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in T2DM and its impact on dyslipidemia, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Dr. Cusi has studied extensively the role of insulin resistance, PPARs (with special interest on pioglitazone), in patients with prediabetes or T2DM and NASH (Belfort et al, NEJM 2006; Cusi et al, Annals Intern Med 2016).
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Professor of Medicine and Chief of the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism at The University of Florida at Gainesville (2011-present). He is also a faculty and researcher at the Veterans Administration Medical Center at Gainesville, FL in the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism.
Area of Research interests:
Current work centers on discovering the mechanism(s) leading to NASH and searching for novel treatments.
Publications and Presentations:
Published more than 150 original articles, reviews and book chapters in a broad spectrum of peer-reviewed journals, such as the New England Journal of Medicine, Annals of Internal Medicine, Proceeding of the National Academy of Science, Journal of Clinical Investigation, Diabetes, Diabetes Care, Diabetes, obesity and Metabolism, J of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, American Journal of Physiology, Hepatology, Gastroenterology and others.
He is a frequent invited lecturer to national and international meetings on the role of obesity and NAFLD in T2DM.
Comments:
Member of the NIH Clinical and Integrative Diabetes and Obesity (CIDO) study section and contributed to the 2012 and 2017 NASH guidelines of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases. In 2015 Dr. Cusi received from the University of Florida at Gainesville the Exemplary Teacher Award and the Clinical Research Award for outstanding achievement, research discovery, and productivity from the College of Medicine.
Lorenzo D’Antiga, MD, FEBT
Medical Education:
University of Padova, Italy (MD and Specialization in Pediatrics)
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Associate Professor of Pediatrics, University of Milan Bicocca
Head, Department of Pediatrics, Department of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Transplantation, Hospital Papa Giovanni XXIII, Bergamo, Italy
Area of Research interests:
Cholestatic disease, genetic disease, NAFLD, liver failure, liver transplantation and liver-directed gene therapy.
Publications and Presentations:
Authored 190 articles, 1 book and 10 book chapters, and has an H-index of 34.
Comments:
Lorenzo D’Antiga is a paediatric Hepatologist and Gastroenterologist working in Bergamo, Italy. His current position is Director of Child Health and of the Paediatric Liver, GI and Transplantation Unit of the Hospital Papa Giovanni XXIII of Bergamo. He trained as a Paediatrician at the University of Padua and as a Paediatric Hepatologist at King’s College Hospital, London. He worked as Consultant Gastroenterologist and Hepatologist as well as Paediatric Intensivist, specializing in organ failure and transplantation.
Lorenzo D’Antiga contributed to the field of paediatric hepatology with publications, scientific presentation and invited lectures, and is the editor of a textbook of paediatric hepatology and liver transplantation (ISBN 978-3-319-96400-3). Member of the Council of the European Society for Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (ESPGHAN) as Education Secretary (till 2014) and member of the Education Committee of the UEG (till 2014), he is currently a Member of the Council of the ESPGHAN with the role of Treasurer (since June 2022). He served as Senior Associate Editor for Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, and as Associate Editor of Liver Transplantation. Currently he serve as Associate Editor for Journal of Hepatology.
Milagros Davalos-Moscol, MD, MBA
Medical Education:
Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos
Clinical Research Fellow at Liver Unit -King´s College Hospital
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Head Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at Edgardo Rebagliati National Hospital. Social Security – Lima Peru.
Medical Professor at Universidad Particular San Martin de Porres.
Area of Research interests:
Steatotic liver disease (MASLD), Chronic Viral Hepatitis, Autoimmune liver disease
Publications and Presentations:
Author or coauthor 20 articles, and 5 book chapters.
Comments:
Dr. Davalos Moscol is Associate Professor of Medicine at the Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, Universidad Particular San Martin de Porres and Universidad Ricardo Palma, Lima Peru. Trained at the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Universidad ESAN and Pontificia Universidad Católica del Peru.
Clinical Gastroenterologist and Hepatologist, as well as Clinical Researcher with special interest in steatotic liver disease, alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD) and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD).
She is Past-President of ALEH, Associate member of AASLD, APEH and SGP.
Ruth De Bruyne, MD, PhD
Medical Education:
Fellowship: Pediatric Hepatology, King’s College Hospital, London, UK (2003-2005)
Pediatric Gastroenterology, Sophia Children’s Hospital, Erasmus MC Rotterdam, The Netherlands (2005-2006)
Internship: Ghent University Hospital, Belgium (2000-2003)
Medical Education: Ghent University, Belgium (1993-2000)
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Consultant in Pediatric Hepatology, Ghent University Hospital, Belgium
Associate professor of Pediatric Hepatology, Ghent University, Belgium
Area of Research interests:
Pediatric Metabolic dysfunction Associated Steatotic Liver Disease (MASLD), rare liver diseases and pediatric liver transplantation.
Publications and Presentations:
Over 80 peer-reviewed publications
He is a frequent invited lecturer to national and international meetings on the role of obesity and NAFLD in T2DM.
Comments:
Ruth De Bruyne’s work focuses on risk factors, natural history and non-invasive diagnosis of pediatric MASLD. She coordinates pediatric clinical studies in MASLD with prospective data collection and investigation of the effect of life-style interventions. In collaboration with the Hepatology Research Lab at Ghent University Hospital she works on a complementary basic research line in pediatric MASLD mouse models.
Nabil Debzi, MD
Medical Education:
Professor of medicine, graduated from Algiers University of medicine.
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Since 2015, head of hepatology department at Mustapha Bacha University Hospital in Algiers.
Coordinator of the National Viral Hepatitis Committee.
Scientific committee member of National Transplant Agency.
Area of Research interests:
Liver Transplantation, Viral Hepatitis ,Vascular Liver Diseases , Viral Hepatitis, Fatty Liver , and Hepatocellular Carcinoma.
Publications and Presentations:
Author and co-author over 20 articles and numerous abstracts.
Comments:
The team led by Dr. Nabil Debzi, is particular involved in Live donor Living Transplantation, Budd Chiari syndrome, Fibrosis, Fatty liver, Viral hepatitis and Biliary Endoscopy. Dr. Debzi is governing board member of society of liver disease in Africa (SOLDA). Founder of Mediterranean Society of the Study of Liver diseases (MASL). He was president of Algerian Society of Hepatogastroenterology (SAHGEED) and also president of Algerian Society of Organ Transplantation(SATO).
Nikos Dedes
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Chair of the Greek Patients Association, and of Positive Voice, the Greek Association of People Living with HIV
Area of Research interests:
Patients Association
Publications and Presentations:
Published around 80 peer-reviewed articles.
Comments:
Nikos Dedes is past chair of the ‘European AIDS Treatment Group’ (EATG), the leading European HIV activists’ network and past member of the Management Board of the European Medicines Agency (EMA).
He is founding member and chair of ‘Positive Voice’, the Greek Association of People Living with HIV and founding member of ‘Prometheus’, the Hellenic Liver Patient Association and Chair of the ‘Greek Patient Association’.
Nikos also participates on the Steering Committees of the “European HIV and Infectious Diseases Clinical Trials Foundation” (NEAT id), on the “EuroTest– Working together for integrated testing and earlier care ” and the “HIV Outcomes – Beyond Viral Suppression” initiatives. He is also member of the HIV Treatment Guidelines Panel of the European AIDS Clinical Society.
Nikos advocates for universal access to evidence-based and cost-effective health and prevention services for all people as a moral imperative and pre-condition for a prosperous and fair society.
Victor de Ledinghen, MD, PhD
Medical Education:
Completed his medical degree with a specialization in hepato-gastroenterology in 1993 and obtained his PhD in 2001.
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Professor of Medicine at the Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University Hospital of Bordeaux, France. Runs a clinical research program studying the impact of liver fibrosis and chronic liver disease on the lives of patients and novel approaches for the non-invasive evaluation and treatment of these diseases.
Area of Research interests:
Supervises a clinical research program on new drugs for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). He has been the principal investigator on various national and international clinical trials on direct-acting antivirals in hepatitis C and in NASH drugs. Supervises a clinical research program on the long-term prognosis of 20,000 patients with chronic liver diseases.
Publications and Presentations:
He published more than 250 articles in peer-reviewed journals.
Moisés Diago, MD
Medical Education:
Medical Degree at the University of Valencia, Spain. 1977
Specialization in Digestive Diseases and Internal Medicine at Hospital Clinico Universitario Valencia, 1981
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Professor of Medicine at University of Valencia.
Chief of Hepatology section at the Hospital General Universitario of Valencia.
Area of Research interests:
Hepatology: Viral Hepatitis B and C, NAFLD and liver cancer.
Publications and Presentations:
162 original papers and more than 60 reviews and others; 6 books and 38 book chapters. More than 100 international lectures.
H-index: 39 Citations: 19.002
Comments:
Professor Diago is internationally known hepatologist who has served as principal investigator in more than 120 international clinical trials related to viral hepatitis, liver cancer and NASH. He has widely published and lectured about liver diseases.
Javier Diaz Ferrer, MD
Medical Education:
Faculty of Medicine, Universidad Nacional de San Marcos, Lima, Peru
Liver Transplant Fellow, Clinic de Barcelona Hospital
Master in Education and Research, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Chief of Hepatology and Transplant Hepatology Service, Nacional Edgardo Rebagliati Martins Hospital, Lima, Peru
Professor of Medicine, Universidad de San Martín de Porres, and Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas
Editor, Gastroenterología del Perú Journal
Area of Research interests:
MASLD (Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease), MASH (Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatohepatitis), Cirrhosis, Viral Hepatitis, Hepatocellular Carcinoma, Immunologic Diseases and Liver Transplant
Publications and Presentations:
Author or co-author of over 50 articles in peer-reviewed journals, including guidelines and abstracts presented at AASLD, EASL, and ALEH congresses. Editor of two books. Author or co-author of over 10 book chapters
Comments:
Dr. Díaz has contributed to developing Peruvian and Latin American guidelines for Hepatitis C, HCC, and MASLD. He initiated the liver transplant program at the Nacional Edgardo Rebagliati Hospital in Peru. He was the president of the Peruvian Association for the Study of the Liver (APEH). He has collaborated with the South American Liver Research Network (SALRN) to study liver diseases in Latin America. Currently, he is a professor for undergraduate and postgraduate students specializing in Gastroenterology. He is an active EASL, ALEH, APEG, and AGA member.
Luis Antonio Diaz, MD
Medical Education:
MD and Fellowship in GI/Hepatology. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Assistant Professor of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile School of Medicine.
Area of Research interests:
MASLD, ALD and Liver Transplantation
Publications and Presentations:
Dr. Diaz has published 16 pubmed articles as of December 2023
Comments:
Dr. Díaz is a Gastroenterology Specialist and Assistant Professor at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile School of Medicine. Trained as Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology specialist at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. Dr. Díaz is a Clinical Researcher with interest in translational and clinical research in alcohol-associated liver disease, metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease, and liver transplantation. He currently co-lead several multi-national studies regarding alcohol-associated liver disease (including AH-Latin and Global AlcHep) and is the founder of the OMEGA Observatory in gastrointestinal diseases. Currently, he is a collaborator of the Global Burden of Disease study, Director of the Chilean Hepatology Association (ACHHEP), and Coordinator of the Young Researchers Group of the Asociación Latinoamericana para el Estudio del Hígado (ALEH).
Amreen M. Dinani, MD
Medical Education:
American University of the Caribbean, MD
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Associate Professor of Medicine at Duke University Healthcare System
Area of Research interests:
Clinical research in metabolic dysfunction associated steatotic liver disease, MASLD registry, care pathway and multidisciplinary management of liver cardiometabolic disease
Publications and Presentations:
Authored 42 articles, 34 abstracts for international scientific meetings
Comments:
Dr. Amreen Dinani is an Associate Professor of Medicine in the Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at Duke University. She is a hepatologist with board certification in Hepatology, Gastroenterology and Obesity Medicine. Her clinical and research work is in metabolic dysfunction associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) and metabolic dysfunction associated steatohepatitis (MASH) focuses on developing multidisciplinary clinical care pathways for identifying populations at high risk for MASLD fibrosis and bridging innovative tools and technologies to improve clinical care. She brings together her background in Obesity Medicine to her patients with liver disease and works with collaboration throughout the healthcare system to provide excellent care to her patients. She is the principal investigator of several industry sponsored trials in MASH but in addition has investigator-initiated studies in identifying populations at high-risk for MASLD. Her projects include investigating noninvasive tests in T2D population and collaborations with Digital Health and Informatics to create EMR based pathways for populations at high risk for developing fibrotic MASH. She is a Sub- Investigator in the Liver Cirrhosis Network and NIDDK sponsored study titled Androgen and NAFLD Longitudinal Cohort Study. She serves on the advisory committee for American Liver Foundation, an active participant of NASH Day, serves on American Association of the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) MASLD sub-committee and serves as a abstract reviewer AASLD and DDW.
Ajay Duseja MBBS, MD, DM
Medical Education:
Dr. Duseja did his MBBS in 1988, MD (Internal Medicine) in 1992 and DM (Gastroenterology) from PGIMER, Chandigarh in 1996.
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Professor in the department of Hepatology, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, India. For last 22 years, he is working as Faculty with focused research in the field of Hepatology.
Area of Research interests:
NAFLD, ACLF, Viral Hepatitis, HCC
Publications and Presentations:
Professor Duseja is author of more than 200 papers in reputed international and national journals including several chapters in the Gastroenterology and Hepatology text books.
Professor Duseja is also the Associate Editor of the Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hepatology (JCEH), an official journal of INASL, Associate Editor of JGH Open and is on the Editorial board of various international and national journals.
Comments:
Professor Duseja is Fellow of American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (FAASLD), Fellow of American College of Gastroenterology (FACG), Fellow of National Academy of Medical Sciences (FAMS) and Fellow of the Society of GI Endoscopy of India (FSGEI). He is National Convener of Indian National Association for Study of the Liver (INASL) Task Force on Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD), member of the Chronic Liver Disease Foundation (CLDF) NASH Committee, member of Asia- Pacific Working Party on NAFLD and member of Gut and Obesity in Asia (GOASIA) working group. He is also an active member of the INASL Task Force on Hepatitis C virus, Hepatocellular carcinoma, Acute on Chronic Liver Failure and Drug Induced Liver Injury.
Professor Duseja is the former Honorary Treasurer of the Indian National Association for the Study of Liver (INASL) and has been the office bearer and member of various other scientific societies. He is a recipient of various awards and honors from National and International societies.
Yuichiro Eguchi MD, PhD
Medical Education:
M.D. from Saga University School of Medicine
Ph.D. from Saga University Graduate School of Medicine
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Assistant Director of the National Center for International Medical Research Center
Professor of Liver Center of Saga University hospital
Area of Research interests:
Clinical research on Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and viral hepatitis
Publications and Presentations:
Professor Eguchi is a member of multiple societies and has served as the investigator in multiple projects in viral hepatitis and NAFLD. He has served as Professor and Chairman of Liver Center of Saga University hospital He is widely published with more than 110 published articles.
Mohamed El-Kassas MD, PhD
Medical Education:
Completed medical school in Cairo University in 2001, and MSc, PhD degrees in HepatoGastroenterology from the same university, in addition to a postgraduate diploma in medical research from University of Liverpool in 2015. Professor El-Kassas had clinical and research training internships in Kyoto University, Japan, Pasteur Institute, France, l'hopital Tinon, France, Rotterdam University Hospital, Netherlands, Fresno Medical Center, University of California, San Francesco, and Health science centre, University of Calgary, Canada.
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Professor and head of Endemic Medicine and Hepatology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Helwan University, Cairo, Egypt
Global Council Board member of International Association for the Study of the Liver
Executive Board member of Africa Hepatopancreatobiliary Cancer Consortium
Member of Hepatology Interest Group, World Gastroenterology Organization
Past-President of Egyptian Association for Research and Training in HepatoGastroenterology (EARTH).
Member of Specialized Scientific Council for Medical Research, ASRT.
Area of Research interests:
Fatty liver disease, viral hepatitis, and hepatocellular carcinoma.
Publications and Presentations:
Prof. El-Kassas has participated in several collaborative research works and clinical trials on clinical aspects, epidemiology and public health issues related to viral hepatitis, fatty liver disease, and HCC.
Prof. El-Kassas has authored/co-authored more than 170 peer-reviewed manuscripts in the field of Hepatology.
Mortada Hassan Fakhri El-Shabrawi, MD, FAASLD
Medical Education:
Graduated in November 1978, from Cairo University (Excellent with Honours), and received an M Sc in paediatrics in May 1982, from Cairo University (Excellent), then a Doctorate Degree in paediatrics in November 1986 from both Cairo and London Universities.
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Promoted to full Professor of Paediatrics at the Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University from 25/6/1997 to 28/08/2014. Since that date, the current position is an Emeritus Professor of Paediatrics at the Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University.
President Elect of the International Society of Tropical Pediatrics (ISTP) 2017-2022 then President of ISTP 2022-2023.
Standing Committee Member of The International Pediatric Association IPA 2019-2023.
Area of Research interests:
Pediatric liver disease, portal hypertension, viral infections of the liver, cholestasis and tropical liver and gastrointestinal disorders.
Publications and Presentations:
Published more than 97 papers in peer-reviewed International Journals, 20 in local Journals and 8 book chapters in international books. H-Index 21 with 1403 citations.
Presented in more than 100 local, regional and international meetings.
Scholar,ORCID
Comments:
Professor El-Shabrawi was awarded the Cairo University Award of Appreciation in Medical Sciences in 2010 and the Cairo University Highest Award of Distinction in Medical Sciences in 2018. Supervised more than 60 Master Degree theses and 20 Doctorate Degree theses as well as several local, national and international research projects.
A member of several International Associations/Societies in Pediatrics and Hepatology including the International Pediatric Association (IPA), the American Association for the Study of Liver Disease (AASLD), European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) and the International Society of Tropical Pediatrics (ISTP). Also an Editorial Board Member of several peer-reviewed Journals, and reviewer for many Journals.
Abdel-Naser Elzouki, MBChB, MD, DTMH, MSc, PhD, FACP, FRCP(UK)
Education:
Doctor of Medicine, Garyounis University, Benghazi, Libya (M.B.Ch.B)
Board Certified, Swedish Board of Internal Medicine, Malmo University Hospital, Malmo, Sweden
Board Certified, Swedish Board of GI and Hepatology, Malmo University Hospital, Malmo, Sweden
PhD in Medicine, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
Master of Tropical Medicine and Infectious Diseases, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, University of Liverpool, UK (MSc)
Diploma of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, Royal College of Physician, London, UK (DTMH)
Fellowship of the Royal College of Physicians of London, UK (FRCP)
Fellowship of the American College of Physicians, USA (FACP)
Fellowship of Quality and Patient Safety-Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI)-Boston-USA
Certified Point-of-Care Ultrasound (POCUS) Practitioner: Has Completed “Independent Practitioner Training in Acute Core Track” with the Canadian Point of Care Ultrasound Society
Diploma of Advanced Diabetes, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Chief of General Internal Medicine, Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC), Doha Qatar
Chairman of Corporate VTE Committee at HMC, Doha Qatar.
Professor of Medicine at College of Medicine, Qatar University.
Honorary Professor of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University (currently Benghazi University), Benghazi, Libya
Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College of NY/Qatar.
Clerkship Director of Internal Medicine at College of Medicine, Qatar University.
Area of Research interests:
Professor Elzouki has more than 30 years of professional experience and his areas of expertise and clinical interests include: internal medicine, hepatology and gastroenterology, diabetes and metabolic diseases including NAFLD/MASLD. He has extensive experience in medical education and teaching post-graduate residents and fellows as well as under-graduate medical students. He has received several awards and honors, and he is the Federation lead of the Royal College of Physicians-UK in Qatar, an examiner for MRCP-PACES exams of UK and an official Arab board and Qatari board examiner for Internal Medicine specialty.
Publications and Presentations:
Published more than 200 articles in peer reviewed medical journals, wrote five book chapters and more than 150 abstracts for national and international scientific meetings, and has an H-index of 28.
Editor-in-Chief of LJMS and an editorial board member and reviewer to numbers of international medical journals.
Comments:
In addition to being a member of many regional and international professional associations and societies, Professor Elzouki is the President of the Mediterranean Task Force for Cancer Control (MTCC), and foundation member of Steatotic Liver disease study foundation in Middle East and North Africa (SLMENA). He has been invited as a speaker to several regional and international conferences and he is the director of series of "Clinical Review Courses for Internal Medicine Board Exams", held regularly in Doha, Dubai, Tripoli, Benghazi and Muscat; and co-founder and instructor of structured courses and workshops on Medical Professionalism and Communication Skills conducted for residents, fellows and consultants at regular bases in HMC. Professor Elzouki is the champion for Qatar National Clinical Guidelines (NCG) Program in different capacities including being a subject matter expert and member in different guidelines that fall in the scope of Internal Medicine.
Wayne Eskridge
Education:
Electrical engineer from the University of Idaho
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
CEO, Fatty Liver Foundation
Area of Research interests:
MASLD
Publications and Presentations:
Authored over 9 articles
Comments:
Wayne Eskridge, an, worked in software and electronics through a 50-year professional career. He served in many technical and managerial roles beginning as a computer programmer, through multiple levels of technical and managerial positions in businesses of all sizes. He held executive positions in both public and private corporations with worldwide responsibilities, and from startups to Fortune 500 firms.
Eskridge was first diagnosed with liver disease in 2010 and, as a result of his own experiences, he became aware of an acute need for an educational resource from a patient perspective. At the core of his motivation is the fact that an estimated 100 million Americans already have fatty liver disease and are unaware of it. While there is currently no medical treatment for NAFLD/NASH, lifestyle changes can be effective. Prevention through education is the core solution today. His desire to help others avoid his experiences led him to the decision to become a patient advocate and to create the Fatty Liver Foundation.
Gamal Esmat MD
Medical Education:
Medical Degree from Cairo University Faculty of Medicine (1979).
Master Degree in Tropical Medicine from Cairo University Faculty of Medicine (1984).
Medical Doctorate in Tropical Medicine from Cairo University Faculty of Medicine (1990).
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Professor of Tropical Medicine and Hepatology,Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University
Director of the Viral Hepatitis Treatment Centers.Ministry of Health, Egypt
Founder and Head of Kasr El Aini Viral Hepatitis Center
Area of Research interests:
Hepatitis prevention, screening and treatment
Hepatocellular carcinoma
Pediatric hepatology diseases and living related liver transplantation
Publications and Presentations:
More than 190 published articles
Comments:
Professor. Esmat has served as the past president of the International Association for the Study of the Liver (IASL) (2006-2008). He is currently a board member of the strategic and technical advisory committee for viral hepatitis (STAC-Hep), WHO and member of the scientific committee for the World Hepatitis Alliance. Professor. Esmat has served as principal investigator of numerous research studies in Egypt and has has had more than 190 published articles.
Rafael Esteban, MD, PhD
Medical Education:
Autonoma University of Barcelona, MD
Autonoma University of Barcelona, PhD in Gastroenterology and Internal Medicine
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Senior consultant of Hepatology at Hospital Valle Hebron
Chair of Internal Medicina at Hospital Quiron
Professor of Medicine at University Autonoma of Barcelona
Area of Research interests:
Professor Esteban has been involved in many clinical trials on viral hepatitis
Publications and Presentations:
Has published more than 400 papers in the field of liver disease in peer review journals such as The New England Journal of Medicine, The Lancet, Journal of Hepatology and numerous contributions to books.
Comments:
Professor Esteban was President of the Spanish Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, and an active member of the EASL, AASLD and various professional societies.
Jian-Gao Fan MD, PhD
Medical Education:
B.Sc. and M.Sc. (1994), Shandong Medical University, Shandong, China.
Ph.D. (1997), Shanghai Second Medical University, Shanghai, China.
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Professor and Director of Department of Gastroenterology at Xinhua Hospital affiliated to Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Principal Investigator of Shanghai Key Lab of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition.
Area of Research interests:
Fatty liver, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, metabolic steatohepatitis, alcoholic liver disease, Wilson Disease
Publications and Presentations:
Published over 800 academic papers (including over 150 articles in SCIE journals as the first and/or correspondent author, i.e, Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol, Gastroenterology, Hepatology, Journal of Hepatology, Exp Mol Med., EbioMedicine, and 8 book chapters in English) with H-index over 70, and 20 books in Chinese as editor-in-chief, i.e, Fatty Liver Disease in China People’s Medical Publishing House. He was also the co-chairman of the Biennial Shanghai International Forum on Digestive Diseases between 2010 and 2022, and invited speaker in over 20 countries.
Comments:
He was a Gastroenterologist and then also Associate Professor at Shanghai 1st People’s Hospital from 1997 to 2007. He was a Visiting Scholar of Australian National University Medical School (Canberra, Australia) from 2007 to 2008, and Visiting Professor of Cleveland Clinic Institution of Digestive Disease (Cleveland, USA) in May 2010. Currently, he is an Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Practical Hepatology (in Chinese); Executive Associate Editor-in-Chief, World Journal of Gastroenterology; Associate Editor, Journal of Clinical and Translational Hepatology, Clin Mol Hepatol.; Editorial Board Member, Hepatology, Chin Med J (Engl)., J Dig Dis, Hepatobiliary Pancreat Dis Int. etc.
Marlen I. Castellanos Fernández MD, PhD
Medical Education:
Received MD from the University of Medical Sciences of Havana in 1996 and completed her residency in gastroenterology at the National Institute of Gastroenterology, in 1999.
She was obtained of Scientific Degree (PhD in medical science) in 2011 at the University of Havana.
Graduated of fellowship in Diagnosis and treatment of Early Gastrointestinal Cancer (2004) University of Tokyo, Japan (JICA).
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Full Professor of Gastroenterology and Senior Researcher at the University of Medical Sciences of Havana. Chief of Research at the National Institute of Gastroenterology. Before she was the Chief of Teaching Department (2006-2012), Chief of the Department of Biostatistics and Clinical Research (2012-2013). Chief of the Department of Hepatology (2013-2015). She serves as a Member of the Medical Rector's Advisory Committee for Gastroenterology Specialization. Dr Fernandez is a member of the Cuban Society of Gastroenterology, Hepatology Section and Latin-American Association for the Study of Liver Disease.
Area of Research interests:
Viral hepatitis, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis and advanced liver disease.
Publications and Presentations:
Professor Fernández had published over 40 articles and 6 book chapters/reviews, over 65 presentations.
Comments:
Professor Fernández and her research have been recognized by the Cuban Academy of Sciences Award 2014 and Annual Health Award of Cuba 2011.
Emer Fitzpatrick MD
Medical Education:
King’s College Hospital in Paediatric Hepatology, Ireland, 2012
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Associate Director for research Children’s Health Ireland.
Area of Research interests:
MASLD and in the cellular therapy of liver disease.
Comments:
Professor Fitzpatrick as Principle investigator and Coinvestigators for a portfolio of funding awards from bodies including the MRC, the NIHR and various Charities. She is PI for the 20-year longitudinal study of Cystic Fibrosis Liver disease and her research is now funded by the Health Research Board and Cystic Fibrosis Ireland in addition to the Children’s Health Foundation.
Emer is a member of Council and Chair of the Hepatology Committee for ESPGHAN, Associate Editor for Pediatric Transplantation and a member of the Scientific Committee for Guts UK and formerly for Children’s Liver Disease Foundation UK.
Sven Francque MD, PhD
Medical Education:
Prof. Dr. Sven Francque obtained his MD at the University of Antwerp, Belgium, in 1994 and was subsequently trained in internal medicine and in gastroenterology and hepatology at the Antwerp University Hospital, Belgium and at the Department of Hepatology of the Beaujon hospital, Clichy, France.
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Senior clinical researcher for the Research Fund of the Flemish government.
chairman of the Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology of the University Hospital Antwerp and senior full professor of medicine at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences of the University of Antwerp
Area of Research interests:
He has a long-standing interest and expertise in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and conducted basic research focusing on the vascular changes in steatosis and their contribution to disease progression and leading to his PhD in 2011. His research unit continues to study pathophysiological mechanisms of NASH.
Publications and Presentations:
Author/co-author of over 180 papers in peer-reviewed journals and authored several book chapters on NAFLD. He is editor of JHep Reports, the open-access journal of the European Association for the Study of the Liver.
Comments:
Prof. Francque is as scientific committee member involved in the design of several phase 2 and current phase 3 trials in NAFLD and is national and international lead PI of several of these trials. He is also conducting clinical research and his unit is partner in several research consortia supported by the European Commission and by the Innovative Medicines Initiative with a focus on NASH pathophysiology, biomarker research and hepatocellular carcinoma. His clinical trial unit participates from the early days of clinical trials in NASH in many clinical trials in the field.
Prof. Francque is scientific coordinator of the Belgian Week of Gastroenterology, the Belgian national research meeting of all scientific societies in gastroenterology and hepatology in Belgium. He coordinated the Belgian guidelines on NAFLD and more recently the EASL and EASO-endorsed NAFLD patient guideline. He has recently been appointed to the governing board of the European Association for the Study of the Liver.
Michael Fuchs, M.D., PH.D.
Medical Education:
University of Ulm
University of Luebeck
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Professor, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, VCU
Area of Research interests:
Lipids and bile acids, bile formation, cholestasis, epithelial transport, molecular biology
Publications and Presentations:
Multiple publications in international peer-reviewed journals
Comments:
Dr. Fuchs clinical Specialties are Liver transplantation, fatty liver disease, viral hepatitis, autoimmune and metabolic liver disease, liver cancer, ultrasonography, elastography, endoscopy. He is widely published with over 130 articles in pubmed.
Adrian Gadano, MD, PhD
Medical Education:
University of Buenos Aires School of Medicine (MD, PhD).
Post doctoral fellowship at INSERM U-24, Hopital Beaujon – Clichy, France (Pr Jean-Pierre Benhamou, Pr Didier Lebrec, 1992-1996).
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Head of the Research Department at the Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires.
Medical Director of the Liver Transplant Unit, Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires – Argentina.
Area of Research interests:
Steatotic Liver Disease (SLD), Viral hepatitis, Cirrhosis. Current research on fatty liver disease, hepatitis B and complications of cirrhosis.
Publications and Presentations:
Authored 205 original articles and contributed to 11 book chapters. H-index of 49.
Comments:
Adrian Gadano currently leads the MASLD SIG at ALEH (Latin American Association for the Study of the Liver). He has developed the last Latin American Guidelines for the Management of MASLD and the Latin American Guidelines for the Management of Hepatitis B. He was the Head of the Liver Unit at the Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires for 22 years (1998-2020). Member of ALEH and EASL. Member of the Global Board of IASL. Past President of the Argentinian Association for the Study of the Liver and of the Argentinian Society of Transplantation. Dr. Gadano has been actively involved in teaching students, residents, post-doctoral candidates and fellows (trained more than 200 researchers). He has given over 200 presentations in scientific meetings.
Juan Cristóbal Gana, MD
Medical Education:
M.D., Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
Fellowship in Pediatric Gastroenterologist, Hepatology and Nutrition, University of Toronto, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Head of the Department of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, Escuela de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile.
Area of Research interests:
Steatotic Liver Disease and Portal Hypertension.
Publications and Presentations:
Professor Gana has published more than 80 peer reviewed papers.
Amalia Gastaldelli, PhD
Medical Education:
MS in Engineering, University of Padova, Italy (1990)
PhD in Biomedical Engineering, Politecnico of Milano, Italy (1994)
PhD in Preventive Medicine and Community Health (major in human physiology), Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, USA (1995)
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Research Director of Cardiometabolic Risk Unit, Institute of Clinical Physiology – National Research Council (CNR) Pisa, Italy
Affiliate Professor, Institute of Life Sciences-Biomedical Sciences, Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, Pisa, Italy
Professor of Medicine Adjunct, Division of Diabetes, UT Health, San Antonio, TX, USA
President and founder of the European NAFLD study group (since 2012)
President of the EGIR - European Group for Insulin Resistance (since 2018)
Area of Research interests:
Prof. Gastaldelli‘s research focuses on the pathophysiological mechanisms that drive metabolic diseases, including metabolic dysfunction associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), obesity, diabetes, and comorbidities studied with a multidisciplinary approach using fluxomics, metabolomics, system biology and imaging techniques. Moreover, she studies the mechanism of action of novel treatments.
Publications and Presentations:
Author of over 350 research papers in peer-reviewed journals, and over 150 invited presentations in national and international conferences.
Comments:
Prof. Gastaldelli is a leading expert in the field of metabolic diseases. Currently she is president of two European study groups, on NAFLD and insulin resistance (EGIR). She has been recognized among the Top Italian women scientists in 2016, and among the Top 2% Scientists Worldwide in the study from Stanford University. She received awards from the Italian Society for Diabetes (2018) and the International Diabetes Federation-IDF (2022) for her contribution to diabetes research.
Jacob George, MBBS, PhD
Medical Education:
MBBS from the University of Queensland (Australia), and obtained his PhD from the University of Sydney
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Robert W. Storr Professor of Hepatic Medicine at the Storr Liver Centre, Westmead Institute for Medical Research, University of Sydney and Head of the Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at Westmead Hospital and Director of Gastroenterology and Hepatology Services for the Western Sydney Local Health District
Area of Research interests:
Clinical, basic and translational research on NASH, hepatitis C, liver cancer, genetics and hepatic fibrosis
Publications and Presentations:
He has published over 412 papers, with over 31,200 citations and has an h index of 84. Is an Associate Editor for the Journal of Hepatology, and is or has been on the Editorial Board of Hepatology, Hepatology Communications, Liver International, Hepatology International and the World Journal of Gastroenterology.
The numerous international invitations to speak, include AASLD, DDW, EASL, APASL and APDW
Comments:
Professor George was a past Executive Council member of the Asian Pacific Association for the Study of the Liver and served on the council of the Gastroenterological society of Australia. Professor George is internationally known hepatologist and investigator and has published over 450 articles.
Lynn Gerber, MD
Medical Education:
Tufts University School of Medicine
Internship and Residency: Internal Medicine, New England Medical Center
Fellowship: Rheumatology, National Institutes of Health
Residency: Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, George Washington University
Board Certification: ABIM, Rheumatology, ABPMR
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
University Professor, George Mason University
Medical Director Outcomes Program, Beatty Center for Study of Liver Disease, Inova Health System
Director of Research, Department of Medicine, Inova Fairfax Medical Campus, Inova Health System
Area of Research interests:
Dr. Gerber main focus has been on determining relationships among human performance and perception with proteomic/metabolomic measures. This has also included development of new outcome measures for people with CLD.
Publications and Presentations:
Authored 180 peer reviewed manuscripts, 60 book chapters and 1 book and authored 4 Institute of Medicine Reports.
Comments:
Dr. Gerber has been doing clinical biomedical research for 45 years, as an intramural scientist at NIH studying human movement and function; and as a faculty investigator at Mason studying fatigue and chronic pain in people with cancer and musculoskeletal diseases. As part of the Outcomes Program at Beatty Center measuring fatigue in people with chronic liver disease (CLD) and obesity, determining relationships among human performance and self-reports combined with proteomic/metabolomic measures.
Created a PhD program for Rehabilitation Science at George Mason University. Obtained extramural funding ($4 million) from federal grants: NIH, NSF, NIDRR/NIDILRR, Henry Jackson Foundation. Recipient of many awards for teaching, research, mentorship, service to PMR and to patients with disabilities. Elected to the National Academy of Medicine (formerly,IOM).
Recipient of many awards for teaching, research, mentorship, service to PMR and to patients with disabilities. Elected to the National Academy of Medicine, formerly, Institute of Medicine.
Giacomo Germani, MD, PhD
Medical Education:
Medical Degree at Padova University, Italy (2005).
Specialization on Gastroenterology and Endoscopy at Padova University, Italy (2010).
Clinical research fellow at the Royal Free Hospital in London, UK (2010-2013).
Doctoral degree in Hepatology and Regenerative Medicine in 2013 from the University of Padova.
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Associate Professor of Gastroenterology, Department of Surgery, Oncology and Gastroenterology, University of Padova, Italy.
Head of Multivisceral Transplant Unit, Padova University Hospital, Italy.
Area of Research interests:
Clinical and translational studies in the setting of liver transplantation, mainly regarding alcohol-related liver disease, acute alcoholic hepatitis, liver transplantation for MASLD and MASH, acute liver failure, DILI and adherence before and after liver transplantation.
Publications and Presentations:
Author of 134 articles in international peer-reviewed journals, with an H-index of 39 (Scopus-November 2024) and several presentations in national and international congresses.
Comments:
Current chair of the European Liver and Intestine Transplant Association (ELITA)
Member of the Governing Board of the Italian Association for the Study of the Liver (AISF)
Member of the International Liver Transplant Society (ILTS) Educational Committee (2015-2018)
Member of the EASL young investigator Concerted Action Group (2013-2018).
Hasmik L. Ghazinyan, MD, PhD
Medical Education:
Dr. Hasmik L. Ghazinyan graduated from Yerevan State Medical University named after Mkhitar Heratsi, in 1978. Later, in 1987 she received specialization certificate from the Chair of Infections Disease of the National Institute of Health Named After Academician S. AVDALBEKYAN (NIH), Ministry of Healthcare of the Republic of Armenia.
Dr. Ghazinyan also completed a post-graduation study and Fellowship Program on infections Disease in Olbany Medical centre, NY, USA, 1996.
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Head of Hepatology Department, NORK Clinical Hospital of Infectious Diseases, Yerevan, Armenia
President of Armenian Hepatological Association
Area of Research interests:
Viral Hepatitis, HBV, HCV, HCC, NAFLD/NASH
Publications and Presentations:
Dr. Hasmik Ghazinyan is author of more than 160 scientific publications in local and international journals and magazines.
Attended more than 120 specialized medical conferences (local and international) as an invited speaker and moderator.
Comments:
Dr. Hasmik L. Ghazinyan is a member of EASL, APASL, IASL, CEVHAP
Member of Editorial Advisory council of scientific-practical journal Blood Armenia, since 2011
Member of Editorial Advisory council of scientific- practical journal Actual Infectology, Ukraine since 1 August 2013
Member of Editorial board of journal of Clinical and Molecular Hepotology of Korean Association for the Study of the Liver (KASL), 2015
Author of Methodical Recommendations: Management of HBV and HCV Infections in Onco/Oncoheamatological Patients in the Republic of Armenia
Member of APASL executive Council (EC) 2017
Member of THE EDITORIAL BOARD OF HEPATOLOGY INTERNATIONAL
Member of AARC working group, APASL ACLF Research Consortium
President of APASL STC on NAFLD/NASH in Yerevan, Armenia, October, 2021
Sarantuya Gidaagaya, MD, PhD
Medical Education:
Health Sciences University of Mongolia (Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia)
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Faculty of Department of Gastroenterology, School of Medicine, Mongolian National University of Medical Sciences
Area of Research interests:
Clinical research on Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, viral hepatitis, and non-invasive test of liver fibrosis.
Publications and Presentations:
Doctor Sarantuya has published several articles related to chronic hepatitis and liver cirrhosis.
HoChong Gilles, DNP, FNP-BC, AF-AASLD
Medical Education:
Master of Science in Nursing from Virginia Commonwealth University
Doctor of Nursing Practice, University of Virginia
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Clinical Program Director, Gastroenterology and Hepatology
Program Director, Liver Transplant
Central Virginia Veterans Affairs Health Care System
Associate Director of GI Research, Richmond Institute for Veterans Research
Area of Research interests:
Sub-investigator of various clinical trials in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease, alcohol-associated liver disease, portal hypertension, liver transplantation, and hepatocellular carcinoma.
Publications and Presentations:
Dr. Gilles has published in numerous peer-reviewed journals on cirrhosis, liver transplant, and hepatocellular carcinoma. Dr. Gilles has spoken at various regional and national meetings including AASLD Liver Meeting, DDW, ILCA, ISHEN, ACG and GHAPP Conferences.
Amit Goel MD, DNB, DM
Medical Education:
Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, India
King George’s Medical University, India
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Professor and Head, Department of Hepatology, Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, India
Head, WHO Collaborating Centre for Viral Hepatitis, Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, India
Area of Research interests:
Pioneering research in viral hepatitis, hepatitis burden, health economic analysis
Publications and Presentations:
Authored 105 articles, 6 book chapter; h-index 28; i10-index 52.
Comments:
Dr Amit completed his Gastroenterology fellowship in 2010 and has more than 13 years of teaching and research experience. Since then, he is working as faculty in different premier academic institutes in India. He initially worked in Jawaharlal Institute Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education & Research (JIPMER) for two years. He joined the Department of Gastroenterology in SGPGI, Lucknow in 2013 and gradually promoted upto Additional Professor. He finally joined the Department of Hepatology, SGPGI as Professor and Head in February 2023.
In addition, he is also serving as the Head of ‘WHO Collaborating Centre for Viral Hepatitis’ in my institute. At present he is pursuing ‘MSc Epidemiology’ from London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) which is supported by prestigious Commonwealth Scholarship. He has a keen interest in viral hepatitis, public health, health economics, and liver diseases in pregnancy. He worked in close association with World Health Organization (WHO) and the National Viral Hepatitis Control Program (NVHCP) of India to start our NVHCP. His seminal work on disease burden estimation, cost-effectiveness analysis, and as a ‘Treatment Recommendation Group (TRG)’ member helped in NVHCP. He developed training material on viral hepatitis which is used for training not only by our NVHCP but several other countries as well. Being a subject expert for WHO South-East Asia Region (SEAR) and Head of Collaborating centre, he has severed to several countries such as Nepal, Bhutan, Thailand, Maldives etc in their disease burden estimation, development of their national guidelines for viral hepatitis programs, and training of their health care workers.
In addition, he also has a keen interest in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). He has summarized the Indian data on NAFLD in form of a systematic review which is a highly cited in literature.
George Goh MD
Medical Education:
Dr. George Goh obtained his MBBS degree from the University of London; Guy’s Kings and St Thomas’ School of Medicine (2002)
Medical officer and registrar fellowship training at Singapore General Hospital. After Gastroenterology specialist training, he underwent further advanced subspecialty fellowship in Hepatology at the Cleveland Clinic (USA), with a research focus on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Dr. Goh is senior consultant gastroenterologist at Singapore General Hospital, Singapore. He currently leads the fatty liver service program in Singapore General Hospital. He is also an appointed Adjunct Assistant Professor at Duke-NUS Medical School and a Clinical Lecturer at Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore.
Area of Research interests:
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease
Publications and Presentations:
Dr. Goh has published 22 pubmed articles as of November 2018
Comments:
In addition, he remains actively involved in research and is the local Principal Investigator of several ongoing international pharmaceutical interventional NAFLD trials. He has published in the fields of NAFLD, liver cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma and organ transplantation, and has been an invited faculty at local, regional and international conferences. Besides appointment as fellow of Academy of Medicine, Singapore (FAMS) and member of the American Association for the Study of Liver Disease (AASLD), he is an appointed Adjunct Assistant Professor at Duke-NUS Medical School and Clinical Lecturer at Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore. He is the current Chairman of the National Foundation of Digestive Disease (NFDD), which aims to increase awareness of gastrointestinal diseases among the general public in Singapore.
Pegah Golabi, MD
Medical Education:
MD, Marmara University School of Medicine, Istanbul, Turkey (2005)
Residency in Infectious disease and clinical microbiology, Marmara University School of Medicine (2011)
Research fellow, Betty and Guy Beatty Center for Integrated Research (2020)
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Research Investigator at Center for Integrated Research, Inova Fairfax Hospital, Falls Church Virginia.
Area of Research interests:
Epidemiology, outcomes, and health services research in chronic liver diseases with a focus on Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), viral hepatitis, and hepatocellular carcinoma.
Publications and Presentations:
Dr. Golabi has more than 70 published articles over 100 abstracts at international scientific meetings. H-index 26 (google scholar July 2022).
Comments:
Member of the American Association for Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) and serves as coordinator in ongoing phase II/III clinical trials of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH).
Zachary D. Goodman, MD, PhD
Medical Education:
Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN – PhD in Experimental Pathology (1974); MD (1975)
The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD – Internship and Residency (1975-80)
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Director, Liver Pathology Research and Consultation, Inova Fairfax Hospital, Falls Church, VA
Area of Research interests:
Immunologically Mediated, Metabolic, Infectious and Neoplastic Diseases of the Liver.
Publications and Presentations:
Over 260 papers in peer-reviewed journals
Over 50 book chapters and invited reviews
Over 300 abstracts
Stuart Gordon MD
Medical Education:
Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, Michigan (MD)
University of Miami School of Medicine, Miami, Florida (Clinical Hepatology Fellowship)
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Professor of Medicine, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, Michigan
Director, Division of Hepatology, Henry Ford Health System, Detroit, Michigan
Area of Research interests:
Epidemiology and treatment of viral hepatitis, epidemiology and treatment of cholestatic and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Organization of multicenter liver disease collaboration consortia.
Publications and Presentations:
Authored or co-authored over 200 articles, 15 book chapters, 4 invited editorials and 1 textbook. His current H-index is 62.
Comments:
Dr. Gordon has served as an ad-hoc member of several NIH and NCI Study Sections and he is on the editorial board of Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology. Dr. Gordon was the recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award from Wayne State University School of Medicine. He is currently an appointed member of the AASLD-IDSA Hepatitis C Guidance Committee. He is identified in the 2018 Highly Cited Researchers list from Clarivate Analytics
In collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control, Dr. Gordon is the Principal Investigator of the multicenter CHeCS (Chronic Hepatitis Cohort Study) that examines the health burden, natural history, epidemiology and treatment challenges posed by chronic viral hepatitis in the United States. He is also the Principal Investigator of the Fibrotic Liver Disease (FOLD) consortium of 11 US medical centers that collectively serve 4.2 million patients, and which examines the prevalence, natural history, treatment uptake/response, and clinical outcomes of patients with Primary Biliary Cholangitis (PBC) in the United States.
Andrea A. Gossard, APRN, CNP, AF-AASLD
Medical Education:
University of Wisconsin, Bachelor of Science in Nursing
Winona State University, Masters of Science
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Associate Professor of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN
Director, Advanced Practice Provider (APP) Practice , Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota
Founder and Board Member, Gastroenterology and Hepatology for APPs (GHAPP)
Area of Research interests:
Cholestatic and autoimmune liver disease, epidemiology, risk-factors for fibrosis progression, biomarker development, emerging therapeutics, clinical trials.
Publications and Presentations:
Authored or co-authored 50+ publications and book chapters. Over 100 presentations.
Comments:
Andrea Gossard, APRN, CNP, is an Associate Professor of Medicine and a Director of NP PA Practice at Mayo Clinic. Her clinical and research interests are focused on the diagnosis and management of cholestatic and autoimmune liver diseases including Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis, Primary Biliary Cholangitis, and Autoimmune Hepatitis. She has authored 55 peer-reviewed manuscripts and 5 book chapters.
Ms. Gossard is an Associate Fellow of the American Association for the Study of Liver Disease (AASLD) and the Chair of the Hepatology Associates Special Interest Group. She is a member of the American College of Gastroenterology, the American Gastroenterological Association, the American Association for the Study of Liver Disease and the American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy.
Ms. Gossard was one of the founding members of GHAPP, Gastroenterology and Hepatology for Advanced Practice Providers. GHAPP is an association created by Advanced Practice Providers (APPs), led by APPs and committed to education and professional development of APPs. She is a board member on the GHAPP Board of Trustees.
Isabel Graupera, MD, PhD
Medical Education:
Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (2002) MD
Hospital Clinic Internal Medicine Residency (2006)
Hospital de Sant Pau Gastroenterology and Hepatology Residency (2011)
PhD program in Hepatology at Hospital Clinic of Barcelona (2017) PhD
Visiting Scientist at the Department of Molecular Metabolism, Harvard School of Public Health (2021-2023)
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Senior Specialist in Hepatology at the Liver Unit of Hospital Clinic of Barcelona
Associate Professor at the University of Barcelona
Vice-secretary of the Catalana Association of Gastroenterology (2024-2025)
Area of Research interests:
Screening of liver fibrosis. Pathophysiology, natural history, diagnosis and treatment of MASLD.
Publications and Presentations:
Authored or co-authored over 100 articles. Her current h Index is 42
Comments:
Dr. Graupera started her research career investigating the usefulness of hemodynamic guided therapies in patients with cirrhosis and portal hypertension. Afterwards, her research path shifted to translational research and investigated the molecular mechanisms of chronic liver disease progression. Her PhD focused on the role of systemic inflammation in cirrhosis and the prognostic value of its biomarkers in patients with cirrhosis. Since Dr. Graupera started as staff at the Liver Unit in the Hospital Clinic in 2016, her research moved to the MASLD field. She is the lead of the MASLD clinic in Hospital Clinic of Barcelona. Currently, Dr. Graupera’s research work focuses on prognostic factors of disease progression in advanced MASLD and on identifying the best screening strategies for early diagnosis of MASLD. Dr. Graupera is the Secretary of the LiverScreen Consortium, a European consortium focused on screening strategies by developing the LiverScreen project (funded HZ2020 program). Dr. Graupera is the Vice-secretary of the Catalan Association of Gastroenterology. In addition to her clinical research work, Dr Graupera leads an independent lab aimed at investigating the role of adipose tissue in MASLD pathogenesis and progression. Her translational research has been fuelled by her stay as a visiting scholar at Sabri Ülker Center, Department of Molecular Metabolism at Harvard School of Public Health.
Nadege T. Gunn MD, CPI
Medical Education:
University of Florida, Doctor of Medicine
Greenville Hospital System in Greenville, South Carolina, Internal Medicine Residency
San Antonio Uniformed Services Health Education Consortium (SAUSHEC) Wilford Hall Medical Center/Brooke Army Medical Center, Gastroenterology/Hepatology Fellowship
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Medical Director and President, Impact Research Institute, Waco, Texas
Area of Research interests:
Management of chronic liver disease and therapies for liver related illnesses.
Publications and Presentations:
Authored or co-authored multiple articles ad publications.
Comments:
Dr. Nadege Gunn is a Gastroenterologist and Hepatologist who focuses mainly on finding therapies for liver related illnesses. She is also a Certified Principal Investigator by the Association of Clinical Research Professionals (ACRP). Her work concentrates on linking cutting edge clinical trials in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and gastrointestinal illnesses to the populations who need them desperately. She is a fellowship-trained Gastroenterologist and Board Certified in both Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology. She has a broad clinical research and community practice background.
Dr. Gunn is a graduate of the University of Florida College of Medicine. She completed an Internal Medicine Residency at the Greenville Health System in Greenville, South Carolina. Her Gastroenterology and Hepatology Fellowships were completed in Texas at the San Antonio Uniformed Services Health Education Consortium as an active duty member of the United States Air Force.
Prior to separating from her military practice in 2015, Dr. Gunn earned the rank of Major and acted as the Chief of Gastroenterology at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida.
Just prior to founding Impact Research Institute, Dr. Gunn served as Hepatology Consultant to Austin Gastroenterology and as the Site Lead Physician for The Liver Institute of Virginia in Newport News, Virginia. Dr. Gunn is currently an Adjunct Assistant Professor for Texas A and M College of Medicine and Dell College of Medicine at UT Austin.
Dr. Gunn is passionate about the management of chronic liver disease and is committed to providing world class care for patients. She is a Medical Advisory Member for the American Liver Foundation and the Fatty Liver Foundation.
Hannes Hagström, MD PhD
Medical Education:
Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden: MD, 2007
Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden: Specialist in internal medicine (2015) and Gastroenterology and Hepatology (2016)
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Associate professor, Karolinska Institutet
Co-director, Centre for Bioinformatics and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet (Centre for Bioinformatics and Biostatistics, CBB | Karolinska Institutet (ki.se))
Head of Liver Academy at Karolinska Institutet (Liver Academy at KI | Karolinska Institutet)
Scientific secretary, Swedish Society of Gastroenterology (https://svenskgastroenterologi.se)
Consultant Hepatologist, Karolinska University Hospital
Area of Research interests:
NAFLD; NASH; ALD; epidemiology; biostatistics; natural history; register-based research
Publications and Presentations:
As of August 2023, Hagström has published more than 140 scientific papers since his start in research in 2010. He has an H-index of 39 and is a frequent speaker at national and international conferences.
Comments:
Dr. Hagström’s main interests involve the natural history and risk stratification of steatotic liver disease. He has published some of the larger cohort studies on these topics, using a wide range of cohorts with detailed data. For instance, some works were among the first to show the importance of fibrosis as a predictor of future risk of severe liver disease in NAFLD. He leads a large research group at the Karolinska Institutet focused on liver disease epidemiology (Hagström Group | Karolinska Institutet (ki.se)) which has generated important evidence on the natural history of several liver diseases, with a focus on NAFLD.
Saeed Hamid, MBBS, FRCP
Medical Education:
Kind Edward Medical College, University of Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan
Residency training from United Kingdom Fellowship in Hepatology, Southwestern Medical School, University of Texas, Dallas, USA
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Professor of Medicine, Director, Clinical Trials Unit.
Area of Research interests:
Viral hepatitis, NASH and HCC.
Publications and Presentations:
164 indexed publications to date, including the first report of hepatitis E virus super-infection causing Acute on Chronic Liver Failure.
Comments:
Chairperson, Guidelines Development Group for WHO Guidelines for the Treatment of Persons with Hepatitis C virus infection, 2016.
Chairperson, Guidelines Development Group for Revision of WHO Guidelines for the Treatment of Persons withHepatitis C virus infection, 2018.
Co-Chair, Coalition to Eradicate Viral Hepatitis from Asia-Pacific (CEVHAP),
Member, Steering Committee, International Coalition to Eradicate Hepatitis B Virus Infection (ICE-HBV),
Chair, Hepatology Interest Group, World Gastroenterology Organization.
Member, Governing Council, World Gastroenterology Organization
Gideon Hirschfield MB BChir FRCP PhD
Medical Education:
University of Cambridge (1996)
UCL (2003)
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Lily and Terry Horner Chair in Autoimmune Liver Disease Research, Professor, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University of Toronto, Staff Physician, Toronto Centre for Liver Disease, Toronto General Hospital, Toronto, Canada
Area of Research interests:
Autoimmune liver disease (PBC, PSC, AIH, IgG4 disease) and rare liver disease
Publications and Presentations:
Professor Hirschfield has over 300 articles in Pubmed.
Comments:
Gideon Hirschfield has a focus on delivering new therapies for people living with PBC, PSC and AIH in particular.
Dr. A.G. (Onno) Holleboom MD PhD
Medical Education:
Amsterdam UMC- Academic Medical Center (AMC), Amsterdam, Netherlands
   Fellow Endocrinology and Metabolism (Sep 2015 - Jan 2018)    Resident Internal Medicine (Apr 2011 - Jan 2018) University of Amsterdam (Jun 2011 - Jan 2018)    Postdoctoral researcher Vascular Medicine
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Associate Professor and Internist registered in Vascular Medicine and Endocrinology at Amsterdam UMC, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Area of Research interests:
Metabolic dysfunction Associated Steatotic Liver Disease (MASLD) imarkers, clinical trials, Dutch MASLD guideline and basic scince in MASLD.
Publications and Presentations:
Over 79 peer-reviewed publications in PubMed
Comments:
Dr. A.G. (Onno) Holleboom MD PhD is an associate professor and internist registered in Vascular Medicine and Endocrinology at Amsterdam UMC. He heads a multidisciplinary outpatient clinic for MASLD together with hepatologyand including clinical trials. Within the MASLD-NL consortium and supported by the Dutch MLDS gastroenterology and hepatology foundation, his team investigates and implements care paths for MASLD. He participates in LITMUS and the new GRIP on MASH consortium, has co-authored the Dutch MASLD guideline and is on the Delphi panel for the revised EASL-EASD-EASO guideline. He runs a research group with 4 PhD candidates focusing on genetic and gut microbial drivers of MASLD in three cohort studies, as well as more fundamental work on pathways around liver sinusoidal endothelium and lipophagy. He has published 81 peer-reviewed articles and received the prestigious Amsterdam UMC Fellowship grant.
Patrick M. Horne, MSN, APRN-BC, FNP, AF-AASLD
Medical Education:
ABachelors of Science from the University of Florida College of Health Professions
Bachelors and Masters of Science from the University of Florida College of Nursing
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Assistant Director of Clinical Hepatology Research/Clinical Programs Coordinator
University of Florida, Department of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition, Section of Hepatobiliary Diseases
Area of Research interests:
Sub-investigator of various clinical trials in hepatology including viral hepatitis, metabolic associated steatohepatitis (MASH), autoimmune hepatitis, cholestatic liver disease, and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).
Publications and Presentations:
Mr. Horne has published in the field of clinical hepatology on various disease states. Mr. Horne has spoken at various academic meetings including AASLD Liver Meeting, AGA NP/PA Conference, and GHAPP Regional and National Conferences.
Ramazan Idilman MD
Medical Education:
MD, Graduated from Cukurova University Faculty of Medicine in 1992.
Internal Medicine, Completed Internal Medicine program at Ankara University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine in 1997
Gastroenterology Fellowship Program at Ankara University Faculty of Medicine the same university in 2000.
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Professor of Medicine in Department of Internal Medicine/Gastroenterology
Area of Research interests:
Viral hepatitis, hepatocellular carcinoma, NAFLD
Publications and Presentations:
Professor Ramazan Idilman has published over 135 articles in Pubmed.
Scott Isaacs MD, FACP, FACE
Medical Education:
Emory University School of Medicine
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Adjunct Assistant Professor Emory University School of Medicine
Area of Research interests:
Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease, Obesity
Publications and Presentations:
Publications in peer reviewed journals and several bestselling books on hormones and weight loss. Over 500 faculty lectures.
Comments:
Dr. Scott Isaacs is a board certified, and fellowship trained endocrinologist in practice at Atlanta Endocrine Associates. His private practice focuses on obesity medicine, fatty liver disease, cardiometabolic disease, dyslipidemia, diabetes, and general endocrinology.
Dr. Isaacs attended medical school at Emory University School of Medicine and continued for residency and fellowship in endocrinology. He continues his 35-year association with Emory as Adjunct Assistant Professor of Medicine in the School of Medicine. He is a diplomate of the American Board of Obesity Medicine and the American College of Physicians. He is a two-time past president of the Georgia Chapter of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists and is a past president of the Atlanta Chapter of the American Diabetes Association. He currently serves on the Executive Committee as Secretary of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinology (AACE) and is the co-chair of the Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) Clinical Practice Guidelines.
Dr. Isaacs is committed to education for patients, the public and health professionals. Throughout his career, he has given more than 500 lectures, grand rounds and CME programs and serves on the planning committee and as a speaker for national meetings. He has published research in peer-reviewed journals, and has authored patient education materials, several best-selling books and has an active following on social media. He has appeared in the New York Times and is a contributor for CNN, NPR, Dr. Phil, and others.
Vasily A. Isakov MD
Medical Education:
MD degree (cum laude) and then had a post-graduate training in internal medicine and gastroenterology at Nikolai Pirogov Russian State Medical University in Moscow.
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Chief of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at Federal Research Centre of Nutrition, Biotechnology and Food safety in Moscow, Russia.
Area of Research interests:
Pathogenesis and treatment of viral hepatitis, NASH and GI diseases
Publications and Presentations:
Dr. Isakov is the author and co-author of over 100 peer-reviewed papers as well as numerous abstracts, books, book chapters and monographs. He serves as an editorial board member of the Best Practice and Research Clinical Gastroenterology, Experimental and Clinical Gastroenterology, Voprosy Pitaniya, Voprosy Dietologii.
Comments:
Dr. Isakov was awarded Abrikosov Prize of Russian Academy of Sciences, Nikolai Pirogov Prize of Russian State Medical University and Award of Moscow government in medical research. He is a member of American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD), European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL), American Society for Nutrition (ASN) and Fellow of American Gastroenterological Association (AGA).
Mads Israelsen, MD, PhD
Medical Education:
PhD Degree, University of Southern Denmark
MD, University of Copenhagen
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Associate Professor, Odense Liver Research Center, Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Odense University Hospital, Denmark
Board Member, EASL Young Investigator (YI) Task Force
Specialist Training in Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Bispebjerg Hospital, Denmark
Area of Research interests:
Clinical hepatology with a focus on alcohol, metabolism, and the microbiome in relation to steatotic liver disease and cirrhosis with associated complications.
Publications and Presentations:
Co-author of more than 40 publications in the field of steatotic liver disease.
Comments:
I have a particular focusin the interplay between cardiometabolic and alcohol-related risk factors in patients with steatotic liver disease. Here, my clinical focus is on optimising the identification, diagnosis, and develope treatment strategies for this large patient group.
As a member of the EASL Young Investigator Task Force, I try work on development of early-career researchers in hepatology. This work actively aim to create opportunities for young academics to realise their potential and build professional networks to advance research in hepatology.
Ira Jacobson MD
Medical Education:
Medical School - Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons
Residency, Internal Medicine - Massachusetts General Hospital
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Professor, Department of Medicine
Director, Hepatology at NYU Langone Health
Area of Research interests:
Hepatitis, Fatty liver disease, Priimary biliary choangitis, primary sclerosing cholangitis
Publications and Presentations:
Dr. Jacobson has over 200 publications.
Comments:
For more than 30 years, Dr. Jacobson participated in hundreds of clinical trials on antiviral therapy for viral hepatitis, including hepatitis B and C, and I has also led a number of them. These studies have remarkably improved our ability to treat people with these conditions, including the capacity to cure nearly all patients who have hepatitis C.
Dr. Jacobson is a fellow of several major organizations, including the American College of Physicians, the American Gastroenterological Association, the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, and the American College of Gastroenterology, and a member of the European Association for the Study of the Liver. Recently, he was honored to be elected to a fellowship at the Royal College of Physicians in the United Kingdom.
David Jones (OBE), Prof. MD
Medical Education:
University of Oxford
Newcastle University
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Professor of Liver Immunology at Newcastle University and PI for the UK-PBC Research Consortium, Director for the Newcastle University Centre for Research Excellence in Rare Disease, and NIHR Dean for Faculty Trainees
Area of Research interests:
Primary Biliary Cirrhosis (PBC) and Autoimmune Hepatitis (AIH)
Publications and Presentations:
Professor Jones has authored over 140 peer-reviewed publications.
Comments:
Professor Jones leads the internationally renowned autoimmune liver disease clinical service in Newcastle, hosted by the Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals Foundation Trust (NUTH). He has worked in the area of the autoimmune liver disease Primary Biliary Cholangitis (PBC) for over 25 years, starting as an MRC Clinical Research and Clinician Scientist Fellow. Working initially on the underpinning biology of the disease he has translated key mechanistic discoveries into new approaches to therapy. The UK-PBC MRC Stratified Medicine programme, which he led, has revolutionised thinking in the disease, defining the unmet need, developing the clinical tools needed to quantify risk and identifying the patient groups who need enhanced therapy in PBC. He has led the evaluation, approval and implementation programmes for the first stratified therapy in PBC (and indeed any rare liver disease), Obeticholic Acid, which is now available across the NHS. He was also the Coordinator for the RARE-LIVER European Reference Network (ERN) which was established to support the development of clinical delivery programmes for rare liver disease (PBC is a rare disease) across Europe. In addition to his clinical and research work he has played a key role in the development of new integrated academic pathways which will play a key role in developing the next generation of researchers in the area of Stratified Medicine and its underpinning technologies. In June 2018 Professor Jones was awarded an OBE for his services to Liver Medicine and Clinical Academic Training.
Satoru Kakizaki MD, PhD, AGAF
Medical Education:
Received M.D. from Gunma University School of Medicine. After receiving his M.D., he started practicing medicine as a Hepatologist, and also involved in clinical research concerning hepatitis C virus. Received Ph.D. degree in 1999 from Gunma University. In 2000, joined Dr. Masa Negishi’s laboratory at NIEHS/NIH (U.S.A) to study the roles of nuclear receptor CAR regulating the drug metabolizing enzymes.
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Director, Department of Clinical Research, National Hospital Organization Takasaki General Medical Center, Japan.
Visiting Professor, Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Gunma University Graduate School of Medicine, Japan.
Area of Research interests:
Nuclear receptors and liver disease including NASH/NAFLD.
Publications and Presentations:
On the Editorial Board of World Journal of Gastroenterology. He received the Award from the Japan Society of Hepatology and JSPS Research Fellowship Award for Japanese Biomedical and Behavioral Researchers at NIH. He has published more than 200 peer-reviewed research articles.
Comments:
Dr. Kakizaki serves as a councilor for the Japan Society of Hepatology (JSH), the Japanese Society of Gastroenterology (JSGE), and the Japan Gastroenterological Endoscopy Society (JGES). Additionally, Dr. Kakizaki is a member of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) and holds fellowship status with the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA).
Mustafa Kanat MD, Prof
Medical Education:
M.D. from the Istanbul University, Cerrahpasa Medical Faculty, Istanbul, Turkey (1990-1996)
Residency in Internal Medicine, Istanbul University, Cerrahpasa Medical Faculty, Istanbul, Turkey (1996-2002)
Diabetes and Metabolism Fellowship, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UTHSCSA) (2010-2012)
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Professor of Medicine at the Istanbul Medeniyet University (2015- Current)
Founder and Director of the Diabetes Research Center (DIMER)
Area of Research interests:
Insulin resistance, Type 2 Diabetes, NAFLD
Publications and Presentations:
Authored or co-outhored over 50 peer-review articles, 5 book chapter and over 50 abstracts at the national and international scientific meetings.
Comments:
Dr. Kanat is experienced basic research, clinical study. He was a research fellow of Diabetes Center of Texas University (UTHSCSA) and his research interest includes insulin resistance in liver, skeletal muscle and adipose tissue, and translational research of obesity/diabetes as well as NAFLD.
Susan Kang, MSN, ANP-BC, CCTC
Medical Education:
MSN, California State University, Los Angeles School of Nursing, 2008
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Nurse practitioner and clinical transplant coordinator for the adult liver transplant team, UCLA Health
Area of Research interests:
Multidisciplinary care needs of liver transplant recipients, MASLD
Comments:
Susan Kang has nearly 20 years of experience in caring for liver patients across the entire spectrum, including: inpatient (abdominal organ transplant ICU and stepdown ICU), outpatient (hepatology/hepatobiliary surgery), and all phases of liver transplant. As a prior decision maker for an organ donor family member, her clinical passion remains in the multidisciplinary care needs of her current complex patient population- liver transplant recipients. With the increasing prevalence of MASLD in the general population as well as MASLD recidivism and new onset MASLD in the post liver transplant population, she looks forward to continuing to help these patients achieve optimal clinical outcomes.
Achim Kautz
Education:
Achim Kautz has a degree in Communication Sciences (IHK, KdA)
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
CEO of Kautz5 gUG – a non-profit project and consulting company in the health sector. At the heart of our work is the patient with all their needs and concerns. Our goal is to improve their medical care structures and quality of life in a sustainable and long-term manner.
Area of Research interests:
He has a long-standing expertise in advocacy with a special interest in translating chronic diseases (liver, metabolic) into a language that allows policy discussion with key decision makers in different health care settings (local, national, regional, and global).
Publications and Presentations:
Author/co-author of many papers in peer-reviewed international and national journals. In his career he held 100dreds of presentations and meetings with representatives of governments, politicians, and health care decision makers.
Comments:
Achim Kautz has been CEO of the German Liver Help Association, a co-founder of the European Liver Patient Association (ELPA), a co-founder of the World Hepatitis Alliance (WHA), a member of the national strategy planning group of the WHO, involved in 6 WHO resolutions. He is a member of the advisory committee of the German MoH for viral hepatitis and a member of the expert committee of the joint committee (GBA) in Germany.
He is involved in several national and international patient centric research projects in the field of NASH, HCC and PBC.
Achim Kautz is a co-author of several guidelines in the field of liver diseases, a strategic advisor of the EASL policy group, together with Sven Francque a co-ordinator of the EASL and EASO-endorsed NAFLD patient guideline.
Takumi Kawaguchi MD, PhD
Medical Education:
Kurume University School of Medicine (M.D.)
Kurume University Graduate School of Medicine (Ph.D.)
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Assistant Professor, Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, Kurume University School of Medicine, Japan
Area of Research interests:
Exercise therapy for NAFLD
Effects of anti-diabetic agents for patients with HCC
Nutritional therapy for liver cirrhosis
Publications and Presentations:
Dr. Kawaguchi has had more than 160 published articles including Gastroenterology (4), Hepatology (8), J Hepatol (2), Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A (2).
Mohit Kehar, MBBS, DNB
Medical Education:
MBBS, 2005
DNB (Paediatrics), National Board of Examinations, New Delhi, India, 2009
Fellowship in Paediatric Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, Delhi, India, 2013
Fellowship in Paediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition, Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto, Canada, 2018
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Assistant Professor, Lead Pediatric NAFLD clinic, Division of Paediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition, Department of Paediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Canada
Co-Chair, upcoming Canadian NAFLD-MASLD Guidelines
Hepatology Committee Member, North American Society of Paediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition (NASPGHAN)
Member Can-NASH (Canadian NASH) committee
Guidelines committee member - Canadian Association of Study of Liver Disease (CASL)
Area of Research interests:
Pediatric Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD)- advancing the epidemiology of pediatric MASLD, increasing awareness about Pediatric MASLD, Understanding the risk factors and progression of MASLD in children, educating healthcare professionals, patients, and families about MASLD prevention and management, Collaborating with national and international organizations to standardize care practices and guidelines for pediatric MASLD
Pediatric liver disease- cirrhosis in children, portal hypertension in children, spearheaded the international registry to understand the impact of COVID-19 in children with liver disease and post-transplantation
Publications and Presentations:
Authored or co-authored several publications and presentations, including peer-reviewed articles (38), book chapters (3), and several conference abstracts.(Google Scholar)
Comments:
Dr. Kehar’s research focuses on pediatric liver diseases, particularly MASLD. He has contributed to the development of guidelines and position papers, including the impact of COVID-19 on children with liver disease. His work spans clinical research, and collaborative studies aimed at improving liver health in children. He is an active member of several national and international committees dedicated to liver disease research and advocacy.
Caglayan Keklikkiran, MD
Medical Education:
Received a Doctor of Medicine degree from Marmara University School of Medicine, located in Istanbul, Turkey, in 2011.
Completed a Residency in Internal Medicine at Marmara University School of Medicine in 2016.
Completed a fellowship in Gastroenterology at Marmara University School of Medicine in 2022.
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Currently employed as a Gastroenterology specialist at Rize Recep Tayyip Erdoğan University Research and Training Hospital.
Area of Research interests:
Specializes in the study of noninvasive imaging techniques and tests for diagnosing Steatotic Liver Disease (SLD).
Research focus also includes the treatment of NASH, viral hepatitis, and chronic liver diseases.
Publications and Presentations:
Collaborated in the authorship of over 10 research papers published in peer-reviewed journals.
Presented more than 20 abstracts at scientific meetings.
Comments:
Currently involved as a sub-investigator in ongoing Phase II/III NASH trials and Phase II/III studies related to liver diseases. Member of Turkish Association for The Study of the Liver.
Andrèa Lynn Keller PA-C
Medical Education:
Physician Assistant Program – Daemen University,Amherst NY
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Clinical Physician Assistant, Adult Transplant Hepatology, MedStar Georgetown Transplant Institute
Clinical Physician Assistant, Metropolitan Liver Diseases and Gastroenterology Center
Area of Research interests:
Steatotic Liver Disease (MASH/MASLD), Viral Hepatitis, chronic liver disease, APP practicing
Publications and Presentations:
Pre-Treatment Education and Treatment Completion in Patients with Hepatitis C (HCV) Treated with Boceprevir (BOC) or Telaprevir (TVR). November 2013. Lead Author: Debbie Mercier (SLU) Senior Author: Joy Peter (UF)
Comments:
Andrèa Keller, is a board certified and multi-licensed Physician Assistant in the state of VA, MD and DC working with MedStar Georgetown Transplant Institute. She is responsible for managing, diagnosing, treating, and aiding in the preventative management of all MedStar Georgetown Transplant Institute patients. She is currently serving as the anchor provider within MGTIs’ Northern Virginia clinical office.
She is a Member of the American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA), Associate member of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD), Member of The Chronic Liver Disease Foundation (CLDF) and Member of Gastroenterology Hepatology Advanced Practice Providers (GHAPP)
In addition, she provides education and outreach activities within the community, chairing the Liver Life Walk DC charity event in junction with the American Liver Foundation 2017-current. This event has raised well over $100,000 for continued liver research with the goal to stomp out liver disease by 2030.
Saira Khaderi, MD, MPH
Medical Education:
MD from University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston
MPH from University of Texas School of Public Health in Houston
Internal Medicine Residency at Cleveland Clinic Foundation
Transplant Hepatology Fellowship at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Hepatologist at Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas
Area of Research interests:
Viral Hepatitis, Hepatocellular Carcinoma, Telemedicine in Liver Disease
Publications and Presentations:
Has authored or co-authored more than 50 publications, abstracts and presentations
Comments:
Dr. Khaderi's interests focus on viral hepatitis (specifically elimination and the role of telemedicine) and risk factors for hepatocellular carcinoma. Dr. Khaderi is a member of the AASLD HCV Special Interest Group, the Texas Hepatitis Elimination Task Force, and AASLD Women's Initiative Committee. She is the medical director of Baylor St. Luke's Project ECHO which has been helping provide hepatology care to underserved population for the past ten years.
Jawad Khamis, MD, MRCP
Medical Education:
Semmelwise University of Medicine
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Hepatologist and Gastroenterologist at Salmaniya Medical Complex (SMC), Governmental Hospitals Bahrain
Area of Research interests:
Viral hepatitis, immunological disease of the liver, Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and liver transplant
Publications and Presentations:
Authored and Co-author of multiple publications
Comments:
Dr. Khamis is currently working as a consultant Gastroenterologist and Hepatologist at the SMC Bahrain. Part time Associate Professor of Medicine at the Arabian University of Medicine (AGU) Bahrain. He is a member of the Bahrain viral hepatitis eradication program and one of the founders of the country’s liver transplant program.
James Kim MBBCh, PgDip, MScCH
Medical Education:
University of Witwatersrand (2006)
University of South Wales (2014)
University of Toronto (2023)
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Family Medicine, University of Calgary
Diabetes Canada: Steering Committee for Clinical Practice Guidelines
Diabetes Canada: Guideline Author, including lead author for NAFLD chapter
Diabetes Canada: Dissemination and Implementation Committee for Clinical Practice Guidelines
Diabetes Canada: Co-chair of Primary Care interest group
Migraine Canada: Scientific Committee member
Society for Academic Continuing Medical Education: Technology-Enhanced CPD Committee member
Area of Research interests:
Diabetes and diabetes related comorbidities including non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, chronic kidney disease. Independent cardiovascular risk factors which are not commonly considered, such as binge eating disorder, and insomnia.
Chronic migraine.
Healthcare professional educations focusing on the effective educational delivery method.
Public health access.
Publications and Presentations:
Dr Kim has given more than 150 presentations on various topics in medicine, predominantly in diabetes and migraine. He is the co-lead author of the NAFLD chapter in Diabetes Canada.
Comments:
Dr. James Kim is a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Calgary. Dr. Kim has special interest in diabetes, diabetes-related conditions, and independent cardiovascular risk factors that are often not considered, such as: binge eating disorder and insomnia. Dr. Kim has given over 150 presentations on these conditions, and he has also presented on behalf of national organizations such as Diabetes Canada and Migraine Canada. Since the completion of his Master’s program on Healthcare Professional Education, Dr. Kim’s interest lies in effective healthcare professional education delivery methods. He has been invited to lead one of the international projects on HyFlex learning delivery, while also being a guest lecturer at various universities and conferences.
Within Diabetes Canada, his role includes steering committee member for the Clinical Practice Guidelines; current co-chair of Primary Care Special Interest Group; Dissemination and Implementation member; author of the guidelines; lead author of NAFLD/MASLD guidelines; and he has been a scientific planning committee member for the annual Diabetes Canada Conference.
Within Migraine Canada, Dr. Kim is a scientific committee member and a member of the Society for Academic Continuing Medical Education’ subsection, Technology-Enhanced CPD Committee. He is currently running two projects in two different Canadian provinces aiming to reduce the wait time to specialty migraine care.
Seung Up Kim MD, PhD
Medical Education:
Yonsei University College of Medicine
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Professor of Yonsei University College of Medicine.
Member of Korean Association of the Study of the Liver and Korean Liver Cancer Study Group.
Area of Research interests:
Viral hepatitis, liver fibrosis, NAFLD, hepatocellular carcinoma
Publications and Presentations:
More than 150 SCI(E) original, peer reviewed publications including Hepatology, J Hepatol, Am J Gastroenterol, Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol, Clin Cancer Res, Aliment Pharmacol Ther as primary or corresponding author.
He is a invited referee for more than 20 SCI(E) journals including Gastroenterology, Hepatology, Journal of Hepatology, etc.
Comments:
Dr. Seung Up Kim acts as Editor-in-Chief of Clinical and Molecular Hepatology, as Associate Editor of Gut and Liver, an academic editor of PLoS One, and editorial board member of Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology. His academic interests include ‘Molecular biology of hepatitis B virus’, ‘Immunogenetics of hepatitis virus infection’, ‘Noninvasive assessment of liver fibrosis’, and ‘Diagnosis and treatment for viral hepatitis and liver cancer’.
Rohit Kohli MBBS, MS
Medical Education:
MBBS-Armed Forces Medical College, University of Pune, India- 1993-1999
MS in Clinical Investigation, School of Public Health, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL- 2004-2006
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Professor of Pediatrics (Clinical Scholar) University of Southern California
Chief, Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles
Associate Director, The Saban Research Institute, (Training and Education)
Associates’ Chair in Liver and Intestinal Research at Children's Hospital Los Angeles
Area of Research interests:
My basic science research has focused on liver disease and obesity-related fatty liver disease (NASH) in the context of bile acid signaling as a potential therapeutic treatment pathway of interest.
Publications and Presentations:
Authored over 135 peer-reviewed articles including editorials, case reports, chapters and presented internationally and his current H-index is 42.
Comments:
My clinical training and over 20 years of experience have focused on caring for children with liver disease, including being responsible for the liver transplant program and in-patient transplant unit at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. At CHLA, I have been responsible for the Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition as Chief of the Division since 2016. I successfully served as the Director of The George Donnell Society for Pediatric Scientists, a research pipeline development program for residents and fellows at CHLA. Here at CHLA I am responsible for the Teaching, Education, Career Planning and Development (TECPAD) team at The Saban Research Institute (TSRI), that supports research trainees across the continuum of their career.
Loreta Kondili, MD, PhD
Medical Education:
Medical Degree, University of Tirana, Albania (1995) and Sapienza University, Rome, Italy (1998)
Specialization in Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy (2005)
Visiting Researcher, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham, UK (2002-2003)
PhD in Experimental and Clinical Hepato-Gastroenterology, Sapienza University, Rome, Italy (2015)
Completed Advanced Program in Economic Evaluation and Decisional Models for Health Technology Assessment Catholic University, Rome, Italy (2016)
Master in Health Technology Assessment, Catholic University, Rome, Italy (2017)
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Clinical Researcher, Centre for Global Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
Associate Professor of Medicine, Unicamillus International University of Health Sciences, Rome, Italy, and Full Professor at University of Medicine and Albanian University, Tirana, Albania
Area of Research interests:
Prevention, screening, and treatment of liver disease; predictive modeling for disease burden and economic analysis; extensive research of real-life databases for chronic liver disease
Publications and Presentations:
Authored or co-authored more than 100 publications, multiple national policy documents, and numerous scientific and educational presentations at national and international conferences and meetings
Comments:
Dr. Loreta Kondili is a Hepatologist and Clinical Researcher at the Centre for Global Health of the Istituto Superiore di Sanità (Italy’s National Institute of Public Health) in Rome. She has a long-standing interest and expertise in the natural history, diagnosis, and treatment of viral hepatitis. She also has extensive expertise in the economic analysis of liver disease and managing and analyzing large real-life databases. She leads the Italian Platform for the Study of Viral Hepatitis (HCV, HBV, and HDV) Therapies (PITER) through more than 100 national and international collaborations. She is a key opinion leader for the National Hepatitis Plan for the Italian Ministry of Health and a member of the Policy, Public Health, and Advocacy Committee of the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL). Her advocacy efforts focus on producing evidence to guide health policies to reduce the burden of chronic liver disease in Italy and Europe. Her current interest focuses on estimating the clinical and economic burden of MASLD in Italy to produce the necessary data for advancing Italy’s public health response to MASLD. Dr. Kondili has been actively involved in teaching students and fellows in the field of chronic liver disease.
Alice Pik-Shan Kong, MBChB, MD
Medical Education:
The Chinese University of Hong Kong (MBChB, MD)
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Professor, Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, the Chinese University of Hong Kong
Honorary Consultant, Division of Endocrinology, Prince of Wales Hospital, Hong Kong
Area of Research interests:
Epidemiology and interventional trials related to the management of people with obesity and diabetes with focus on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
Publications and Presentations:
Authored over 340 articles, 6 book chapters and over 100 presentations at local, regional and international scientific meetings. Her current H-index is 56 (Jan 2024).
Aleksander Krag, MD, PhD, MBA
Medical Education:
Executive MBA degree, Copenhagen Business School (2017-2019)
Harvard Business School, Executive Education, Pasteur program (2013-2014)
Specialist training, Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Copenhagen University Hospitals (2008-2013)
PhD. degree University of Copenhagen (2008)
MD University of Copenhagen(2001)
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Secretary General, European Association for the Study of Liver (EASL) 2024-2025
Director Centre for Liver Research Odense University Hospital
DIAS Chair of Health Sciences, University of Southern Denmark
Professor and Head of Hepatology, Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology Odense University Hospital
Area of Research interests:
My passion is research with focus on steatotic liver diseases (alcohol and non-alcohol related), liver fibrosis, complications to cirrhosis and microbiome. I’m particularly interested in biomarker research throughout the full value chain from discovery to implementation and how omics and AI can be used in next generation biomarkers.
Publications and Presentations:
Scopus (Aug 2023): 266 scientific publications, 13010 citations, H-index 50 (Scopus oct 2022).
Further I have contributed to 12 books and supervised 25 PhD students.
Comments:
I’m involved in and hold leader positions in a number of large research collaborations in liver diseases, including being director of FLASH: Fibrosis Fatty Liver and Steatohepatitis Research Centre Odense, Coordinator in the H2020 project GALAXY: Gut and Liver Axis in Alcoholic Liver Fibrosis and partner and PI in the H2020 projects MicrobPredict, LiverScreen and The International Human Microbiome Action and PI in the Center of Excellence Center for Functional Genomics and Tissue Plasticity. I’m involved in several international organizational activities including being member of the EASL Governing Board.
Andreas E. Kremer, MD, PhD, MHBA
Medical Education:
University of Munich, Durban and Syndey (MD)
Friedrich-Alexander-University of Erlangen-Nürnberg (MHBA)
University in Amsterdam, The Netherlands (PhD)
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Head of Hepatology and Vice Director of the Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at the University Hospital Zürich, Switzerland
Area of Research interests:
Translational, clinical and experimental research focused on hepatobiliary disorders, including: molecular mechanisms of disease initiation in immune-mediated and cholestatic liver diseases; fibrogenesis and development of hepatocellular carcinoma; and symptom burden, including fatigue and pruritus
Publications and Presentations:
Professor Kremer’s has authored more than 120 peer-reviewed publications with his scholarly work being cited more than 6,500 times (h-index: 42).
Comments:
Professor Kremer has been awarded several national and international research prizes including the Schering-Plough of the Dutch Society of Gastroenterology and he is a member of editorial boards for various journals, including Itch and the Journal of Clinical and Translational Research. He served as chair for several national and international guidelines, is board member of directors of the Swiss Association for the Study of the Liver (SASL) and Chair of International Forum for the Study of Itch special interest group for systemic pruritus.
Carina P Kugelmas, MD
Medical Education:
Keck School of Medicine of USC, 1994
Case Western Reserve School of Medicine, Pediatric Internship 1996
University of Kentucky Hospital, Pediatric Residency 1997
University of Colorado Children's Hospital, Fellowship in Pediatric Nutrition 2017
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Pediatric Healthy Lifestyle Clinic, Denver Health Medical Center
Area of Research interests:
Pediatric nutrition and NAFLD
Comments:
Pediatrician with extensive expertise in nutrition. Dr. P Kugelmas has been engaged in Pediatric NASH projects with the Global NASH Council
Marcelo Kugelmas MD, FAASLD, FACP
Medical Education:
University of Buenos Aires, Doctor of Medicine, 1987
Los Angeles County-University of Southern California, Internal Medicine Residency, 1990-1993
Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Fellowship in Gastroenterology, 1993-1995
University of Kentucky, Fellowship in Hepatology, Liver Transplantation and Advanced Endoscopy, 1995-1997
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Director of Hepatology and Research at South Denver Gastroenterology.
Area of Research interests:
Chronic liver disease
Publications and Presentations:
Published over 25 papers in peer-reviewed journals.
Comments:
Dr. Kugelmas is a leader in Community Practice of Hepatology and is a national lecturer on topics of chronic liver disease, has presented regularly at multiple gastroenterology, liver and transplantation annual meetings.
Sonal Kumar, MD, MPH
Medical Education:
MD, Washington University in St. Louis (2006)
Washington University in St. Louis/Barnes-Jewish Hospital Internal Medicine (2009)
Brigham and Women’s Hospital/Gastroenterology and Hepatology (2012)
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Assistant Professor of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, NY, US
Director, Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Weill Cornell Medicine, NY, US
Area of Research interests:
Steatotic Liver Disease, Cholestatic Liver Disease
Publications and Presentations:
Multiple publications in international peer-reviewed journals, Invited speaker at scientific conferences, Author of book chapters.
Comments:
Dr. Kumar is currently a gastroenterologist and hepatologist and the Director of Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology at Weill Cornell Medical College. She also founded and is director of ICHANGE (Innovative Center for Health and Nutrition in Gastroenterology), a multidisciplinary clinic for patients with metabolic dysfunction associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) and other GI conditions related to obesity. Dr. Kumar’s work is focused on multidisciplinary care for the management of obesity, with a focus on MASLD. She is also principal investigator on several multicenter trials for MASH and cholestatic liver disease. She is board certified in gastroenterology, hepatology and obesity medicine.
Tatyana Kushner, MD, MSCE
Medical Education:
Cornell University (2005)
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (2010) MD
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (2013) Internal Medicine Residency
Gastroenterology Fellowship Program, University of Pennsylvania (2016)
Masters of Science in Clinical Epidemiology, University of Pennsylvania (2016)
Transplant Hepatology Fellowship, University of California San Francisco (2017)
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Hepatologist, Icahn School of Medicine, New York, New York
Founder and Director of the Women’s Liver Clinic at Mount Sinai, New York, New York
Area of Research interests:
Viral Hepatitis epidemiology and outcomes (HBV, HCV, HDV), viral hepatitis in pregnancy, liver diseases in pregnancy, MASLD in pregnancy
Publications and Presentations:
Authored or co-authored more than 50 publications and presentations.
Comments:
Dr. Kushner’s work focuses on two broad areas within liver diseases, 1. Understanding epidemiology and outcomes in individuals with viral hepatitis, particularly among individuals of childbearing age and pregnancy, with a focus on HDV and HCV, 2. Evaluating the influence of chronic liver disease, such as MASLD, on pregnancy outcomes. She is a member of the AASLD/ IDSA HCV Guidance committee, an Advisor to the Hepatitis C Mentor Support Group, a Champion on the New York State Department of Health Center for HCV and Drug User Health (which provides HCV education to providers around New York State) on HCV, and Co-investigator to the Hepatitis Outreach Network (HONE) which provides outreach and screening for HCV and HBV in the NYC communities. She has a research and clinical focus on addressing HCV in pregnancy, and her work has improved our understanding of the epidemiology of HCV in pregnancy including risk of vertical transmission and influence of HCV on pregnancy outcomes, helped to shift practice (and guide national recommendations) from risk-based to universal HCV screening in pregnancy, evaluated the real-world cascade of care in using HCV treatment in pregnant individuals, evaluating the preferences of women with HCV for treatment during pregnancy, and defining the remaining gaps in our understanding and management of women with HCV during pregnancy. She also leads an NIH funded research program to prospectively evaluate the prevalence, predictors and outcomes associated with MASLD in pregnancy. She is founder and director of the Mount Sinai Women’s Liver Clinic.
Brian Lam, MSHS, PA-C
Medical Education:
Physician Assistant Program – The George Washington University
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Research Investigator at the Inova Center for Integrated Research
Chair, Advanced Practice Provider Committee, Global Liver Council (GLC)
Associate Member of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD)
Member of American Gastroenterology Association and Gastroenterology (AGA) and Hepatology Advanced Practice Providers (GHAPP)
Student Mentor, George Mason University
Guest Lecturer, The George Washington University PA Program
Area of Research interests:
Steatotic Liver Disease (MASH/NASH), Viral Hepatitis, Non-Invasive Tests, APP practice
Publications and Presentations:
Authored or co-authored over 40 peer-reviewed articles. Over 30 local and regional presentations.
Comments:
Brian Lam serves as investigator for several investigator-initiated research protocols and ongoing international clinical trials in NASH/MASH. He has published in the fields of steatotic liver disease and viral hepatitis. He is particularly interested in upstream habits and mindsets that contribute to metabolic syndrome. He is also a participating member in several local and national organizations for advanced practice providers (physicians assistants and nurse practitioners).
Pietro Lampertico, MD, PhD
Medical Education:
Graduated in Medicine and Surgery at the University of Milan, Milan, Italy, 1986
Residency in Liver Disease, Institute of Internal Medicine, University of Milan, Milan, Italy, 1990
Residency in Internal Medicine, Institute of Internal Medicine, University of Milan, Milan, Italy, 1995
PhD in Clinical Methodology, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Milan, Milan, Italy, 2000
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Full Professor of Gastroenterology, University of Milan
Head, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Fondazione IRCCS Ca’ Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milan, Italy
Director, School of Specialization in Gastroenterology - University of Milan
Scientific Director, CRC “A. M. and A. Migliavacca” Center for Liver Disease - University of Milan
Area of Research interests:
Viral hepatitis B, D, liver cirrhosis, clinical trials.
Publications and Presentations:
Authored or co-authored 330+ publications (The New England Journal of Medicine, The Lancet, Gastroenterology, Hepatology, Journal of Hepatology, etc…) and presentations with over 19.000 total citations.
Comments:
Prof. Lampertico is primarily involved in the clinical management of chronic viral hepatitis outpatients, particularly those with CHB and CHD. His research interests include the treatment of patients with chronic hepatitis/cirrhosis due to HBV and HDV and on the effectiveness of new therapies against HDV the long-term outcome of cirrhotic patients undergoing antiviral treatment.
He is coordinator and/or participant of national and international clinical trials on viral hepatitis, HBV and HDV.
He is currently a reviewer for several top-ranked international journals. He is Member of the Italian Association for the Study of the Liver (AISF), Italian Foundation for the Research in Hepatology (FIRE), European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) and American Association of the Study of Liver Disease (AASLD)and serves in the Editorial Board of prestigious journals.
Chairman and scientific director of numerous National and International meetings, he has spoken internationally about liver disease, specifically the natural history of HBV and antiviral treatment of HBV and HDV and has published several articles and book chapters.
Member of the national and international working groups for HBV and HDV Clinical Practice Guidelines.
Diane Langenbacher PhD
Education:
PhD in medicinal chemistry from Technical University of Braunschweig, Germany
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Partner at Kautz5 gUG – a non-profit project and consulting company in the health sector. At the heart of our work is the patient with all their needs and concerns. Our goal is to improve their medical care structures and quality of life in a sustainable and long-term manner.
Area of Research interests:
Patient-reported outcomes research, evidence-based patient advocacy and a special interest in translating chronic diseases (liver, metabolic) into a language that allows policy discussion with key decision makers in different health care settings (local, national, regional, and global).
Publications and Presentations:
Author/co-author of many papers in peer-reviewed international and national journals. In her career she held numerous presentations and meetings with representatives of governments, politicians, and health care decision makers.
Comments:
Diane Langenbacher is a passionate patient advocacy professional with 25 years’ experience in the healthcare business, which made her a true believer in individuals, their capabilities and the strong positive impact of empowerment. She had the privilege contributing to numerous policy and advocacy projects and initiatives with a specific focus on sustainable, long-term visions.
She is involved in several national and international patient centric research projects in the field of MASLD/MASH, HCC and PBC. She serves as member of the operating committee of the International Liver Cancer Movement (ILCM) and is author of the short version of the EASL NAFLD patient guideline.
Jeffrey V Lazarus MD, PhD
Medical Education:
PhD, Faculty of Medicine, Lund University, Sweden (2008)
Master of International Health, Copenhagen University, Denmark (2004)
Master of Foreign Service, Georgetown University, USA (1991)
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Professor, CUNY Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy (CUNY SPH)
Research Professor, Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), Hospital Clínic, University of Barcelona, Spain
Associate Professor at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Barcelona
Affiliated Professor, WHO Collaborating Centre for research and training in the patient perspective on medicines use
Area of Research interests:
Health systems and policy, MASLD/MASH (NAFLD/NASH), steatotic liver disease, viral hepatitis, health-related quality of life.
Publications and Presentations:
Author of more than 350 articles in peer-reviewed journals and over 400 presentations in national and international congresses.
Comments:
He leads the Healthy Liver, Healthy Lives collaboration (AASLD, ALEH, APASL, EASL), which in 2023 published global NAFLD research and action priorities, and is a member of the Public Health and Policy Committee of the European Association for the Study of the Liver. He is co-chair of Innovations in NAFLD Care Workshop (INCBCN) and in 2023 co-chair of the EASL SLD Summit. In 2019, he joined the Lancet GastroHep Commission on Viral Hepatitis and the EASL-Lancet Commission: Protecting the next generation of Europeans against liver disease complications and premature mortality. Prof Lazarus led the global NAFLD public health consensus statement, the expert recommendation on NAFLD models of care and the methodology for the new fatty liver disease nomenclature. Previously, he worked for 11 years at WHO Europe and 3 at the Global Fund as well as founding director of Health Systems Global and board chair of the foundation AFEW International.
Mei-Hsuan Lee MD, PhD
Medical Education:
PhD in Epidemiology from National Taiwan University in 2010
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Distinguished Professor, Institute of Clinical Medicine, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei, Taiwan
Deputy Dean of Research and Development, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei, Taiwan
Area of Research interests:
Epidemiological research; Outcomes research in liver disease with a focus on chronic viral hepatitis, MASLD, hepatocellular carcinoma, and biliary tract diseases; Omics; Biomarker discovery
Publications and Presentations:
Authored and co-authored over 150 research papers in peer-reviewed journals with H-index=40 (Apr 2024).
Comments:
Dr. Lee is a dedicated researcher specializing in precision health for liver diseases. With a focus on epidemiological studies, she leverages large-scale databases and employs advanced methodologies and molecular epidemiology analyses. Beginning her academic career at National Yang Ming University, Dr. Lee further enriched her expertise as a Visiting Scholar at prestigious institutions such as the University of Tokyo, Japan, and the National Cancer Institute, United States. As an epidemiologist, Dr. Lee seamlessly integrates advanced methodologies with cutting-edge technologies to unravel the complex interplay between host factors, viral infections, and environmental influences in cancer risks. Her impactful research identifies critical risk factors and biomarkers, shedding light on cancer development and aiding in identifying high-risk individuals. Dr. Lee leads pioneering efforts in developing predictive models for various cancers, with a particular emphasis on risk factors associated with liver cancer, biliary tract cancers, and other malignancies. Her lab excels in extensive database analysis, utilizing national registries for in-depth exploration into the potential impact of specific drug usage on cancer development.
Dr. Lee has received numerous honors, including the Outstanding Research Award for her innovative scientific research and teaching awards. She demonstrates leadership in multiple projects and mentors students at various levels, including medical students, graduate students, and postdoctoral fellows.
Laurentius A. Lesmana MD.
Medical Education:
1969 - Universitas Indonesia - Dokter Umum
1975 - Universitas Indonesia - Spesialis Penyakit Dalam - SpPD
1989 - University of Amsterdam - Doctor of Philosophy - Ph.D
2011 - Kolegium Ilmu Penyakit Dalam - Konsultan Gastroenterohepatologi - KGEH
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Senior Research Scientist, Manager and Coordinator at Population Health and Research Institute (PHRI), Trivandrum and Director, Holistic Health and Research Institute, Trivandrum
Area of Research interests:
Liver biopsy and Cirrhosis
Publications and Presentations:
Dr. Lesmana has an hindex of 30, co-authored 113 publication(s) receiving 7845 citation(s).
Chun-Jen Liu, MD, PhD
Medical Education:
Received his MD from the National Taiwan University (in 1992) and was subsequently awarded his PhD by the Graduate Institute of Clinical Medicine at the National Taiwan University College of Medicine (2003).
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Professor at the Department of Internal Medicine and Graduate Institute of Clinical Medicine at the National Taiwan University College of Medicine, and a visiting staff member at Hepatitis Research Center at the National Taiwan University Hospital.
Area of Research interests:
Research interests focus on the role of host and viral factors in the pathogenesis and natural/treatment outcomes of chronic hepatitis B and C.
Publications and Presentations:
Has published more than 240 peer-reviewed research articles.
Comments:
Is the principal investigator of several multicenter clinical trials involving patients with chronic viral hepatitis B and C. His researches have been recognized by awards from the Liver Disease Prevention and Treatment Research Foundation and Professor JL Sung’s Research Foundation in Taiwan, and 2013 JGHF Emerging Leader Lectureship.
Rohit Loomba, MD, MHSc
Medical Education:
Masters of Health Science in Clinical Research, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC (2007).
M.B.B.S. The Armed Forces Medical College, India (1999)
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Professor of Medicine (with tenure)
Vice Chief, Division of Gastroenterology Department of Medicine
Director of Hepatology
Director, NAFLD Research Center
Director, Liver Epidemiology Training Program
Area of Research interests:
Research interests focus in translational research and innovative clinical trial design in nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), and non-invasive assessment of NAFLD using advanced imaging modalities.
Publications and Presentations:
Dr. Loomba has published more than 420 manuscripts and has an H-index of 111. He is among the top 1% of the globally highly cited scientists across all fields in 2019, 2020 and 2021 by Web of Science.
Comments:
Dr. Loomba is the founding director of the UCSD NAFLD Research Center where his team is conducting cutting edge research in all aspects of NAFLD including non-invasive biomarkers, genetics, epidemiology, clinical trial design, imaging end-points, and integrated OMICs using microbiome, metabolome and lipidome. This integrated approach has led to several innovative applications such as establishment of MRI-PDFF as a non-invasive biomarker of treatment response in early phase trials in NASH, which has now been adopted in more than 50 clinical trials conducted worldwide. He holds a patent on non-invasive biomarkers of NASH and fibrosis.
His research is funded by the National Institutes of Health including three R01s, three U01 (two NIDDK and one from NIAAA), core director of P30 (NIDDK) and project director P01 (NHLBI) grant mechanisms, Foundation of NIH, National Science Foundation as well as several investigator initiated research projects funded by the industry. He is the Principal Investigator, UCSD, for the NIDDK-sponsored NASH Clinical Research Network. He served as the elected Chair of the NAFLD, Special Interest Group of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases. And is the elected member to the National Board of Directors of the American Liver Foundation.
Paula Macedo, MD, Prof
Medical Education:
PharmD, Facuty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Universidade Lisboa, Portugal
PhD, Faculty of Medicine, University of Manitoba, Canada
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Professor Physiology and Diabetology at NOVA Medical School|Faculdade Ciências Médicas, Universidade NOVA Lisboa
Portuguese Diabetes Society Council and coordinator for the national research network in diabetes.
European Society for Clinical Investigation Council.
Steering Committee of NAFLD Study Group of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes.
APDP-Portugal Council (Associação Protetora dos Diabéticos de Portugal), patient association including a devoted clinic to integrative care in diabetes including NAFLD.
Coordinator of APDP - Education and Research Centre of APDP-Diabetes Portugal
Member of the Council of the NOVA Medical School, Universidade NOVA Lisboa (NMS-UNL).
Vice-President Ernesto Roma foundation.
Area of Research interests:
Promotion and control of NAFLD, Obesity and Diabetes by unveiling mechanisms and seeking new management approaches.
Publications and Presentations:
Author of more thasn 100 articles in international peer-reviewed journals and over 200 presentations in national and international congresses.
Comments:
Professor Macedo is actively involved in several scientific Societies at national and international levels (European Association for the Study of Diabetes – EASD; International Diabetes Federation – IDF; European Society for Clinical Investigation – ESCI and Portuguese Diabetes Society. At the academic level she coordinates a PhD program with multidisciplinary approaches, dynamically enrolled in the Medical Pedagogical Council and has been enrolled in patient empowerment and disease management in the field of Diabetes and comorbidities such as NAFLD.
Parvez S Mantry, MD, AGAF, FAASLD,CPE
Medical Education:
Residency in New York Medical College
Fellowship in Gastroenterology and Hepatology at the University of Rochester
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Executive Medical Director of Scientific affairs, Innovations, and New Technology at Methodist Health systems in Dallas.
Medical Director for the Hepatobiliary Tumor Program and moderates the multidisciplinary tumor board at Methodist Dallas Medical Center for last 15 years.
Associate Professor of Medicine, TCU School of Health Sciences.
Areas of Research Interest:
Metabolism Dysfunction Associated Steatohepatitis, Alcohol Related Steatohepatitis, Primary Liver Cancer, Primary Biliary Cholangitis , Viral Hepatitis and Transplantation Outcomes Research
Principal Investigator in over 130 Clinical Trials and Mentor to Physicians for conduct of clinical research
Publications and Presentations:
Authored 60 peer reviewed articles, over 350 abstracts, 3 book chapters, and over a dozen internationally invited lectures and presentations.
Comments:
Dr Mantry is well recognized in the field with his extensive experience in Clinical Research in the field of Hepatology and Liver Transplantation.He is a fellow of AASLD, AGA and a certified physician executive.
Giulio Marchesini, MD, PhD
Medical Education:
Graduated at “Alma Mater University”, Bologna, Italy. Specialized in Internal Medicine, in Gastroenterology and in Diabetology.
Former Associate Professor of Endocrinology, later full professor of Internal Medicine and Dietetics.
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Retired. “Alma Mater” Professor, University of Bologna, Italy.
Honorary Professor of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD), University of Aarhus, Dk (2018-2023).
Area of Research interests:
Along his career he moved from studies of cirrhosis, hepatic encephalopathy and amino acid metabolism to studies in obesity and in diabetes, linking his interests in the study of NAFLD. He was part of the FLIP (Fatty liver – Inhibition of Progression) consortium funded by European Commission, with specific interest in behavioral aspects and behavioral interventions to reduce the burden of disease.
Publications and Presentations:
Prof. Marchesini coauthored over 500 peer-reviewed publications (as of September 2022, Impact Factor: 4890; H index (Scopus): 84; Citations (Scopus): 39234)
Comments:
Prof. Marchesini is a leading expert in the study of metabolic liver disease. He pioneered research in NAFLD pinpointing the association of liver disease with metabolic syndrome. During his whole research he merged his competence in liver disease and metabolism with intensive research in the area of nutrition, diabetes and obesity, as part of his activity inside National and European Associations. A specific focus of his research is the relation between specialists and general practitioners in the diagnosis and treatment of NAFLD and the use of web-based and mobile technologies for behavioral intervention and continuous care of NAFLD patients.
In 2013-2015 he chaired the joint Commission by EASL, EASD and EASO for NAFLD Clinical Practice Guidelines and in 2019 the Italian Commission for the diagnosis and treatment of NAFLD.
Dídac Mauricio, MD, PhD
Medical Education:
Faculty of Medicine, University of Barcelona (MD)
Faculty of Medicine, Autonomous University of Barcelona (PhD)
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Professor of Endocrinology, Department of Medicine, University of Vic / Central University of Barcelona, Vic (Spain)
Director, Department of Endocrinology and Nutrition, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Barcelona
President, Advisory Board on Diabetes, Department of Health, Generalitat de Catalunya (local government of Catalonia)
Area of Research interests:
Research in clinical management of diabetes, including randomized controlled trials and real-world evidence studies. Precision medicine in diabetes. Large research experience in the field of long-term complications of diabetes, with special focus also in MASLD/NASH in recent years.
Publications and Presentations:
Authored over 320 peer-reviewed articles, 2 books and multiple book chapters, and a large number of national and international lectures. Current H-index (September 2023): 50 (Web of Science).
Comments:
Didac Mauricio is Director of the Department of Endocrinology and Nutrition, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau in Barcelona, and Professor with the Faculty of Medicine, University of Vic and Central University of Catalonia. He is leading the Endocrinology, Diabetes and Nutrition research group at his current institution. He leads one of the research groups belonging to the excellence diabetes research network CIBER of Diabetes and Associated Metabolic diseases (CIBERDEM), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, in Spain. He has received the highest awards from the Spanish Society of Diabetes and the Spanish Society of Endocrinology and Nutrition. He has also served as a member in several local and international committees. He is a member of the editorial board of several journals. D. Mauricio is a member of the Guideline Overview Committee of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes, and is currently serving as Vicepresident of the Spanish Society of Endocrinology and Nutrition. D. Mauricio has been principal investigator of multiple research projects funded by national and international agencies. He keeps a strong interest on current clinical issues in diabetes management, including randomised clinical trials, real-world evidence studies, precision medicine in diabetes and clinical research on diabetic complications, with special focus in recent year on MASLD/NASH.
Nahum Mendez-Sanchez MD, MSc, PhD
Medical Education:
Medical Degree from UNAM, Mexico, in 1984. Board certified in Gastroenterology in 1990. Doctor of Medicine specialized in Gastroenterology and Hepatology. Also obtained Academic Masters and PhD degree in Medical Science at UNAM School of Medicine UNAM and Post-doctorate at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard University, United States of America.
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Member of the National System of Investigators (SNI) being level III national researcher from the National Council of Science and Technology (CONACyT). Past-President of both Mexican Association of Hepatology and Latin American Association for the Study of Liver, Chief of Medica Sur Clinic Foundation/Liver Research, Editor in Chief of Annals of Hepatology (2002–2018) and Medica Sur Journal (1996-2018) and current Governor of American College of Gastroenterology for Mexico.
Area of Research interests:
Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease, bilirubin metabolism, bile acids physiology, autoimmune diseases, liver cirrhosis, viral hepatitis, obesity and metabolic disorders
Publications and Presentations:
Professor Mendez-Sanchez is author of 15 books, co-author of 146 chapters in National and international books and 261 articles in PubMed.
Comments:
Dr. Mendez-Sanchez is Fellow of several professional organizations, including the American Association for the Study of Liver Disease (FAASLD); the American Gastroenterological Association (AGAF)and the American College of Gastroenterology (FACG) and International member of the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL).
Juan M. Mendive, MD, PhD
Medical Education:
University of Navarra, Spain (MD) (1986)
Autonomous University of Barcelona (Spain) (PhD) (2014)
Specialization in Family and Community Medicine. Training Unit of Family Medicine. Barcelona (1990)
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Family Physician. La Mina Primary Health Care Academic Centre. University of Barcelona.
Tutor of Residency Program of Family and Community Medicine.
Chair European Society for Primary Care Gastroenterology (ESPCG)
Member Primary Care Committee ROME V Foundation
Secretary of the Wonca Working Party on Mental Health (WWPMH)
Area of Research interests:
Mental Health in primary care: prevention of depression
Gastrointestinal problems in primary care: GERD and DGBI.
MASLD from primary care perspective
Social Prescribing and Community Orientation in Primary Care
Patients Related Outcomes and Cost-Utility Analysis
Publications and Presentations:
Several publications in Q1 journals and presentations at different international conferences mainly at the conferences for primary care physicians (WONCA) and at the United European Gastroenterology Week (UEGW). Main publications can be accesible to Orcid: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8095-7707.
Comments:
Juan M.Mendive, MD, PhD is an active family physician at an academic primary health care centre in a deprived area of Barcelona (Spain). He provides also training for students of the University of Barcelona and Residents under the Family and Community Medicine postgraduate training program. He is the chair of the European Society for Primary Care Gastroenterology (ESPCG) a membership Society for primary care physicians within UEG. He has coordinated accredited ESPCG Courses in Liver Problems Management for Primary Care Physicians (PCP) in Croatia (2018) and Romania (2024) and an online ESPCG training program for PCP available at ESPCG webpage in different languages. He made his PhD studies in a cost-utility analysis of an intervention to prevent depression in Primary Care.
He is participating nowadays at the ROME V Primary Care Committee to develop new recommendations for management of patients with DGBI in Primary Care.
Luca Miele, MD, PhD
Medical Education:
Received a Medical degree at Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (UCSC), Rome, Italy (2000).
Completed Specialization in Internal Medicine at Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy (2005).
EASL Sheila Sherlock fellowship at University of Newcastle upon Tyne (UK) with programme on genetic of NAFLD (2005) under supervision of Prof. Day and Dr. Reeves.
Completed a PhD in nutrition and metabolic medicine (2009) with a program on gut-liver axis in NAFLD.
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Professor of Internal Medicine, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy
Director of Pre-Transplant Liver Clinic and Steatotic Liver Disease Clinic at Gemelli IRCCS Hospital, Rome, Italy
Area of Research interests:
Clinical and research interest include the gut-liver axis, the natural history and treatment of steatotic liver disease (SLD), liver cancer, and the development and validation of new biomarkers
Publications and Presentations:
Dr. Miele has published more than 200 papers in PubMed, primarily in the areas of NAFLD-NASH/MASLD-MASH, clinical internal medicine, liver disease, and personalized medicine. The total impact factor is 1163, with a Scopus H-index of 52 and over 10,153 Scopus citations. He was invited speaker (over 200) for national and international scientific meetings and conferences.
Comments:
Dr. Miele is the clinical lead for the Pre-Transplant Liver Clinic and the Steatotic Liver Disease Clinic, and a member of the multidisciplinary board for the liver transplant program, for HCC, and for NAFLD at Gemelli Hospital in Rome.
He acts as a reviewer for grants from governative, academic and private Institutions and for more than 50 scientific journals.
He is currently involved in EU funded consortia: LITMUS (2017) and GRIPonMASH (2022).
He served as Principal Investigator (PI) in phase II and III NASH trials and/or cirrhosis trials.
He acts as principal investigator for numerous research projects and has lectured extensively on topics related to liver medicine.
He received Grants from National and International entities. He is currently involved in EU-funded consortia: LITMUS (2017) and GRIPonMASH (2022).
He served as a Principal Investigator (PI) in phase II and III NASH trials and/or cirrhosis trials.
He has participated in education and training programs for residents and young clinical researchers."
He has been a member of the national scientific committee for AISF (Italian Association for the Study of the Liver) and of the scientific board of SIGE (Italian Society of Gastroenterology)."
He is an active member of EASL (European Association for the Study of the Liver), is part of the SLD nomenclature panel, and has contributed to the Italian AISF Guidelines for NAFLD (2021) and the European EASL guidelines (2023)."
He is involved with several stakeholder boards (industry, scientific societies, institutional agencies, patient associations) to provide advice in the fields of diagnosis and therapy for chronic liver disease, specifically NAFLD/NASH – MASLD/MASH.
Marialena Mouzaki, MD, MSc, PNS, DABOM
Medical Education:
National and Kapodistrian Medical School of Athens, Greece (MD)
Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, PA, USA (Pediatric Residency)
Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada (Pediatric Gastroenterology Fellowship; Pediatric Nutrition training)
Institute of Medical Sciences, University of Toronto (MSc)
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Pediatric Gastroenterologist in the Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center (CCHMC)
Medical Director, Advanced Nutrition Services, CCHMC
Associate Director, Steatohepatitis Program CCHMC
Fellowship Program Director, Advanced Nutrition CCHMC
Professor, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine
Area of Research interests:
Clinical/translational research in pediatric metabolic dysfunction associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD).
Publications and Presentations:
Dr Mouzaki has authored more than 80 articles in the field of metabolic dysfunction associated steatotic liver disease, has presented multiple abstracts and has been invited to give national and international talks on the topic.
Comments:
Dr. Mouzaki is triple board certified in pediatric gastroenterology, clinical nutrition and obesity medicine. Her expertise is in clinical/translational research and holds NIH and industry funding to study biomarkers of disease presence and severity, as well as treatment options for pediatric MASLD.
Batmunkh Munkhbat, MD, PhD, ScD
Medical Education:
M.D. from Mongolian State Medical Institute (at present Mongolian National University of Medical Sciences) in 1989.
Ph.D. from Tokai University, School of Medicine, Japan in 1998.
Sc.D. from Mongolian Academy of Sciences in 2008.
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Professor at the Department of Public Health, and Office of Medical Education, School of Medicine, International University of Health and Welfare, Japan.
Professor at the Graduate School, Mongolian National University of Medical Sciences, Mongolia.
Area of Research interests:
Transplantation Immunology, Population Genetics, Liver Disease Studies, Public Health.
Publications and Presentations:
He has published over 100 full papers in peer-reviewed journals, presented over 120 presentations in international conferences and has an H-index of 19.
Comments:
Professor Batmunkh Munkhbat has served as the Deputy Director of the Health Project, Millennium Challenge Account, Mongolia (2008-2013); Director of the Institute of Medical Sciences, Mongolia (2015-2019); and Vice President for Research and Development, Mongolian National University of Medical Sciences (2016-2020). He has also served as the Board member and scientific secretary of the Academic Defense Committee for Ph.D. in Medical sciences and Traditional medicine, Ministry of Education and Science, Mongolia (2011-2023); and Board member and scientific secretary of the Academic Defense Committee for Sc.D. in Medical sciences, Academy of Sciences, Mongolia (2015-2023).
Mark Muthiah, MBBS, MRCP, FRCP, FAMS
Medical Education:
MBBS - National University of Singapore
MMed (Int Med) - National University of Singapore
MRCP (UK)
FRCP (Edin)
FAMS (S'pore)
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Senior Conusltant, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, National University Hospital, Singapore
Medical Director, Adult Liver Transplant Programme, National University Centre for Organ Transplantation
Adjunct Associate Professor, Department of Medicine, National University of Singapore
Area of Research interests:
Metabolic dysfunction associated steatotic liver disease: portal hypertension, unique pre and post transplant issues, predictors of poor outcomes (both hepatic and extra-hepatic)
Publications and Presentations:
More than 200 publications
Comments:
Dr. Muthiah is actively involved in the field of MASLD research, and has an interest in the unique features of portal hypertension in MASLD. He runs both clinical and translational research programmes in the disease.
Atsushi Nakajima, M.D., Ph.D. F.J.S.I.M.
Medical Education:
M.D., Osaka University School of Medicine in 1989
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Professor, Chairman, Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Yokohama City University School of medicine
Area of Research interests:
Extensive research in NAFLD/MAFLD/MASLD
Publications and Presentations:
655 peer reviewed and review papers
Comments:
Professor Atsushi Nakajima obtained his MD from Osaka University School of Medicine in 1989. He served as the Assistant Professor, The 3rd Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan. He has also been the Professor, Internal medicine, Yokohama Cit University School of medicine (2008-2013). Since 2014, he has served the Professor, Chairman, Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Yokohama City University School of medicine. He spent from 2000-2006 as visiting The Associates Professor, GI division, Brigham and women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School. He is a fellow of Japanese Society of Internal Medicine and fellow of AGA. He is a highly recognized expert in Hepatology and contributes to both publication and international meetings.
Bira Namdag, MD, PhD
Medical Education:
M.D. from Irkutsk State Medical Institute, Russia in 1983.
Ph.D. from Kazan Medical Academy, Russia in 2001.
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Professor at the Department of Gastroenterology, Mongolian National University of Medical Sciences, Mongolia.
Consultant at the Mongolia – Japan Hospital, Mongolian National University of Medical Sciences, Mongolia.
Area of Research interests:
Liver Disease Studies, GUT microbiota.
Publications and Presentations:
Authored or co-authored 82 + publications and presentations.
Comments:
Professor Bira Namdag has served as the Dean of the Department Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Mongolian National University of Medical Sciences (2005-2012), Professor of the Department Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Mongolian National University of Medical Sciences since 2012, Consultant of the Department of Internal Medicine at the Mongolia – Japan Hospital, Mongolian National University of Medical Sciences, Mongolia since 2019. She has also served as the member of the Scientific Committee for Ph.D. in Medical sciences Mongolian National University of Medical Sciences (2011-2021); Board member of Mongolian Gastroenterology Association (2012-2022).
Yvonne Ayerki Nartey, MBChB, PhD
Medical Education:
School of Medical Sciences, University of Cape Coast, Ghana
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Fellow-in-training in gastroenterology and hepatology, Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Ghana
Internal medicine specialist, Cape Coast Teaching Hospital, Ghana
Lecturer, School of Medical Sciences, University of Cape Coast, Ghana
Area of Research interests:
Chronic viral hepatitis, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, hepatocellular carcinoma – clinical epidemiology, early diagnosis, prevention and health outcomes research
Publications and Presentations:
Authored 30 articles, 1 book chapter and 20 abstracts for international scientific meetings.
Gibril Ndow, MD PhD
Medical Education:
Imperial College London (PhD)
Université Cheikh Anta DIOP (DES Infectious Diseases)
University of The Gambia (MB ChB)
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Clinical Research Fellow and Hepatitis Group Lead, MRC Unit The Gambia at LSHTM
Area of Research interests:
Viral hepatitis B and D, MASLD, liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma
Publications and Presentations:
Authored over 30 peer-reviewed articles and 96 abstracts and conference presentations on viral hepatitis and liver disease in Africa. Has an H index of 11.
Comments:
Gibril Ndow is the head of the Hepatitis Research Group at the MRC Unit The Gambia at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, and an honorary research fellow at Imperial College London. He coordinates the PROLIFICA (Prevention of Liver Fibrosis and Cancer in Africa, www.prolifica.africa) research program in The Gambia and Senegal and leads several ancillary hepatitis B studies at the MRC Unit The Gambia.
Dr. Ndow’s research, funded by the Wellcome Trust, investigates the mechanisms underlying disease progression and surface antigen loss in Africans with chronic hepatitis B infection, and aims to identify new biomarkers of disease severity and targets for curative treatment. Within the broader PROLIFICA platform, he also investigates hepatitis B mother-to-child transmission in Africa, metabolic fatty liver disease burden in the general adult population, and HCC surveillance and biomarkers for early diagnosis.
He is a Board member of the Society of Liver Disease in Africa (SOLDA) and is faculty/Scientific committee member for the annual conference on Liver Disease in Africa (COLDA).
Alexander V. Nersesov, MD, ScD, Prof (Med)
Medical Education:
Postdoctoral Program in Hepatology, National Health Organization “Nagasaki Medical Center”, Omura, Japan (2009)
Full Professor (Academic Rank) (2003)
Doctor in Medical Sciences (ScD) (1999)
Candidate in Medical Sciences (PhD) (1992)
Residency in Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology, Kazakh National Research Center of Nutrition (1990-1992)
MD, Kazakh National Medical University (1984-1990)
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Head, Department of Gastroenterology, Kazakh National Medical University
Medical Director, Institute of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Metabolism “Interna Clinic”
Invited Professor, Department of Propaedeutics, Gastroenterology and Dietetics, North-Western State Medical University named after I.I. Mechnikov [St Petersburg]
Counselor to the Minister of Health
Consultant, Medical Center of the Administration of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan
Consultant, WHO EURO
President, Kazakh Association for the Study of the Liver
Area of Research interests:
Chronic viral hepatitis, Fatty liver disease, Autoimmune liver disease, and Liver cirrhosis complications.
Publications and Presentations:
194 scientific publications, contribution to local CPG in GI and liver diseases, 6 books; Scopus (March 2024): 18 scientific publications, 2241 citations, H-index 12
Comments:
Supervisor of master and PhD students, principal investigator in local and international clinical trials, main organizer of regular conferences “Central Asian Gastroenterology Week” and “Almaty Hepatology” (including EASL endorsed events), holder of Ministerial and State awards of the Republic of Kazakhstan, including “Excellence in Health Care”, “For Special Merit in Health Care”, “Labor Valor” and “Honor”.
Phil Newsome, MBChB, BSc, PhD, FRCPE
Medical Education:
MBChB, BSc and Phd at the University of Edinburgh
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Director NIHR Birmingham Biomedical Research Centre
NIHR Senior Investigator
Director of Research and Knowledge Transfer for College of Medical and Dental Sciences
Director of Centre for Liver and Gastrointestinal Research
Professor of Experimental Hepatology and Hon Consultant Hepatologist
Area of Research interests:
NAFLD and Cell therapy
Publications and Presentations:
Professor Newsome has co-authored more than 150 published articles
Comments:
Professor Newsome runs the metabolic services at the Liver Unit at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham which includes a large multi-disciplinary clinic for patients with NAFLD. He was Chief Investigator on a randomised controlled trial of Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) therapies in NAFLD published in the Lancet and the NEJM. He is the Co-ordinating Investigator for several global NAFLD studies. He chaired the national guidelines for liver transplantation in NAFLD and sat on the NICE Guideline Development Group for NAFLD. He led the recent UK multi-stakeholder guideline group on the management of abnormal liver blood tests and led on NAFLD for the recent EASL Lancet Liver Commission. He recently completed his term as Secretary General (President) of EASL.
Madunil Niriella, MBBS, MD, MRCP, FRCP, FCCP, AGAF
Medical Education:
Faculty of Medicine, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka (2001)
MD (Medicine) Post-Graduate Institute of Medicine, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka (2007)
Trained in hepatology at the University Medical Unit, Colombo North Teaching Hospital, Ragama, Sri Lanka (2007-2009) and Addenbrooke’s Teaching Hospital, Cambridge, United Kingdom (2009-2011).
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Professor in Gastroenterology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya, Ragama, Sri Lanka
Senior Hepatologist, Colombo North Centre for Liver Disease (CNCLD), Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya, Ragama, Sri Lanka
President of the Sri Lanka Society of Gastroenterology (SLSG)
Area of Research interests:
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, metabolic dysfunction, alcohol-related liver disease, cirrhosis and complications, portal hypertension, liver transplantation, hepatocellular carcinoma, artificial intelligence
Publications and Presentations:
Prof Niriella has presented over 200 research abstracts at international scientific gatherings such as DDW, UEGW, EASL and AASLD and authored over 100 full papers on the above subjects in high-impact, indexed peer-reviewed journals.
Comments:
Prof Madunil A. Niriella is a board-certified trainer in Gastroenterology and a long-term member of the speciality board of study in Gastroenterology Post-Graduate Institute of Medicine (PGIM), University of Colombo, Sri Lanka. He has trained many Sri Lankan post-graduate trainees in Hepatology.
He is a leading researcher in NAFLD from Sri Lanka. He is part of a research team that helped to characterise the epidemiology of NAFLD in Sri Lanka by conducting large-scale community-based studies. Some of the research awards he has won include the Presidential Research Award, Vice Chancellor’s Award for the best researcher, the Best Overall Free Paper at the International Medical Congress of Sri Lanka Medical Association, Best Oral Presentation at the annual conference of the Ceylon College of Physicians and Best research paper at the academic sessions of the Sri Lanka College of Internal Medicine and best oral free paper in NAFLD twice awarded by UEGW.
As the President of the Sri Lanka Society of Gastroenterology, he has worked tirelessly to educate the health care providers and the public of the burden and the potential impact of NAFLD on the Sri Lanka health care system and economy. Prof Niriella is on the expert advisory committee on non-communicable diseases of the Ministry of Health, Sri Lanka.
He is a reviewer for many leading hepatology journals and an Editor for the BMC Gastroenterology journal.
Suzanne Norris MD
Medical Education:
Graduate of University College Dublin 1989, trained in hepatology at the National Liver Transplant Centre at St Vincent's University Hospital, Dublin, and the Institute of Liver Studies at King's College Hospital London completing CCST in 1999. Was appointed consultant in viral hepatitis and liver transplantation in 2000 at Kings’ College Hospital
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Consultant hepatologist/gastroenterologist at St James's Hospital and is Professor in Gastroenterology & Hepatology at Trinity College Dublin.
Area of Research interests:
Viral hepatitis, NAFLD, cirrhosis, haemochromatosis, and immunology.
Publications and Presentations:
Professor Norris has co-authored more than 200 published articles
Comments:
Prof Norris is a former member of the National Consultative Council for Hepatitis C, former member of the governing board of the European Association for the Study of the Liver (2007-2008), EASL Scientific Committee (2005-2008), AASLD Education Committee (2007-2009) and former committee member of the British Society of the Study of the Liver (2000-2004). She was National Specialty Director for gastroenterology/hepatology registrar training in Ireland from 2007-2012 at the Royal College of Physicians in Ireland, and Vice-Dean of Postgraduate Specialist Training 2012-2016. Prof Norris was the inaugural Clinical Lead to the National Hepatitis C Treatment Program in Ireland 2016-2017. A founding member and chair of the Irish Hepatitis C Outcomes Research Network (2012-2016), she has participated into several collaborative works on epidemiology and public health issues related to viral hepatitis.
Mazen Noureddin MD, MHSc
Medical Education:
Residency: University of Southern California, 2005
Fellowship: National Institutes of Health, 2008
Fellowship: University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, 2011
Master's: Duke University School of Medicine, 2017
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Director of Fatty Liver Program at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.
Area of Research interests:
The research of Mazen Noureddin, MD, focuses on the underlying mechanisms of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), new imaging modalities and exploring new treatments.
Publications and Presentations:
Noureddin M, Khoyliar C, Palmer SL. MRI, CT scan and ultrasound in the diagnosis of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. J Clin Gastroenterol. 2015;49(4):351-352.
Noureddin M, Mato JM, Lu SC. Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: update on pathogenesis, diagnosis, treatment and the role of S-adenosylmethionine. Exp Biol Med (Maywood). 2015;240(6):809-820.
Noureddin M, Rinella ME. Nonalcoholic Fatty liver disease, diabetes, obesity, and hepatocellular carcinoma. Clin Liver Dis. 2015;19(2):361-379.
Noureddin M, Lam J, Peterson M, Middleton M, Hamilton G, Le TA, Bettencourt R, Changchien C, Brenner DA, Sirlin C, et al. Utility of magnetic resonance imaging versus histology for quantifying changes in liver fat in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease trials. Hepatology. 2013;58(6):1930-1940.
Noureddin M, Yates KP, Vaughn IA, Neuschwander-Tetri BA, Sanyal AJ, McCullough A, Merriman R, Hameed B, Doo E, Kleiner DE, et al. Clinical and histological determinants of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis and advanced fibrosis in elderly patients. Hepatology. 2013;58(5):1644-1654.
Comments:
Mazen Noureddin, MD, MHSc, is the founding director of the Fatty Liver Program at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. He is a faculty at the Division of Digestive and Liver Diseases which was ranked #2 in gastroenterology and gastrointestinal surgery in the 2019 US News and World report.
His focus is on clinical and translational research in the area of NAFLD. Dr. Noureddin has conducted more than 30 investigational clinical studies of novel treatments for NASH. In addition, he has an interest in non-invasive testing and biomarkers of the field, especially metabolomics, serum biomarkers, trainset elastography, and magnetic resonance imaging techniques. Dr. Noureddin has published in all these areas. He is a member of the Liver Forum (FDA-AASLD-Academic Colloquium), standardizing pathways to translate therapeutic agents to clinical practice. He was one of the authors who established MRI-PDFF as a precise biomarker for measurement of liver fat in patients with NAFLD/ NASH. Based on a study he published in Hepatology 2013 (among others) MRI-PDFF is increasingly being as the main outcome for NASH therapies in phase 2 clinical trials. This paper was cited in the 2017 AASLD NAFLD guidelines. He has given many invited lectures on NAFLD/NASH at national (e.g. American Gastroenterological Association, AASLD) and international society meetings and serves on several steering committees / advisory boards for industry.
Ponsiano Ocama, MBChB, MMED, PhD, FCP (ECSA), FRCP
Medical Education:
Makerere University College od Health Sciences, Kampala, Uganda; MBChB, 1995
Makerere University College of Health Sciences, Kampala, Uganda; MMED, Internal Medicine, 2002
University of Texas, Southwestern Medical Centre, Dallas, Texas; Liver Research Fellowship, 2003
Institute of Tropical Medicine, University of Antwerp, Belgium; PhD Biomedical Sciences, 2011
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Assoc. Professor of Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda
Chair, Division of Gastroenterology; Department of Medicine, Mskerere Universty College of Health Sciences, Kampala, Uganda
President, Uganda Gastroenterology Society; Kampala, Uganda
Governing Council member, Africa Middle East Association if Gastroenterology (AMAGE)
Board Chair; National Organization of People living with hepatitis B, Kampala, Uganda
Area of Research interests:
Major research interests are the interactions between viral hepatitis and HIV on liver disease and hepatocellular carcinoma in resource-limited settings. Additional interest on hepatic schistosomiasis.
Publications and Presentations:
Authored or co-authored 100+ publications and presentations.
Comments:
Major research interests are the interactions between viral hepatitis and HIV on liver disease and hepatocellular carcinoma in resource-limited settings. In many parts of sub-Saharan Africa, hepatitis B infection is endemic and generalized HIV epidemics exist. Understanding the consequences of co-infection including hepatocellular carcinoma is crucial to inform approaches for targeting screening or secondary prevention with antiviral therapy. Currently, he is an Associate Professor, an academic hepatologist at Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda, where he supervises the clinical services for GI/hepatology at Kiruddu National referral and teaching hospital. He has also studied studied obesogenic effect of dolutegravir in HIV infected patients. He leads several clinical studies focused on HIV, viral hepatitis B and C, interaction between HIV and Schistoma mansoni and HCC. In most of the evaluations he is using a fibroscan that has capacity to quantify fat in the liver. Previously, he completed an academic research fellowship at UT-Southwestern in Dallas Tx, USA under the direction of Dr. William Lee. He undertook fellowship as a Sewankambo clinical research scholar on HIV and hepatitis at the Infectious Disease Institute, Kampala, Uganda and obtained PhD at the University of Antwerp focusing on understanding hepatitis B, C, and HIV in the aetiology of liver diseases in Uganda. For more than 10 years, heI has been working with many international collaborators including Prof Gregory D. Kirk and Prof David L. Thomas of Johns Hopkins University. Currently he holds several NIH grants and a grant from Centre fr Disease analysis foundation for studying prevention of Mother to Child transmission of hepatitis B as well as working on a large study on liver cancer and its relationship with HIV and schistosomiasis. He has also participated in writing the WHO guidelines on viral hepatitis B and C including reviewing the testing guidelines.
Janus Ong MD, MPH
Medical Education:
University of the Philippines College of Medicine.
Internal Medicine Residency at the Yale Primary Care Internal Medicine Residency Program
Gastroenterology Fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation.
Clinical Hepatology Fellowship at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland
Master of Public Health from Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Clinical Associate Professor at the University of the Philippines College of Medicine.
Area of Research interests:
AFLD, hepatocellular carcinoma, Hepatitis B and C, and complications of cirrhosis.
Publications and Presentations:
Dr. Ong has published more than 50 research articles and over 60 research presentations to international meetings.
Comments:
Dr. Ong has been active in liver disease research since his fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic. He subsequently worked at Liver Program of the NIDDK, NIH undr the mentorship of Dr. Jay Hoofnagle. After additional training in Liver Transplant at Inova Fairfax Hospital and Masters in Public Health at Johns Hopkins University, he worked as Staff Hepatologist at the Center for Liver Diseases, Inova Fairfax Hospital in Falls Church Virginia. Dr. Ong was highly active in Outcomes Research related to NAFLD, Viral Hepatitis and Hepatic Encephalopathy. Since 2007, Dr. Ong has joined University of the Philippines College of Medicine as a hepatologist and has been involved in a number of projects, including Organizing Committee of 2019 APASL in Manila Philippines.
Masafumi Ono MD, PhD
Medical Education:
Kochi Medical School, graduated program, JAPAN, Ph.D., 1998
Kochi Medical School, JAPAN, M.D., 1990
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Associate Professor of Medicine, Department of Endoscopy, Kochi Medical School Hospital, Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Kochi Medical School, Kochi University
Area of Research interests:
Clinical and experimental research on Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease
Publications and Presentations:
Dr. Ono has had more than 190 published articles
Ashraf Omar Abdelaziz Osman, MD
Medical Education:
Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MB Bch), Cairo University (very good) (1981)
Master degree in Tropical medicine (MSc) Faculty of medicine Cairo University (Excellent grade). MSc thesis entitled "Ultrasonically Guided Liver Biopsy in Ultrasonically Suspected Hepatic Malignancy" (1986)
MD degree in Tropical medicine Faculty of medicine Cairo University MD Thesis entitled "Ultrasonography and Histopathology of Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Egypt and Its Relation to Hepatitis B Virus, Cirrhosis and Schistosomiasis utilizing Hepatitis B Markers (1996)
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Prof of Hepatology and Tropical Medicine Faculty of medicine Cairo University
Liver Transplant Consultant Cairo University and Dar Al-Fouad Hospital
President of the Egyptian Society of Liver Cancer (ESLC)
Founder/Director of the Multidisciplinary Liver Cancer Clinic Cairo University
Board editor of Hepatocellular carcinoma journal
Head of MENA NCCN Committee of Hepatobiliary Cancer
IC-HEP council member
Founder of Path program of HCC sponsored by Bayer company. Egyptian version
Member of the board of Africa HepatoPancreatoBiliaryCancer Consortium (AHPBCC)
Member of the board of Society for liver disease in Africa (SOLDA)
Area of Research interests:
Viral hepatitis, Steatotic liver disease, hepatocelluar carcinoma, clinical trials
Publications and Presentations:
Authored and co - authored more than 100 publications and presentations
Comments:
Dr Ashraf Osman is a Professor of hepatology and gastroenterology and transplant hepatologist at Cairo University. He is currently the president of the Egyptian society of liver (ESLC). He was the PI of an NIH grant regarding hepatocellular carcinoma risk factors in Egypt.He is leading guidelines for hepatocellular carcinoma the MENA version of NCCN yearly and most recently the African guidelines and Egyptian guidelines as well as consensus guidelines for HCC in MENA. Through the IC -HEP Dr Osman performed a training educational course for African physicians in Cairo in the field of hepatology and HCC. He gave a lot of national and international presentations most recently at ILCA and at last AASLD 2023 in Boston about SLD in Middle East and Africa. As an active board member in Africa HepatoPancreatoBiliary cancer consortium (AHPBCC) and Society of liver disease in Africa ( SOLDA) he shared several conference meetings and educational courses at Cairo,Ghana, south Africa. He is also an active member of the AASLD, EASL and ILCA
Calvin Q. Pan MD, MACP, FAASLD
Medical Education:
MD degree from State University of New York in Albany and residency training in Internal Medicine at Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New York (1993). He completed the fellowship training in Gastroenterology-Hepatology at the SUNY in Stony Brook in 1999. Prior to joining the faculty at NYU School of Medicine, Dr. Pan has held the academic positions of and Associate Professor at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in NY (2003-2011).
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Professor of Medicine (2012-present) at the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, NYU Langone Medical Center, NYU School of Medicine in NY. (www.med.nyu.edu/biosketch/panc01). He is also a Chair of the Online Learning Committee in the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (2016-2019).
Area of Research interests:
Chronic liver diseases including viral hepatitis and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
Publications and Presentations:
Dr. Pan has presented his work as original articles in the New England Journal of Medicine, Lancet, Hepatology, Journal of Hepatology, and other high impact journals. He also serves as a primary writer for the expert consensus guidelines on hepatitis B in the US and the international expert consensus guidelines on viral hepatitis.
Comments:
Recognized by his colleagues, Dr. Pan has received many awards and accolades for his contributions to medical sciences and patient cares, including the James D. Bruce Memorial Award for Distinguished Contributions in Preventive Medicine from the American College of Physicians, Outstanding Contribution Award of the Chinese Society of Infectious Diseases, and Certificate of Service Appreciation from the American Cancer Society. He is a Master of the American College of Physicians and Fellow of AASLD. As an expert and key opinion leader in his specialty, Dr. Pan serves as a keynote speaker at many international scientific congresses and expert consultant meetings of World Health Organization.
George V. Papatheodoridis MD, PhD
Medical Education:
MD (1986), PhD (1997), Medical School of National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece
Gastroenterology at Tzaneion Hospital of Piraeus, Greece
Hepatology fellowship at the Royal Free Hospital of London, UK.
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Professor in Medicine and Gastroenterology at Medical School of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and Director of the Academic Gastroenterology Department of Laiko Hospital of Athens, Greece; Co-ordinator of the Viral Hepatitis Committee and of the Committee for the Implementation of the Hellenic National Plan for hepatitis C elimination; President of the Hellenic National Transplant Organization.
Area of Research interests:
Chronic liver diseases including viral hepatitis and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
Publications and Presentations:
Dr. Papatheodoridis has authored or co-authored more than 300 papers published in PubMed journals having total impact factor of more than 2000 and more than 15000/22000 citations (h-index 60/73) in Scopus/Google Scholar. He was Associate Editor of Liver International and has served as Editorial Board member of other international journals and as reviewer for all gastroenterology/Hepatology journals, many major internal medicine journals (New Engl J Med, Lancet, Ann Intern Med, BMJ etc), ILC/EASL-UEGW abstracts, EU 7th Framework Programme for research and Horizon 2020. He has given more than 160 lectures, chaired more than 50 lectures/round tables and presented more than 300 abstracts in international meetings.
Brian Pearlman MD, FACP
Medical Education:
University of Miami School of Medicine
Post-graduate training: University of Texas, Southwestern, Dallas, Texas
Post-graduate training: Baylor University Medical Center, Dallas, Texas
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Medical Director, Center for Hepatitis C, Wellstar Atlanta Medical Center, Atlanta, Georgia
Professor of Medicine, Emory School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia
Professor of Medicine, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, Georgia
Area of Research interests:
Viral hepatitis and non-alcoholic liver disease
Publications and Presentations:
Has over 70 peer-reviewed papers, many of which are in high impact journals, including The Lancet, Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), Annals of Internal Medicine, Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Clinical Infectious Disease.
Comments:
Dr. Pearlman is a Fellow of the American Association for the Study of Liver Disease (FAASLD). He is certified by the American Academy of HIV Medicine (AAHIVS) and has sat on the Board of Directors for the American Liver Foundation's SouthEast chapter. He is active in both patient care and teaching physicians both internal medicine and hepatology, and has been a recipient of a myriad of teaching awards.
Mário Guimarães Pessoa, MD, PhD
Medical Education:
Dr. Mário Pessoa obtained his MD at the Federal University of Bahia, Salvador - BA, Brazil, in 1985 and was trained in internal medicine. He was subsequentely trained in Gastroenterology and Hepatology at University of São Paulo School of Medicine, São Paulo at the Department of Gastroenterology, where he also obtained his PhD degree at the Pathology Department, on the role of HCV Immunohistochemistry on the recurrence of Hepatitis C post-liver Transplantation with Prof. Venâncio Ferreira Alves. He completed a Post-Doctoral Fellowship at University if California, San Francisco (UCSF,) between 1995-1998, working under the mentorship of Prof. Teresa Wright.
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Assistant-Professor of the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Gastroenterology at University of São Paulo School of Medicine and coordinator of Medical Residency in Gastroenterology and Hepatology.
Area of Research interests:
He has a long-standing interest and expertise in viral hepatitis pre and post-liver transplantation and conducted translational research focusing on chronic hepatitis B, C and E. In the last 2 years, he has joined the group of Prof. Claudia Oliveira in her outpatient clinic and research unit which has been focusing in animal and human studies in pathophysiological mechanisms of MASLD/MASH, and both participated in the Delphi process for Nomenclature change of NAFLD/NASH.
Publications and Presentations:
Author/co-author of over 90 articles in peer-reviewed journals and authored several book chapters on viral hepatitis, and over 300 faculty lectures. He has been associate-editor of Liver International, Current Hepatitis Reports, GED and Arquivos de Gastroenterologia.
Comments:
Dr Pessoa has been involved on several phase 2 and phase 3 trials in viral hepatitis B and C and MASLD and is national and international lead PI on several of these trials.
Dr. Pessoa was the Vice-President of the Brazilian Society of Hepatology and participated several times on the scientific committee of the Brazilian Congress of Hepatology and is also part of the Advisory scientific board of the Ministry of Health Guidelines for Hepatitis B and C. He is currently the President-elect of the Latinamerican Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (ALEH) for the biannual 2026-2028, and Member of the Board of Directors of ALEH. And currently leads the viral hepatitis SIG at ALEH.
Dr. Pessoa also has joined recently the International Scientific Committee of the Global Hepatitis Summit (GHS).
Dr. Pessoa has been actively involved in teaching students, residents, post-doctoral candidates and fellows.
Lattes CV available at: http://lattes.cnpq.br/3454068838778698
Claudia Pinto Marques Souza Oliveira, MD, PhD, FAASLD
Medical Education:
University of Pará (MD)
University of São Paulo School of Medicine Gastroenterology/ Hepatology/ PhD/ Postdoctorate
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Associate Professor of the Department of Gastroenterology, University of São Paulo School of Medicine.
Chief of Hepatology Branch of Hospital das Clínicas, Department of Gastroenterology, University of São Paulo School of Medicine.
Vice-Coordinator of Postgraduate Course of , Department of Gastroenterology, University of São Paulo School of Medicine.
Area of Research interests:
Pioneering research in Brazil in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, genetics. Microbiome, HCC as well experimental models as well clinical trials.
Publications and Presentations:
Authored over 200 articles, 2 books, over 15 book chapters, over 500 abstracts at the international scientific meetings and over 300 faculty lectures. His current H-index is 40 (may 2023).
Comments:
Claudia P. Oliveira, MD, PhD, FAASLD, is Associate Professor of the Department of Gastroenterology, University of São Paulo School of Medicine, Chief of Hepatology Branch of Hospital das Clínicas, Department of Gastroenterology, University of São Paulo School of Medicine and Vice-Coordinator of Postgraduate Course of Department of Gastroenterology, University of São Paulo School of Medicine. Dra. Oliveira completed Residency in Internal Medicine, Gastroenterology, Hepatology Fellowship and PhD at University of Sao Paulo School of Medicine, where she became interested in hepatology research. Her training period was funded by Brazil Government (residency) and FAPESP (Fundação de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo) (PhD) and, Family Alves de Queiroz Foundation (Post-doctorate). The last grant focuses on NAFLD. Following my Post-doctorate in Hepatology, I did some international collaborations with European and Americans groups that study NAFLD. In 2008 I became Assistant Professor of University of Sao Paulo School of Medicine and in 2012 Associate Professor of the same University. In 2015 I joined VCU as a Visiting Professor and continued to develop my skills in clinical and translational research that extended into microbiome research in NAFLD patients. My initial research efforts focused in genetic studies in NAFLD and more recently in microbiome, lipidomic e metabolomics studies with international collaborations. I also have HCC experimental and clinical studies. I am a senior hepatologist who have published extensively on NASH, a global cause of liver disease. I am considered a key opinion leader in NASH and the National PI for several international trials in the field. In my own lab, I have performed ground-breaking work on the role of the microbiome and genetic and experimental studies in animals and individuals with NASH. I am a strong researcher an active member and fellow of AASLD, EASL, and ALEH and, do more than fifteen years of clinical and experimental research in NASH. I have many collaborations with European and American University with more than 200 published manuscripts in the NASH and HCC field. My H indices: is 40(ISI); 50 (Google Scholar) and my CV is available Lattes: http://lattes.cnpq.br: 8930335778301812. In addition to research, Dra. Oliveira has been actively involved in teaching students, residents and fellows.
Marcella Pomeranz, DNP
Medical Education:
Geriatric Doctorate of Nursing Practice as an adult/geriatric Nurse Practitioner at Hunter College, 2017
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Lead Nurse Practitioner at Digestive Associates in Las Vegas, Nevada
Area of Research interests:
Hepatology, inflammatory bowel disease, and management of gastrointestinal bleeding disorders
Publications and Presentations:
IBS-C from the APP Perspective for Ardelyx, Pharmaceutical Management for IBS for AGA
Puneet Puri, MD
Medical Education:
Sawai Man Singh Medical College, India
VCU Medical Center, USA
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Associate Professor, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, VCU
Area of Research interests:
Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Liver Transplantation
Publications and Presentations:
Multiple publications in international peer-reviewed journals
Nikolaos Pyrsopoulos, MD PhD, MBA, FACP, AGAF, FACG, FAASLD, FRCP (Edin)
Medical Education:
National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece (MD, PhD)
University of Miami, School of Business Administration (MBA)
Sismanoglion General Hospital National and Kapodistrian University of Athens Greece: Internal Medicine Residency
University of Miami School of Medicine, ABIM Research Pathway, Internal Medicine Residency
University of Miami School of Medicine, Fellowship in Gastroenterology and Hepatology
University of Miami School of Medicine, Fellowship in Hepatology and Liver Transplantation (Clinical and Research)
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Professor and Chief Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Medical Director Liver Transplantation
Rutgers-New Jersey Medical School and University Hospital
Department of Pharmacology, Physiology & Neuroscience Rutgers- New Jersey Medical School: Professor
New York Medical College School of Medicine: Adjunct Professor of Medicine
Area of Research interests:
Liver Transplantation, Liver failure, Cirrhosis and complications, Viral Hepatitis, Alcohol associated liver disease, non-alcohol associated liver disease, liver cancer, Autoimmune liver diseases
Publications and Presentations:
Dr. Pyrsopoulos has published over 100 Refereed Original Articles 6 books, numerous Monographs and Chapters, numerous web reports and abstracts. He presents worldwide on Liver and Digestive Diseases.
Comments:
Nikolaos Pyrsopoulos, M.D., Ph.D., M.B.A., F.A.C.P., AGAF, FACG. FRCP (Edin), is Professor and Chief of Gastroenterology and Hepatology and Medical Director of Liver Transplantation at Rutgers New Jersey Medical. He is a member of numerous national and institutional committees and currently he is the chair of the AASLD finance committee and a section councillor for the AGA Liver and Biliary section. He has participated in multiple international and national research projects. His vision of excellence in patient care, provides outstanding education to the fellows, residents and students and promoting the science of medicine by conducting research.
Natarajan Ravendhran,MD,MBA,AGAF,FAASLD.
Medical Education:
Graduated from Stanley Medical college, Madras, India.
Fellowship trained in Hepatology at University of Miami under De.Eugene Schiff in Gastroenterology and Hepatology at University of Missouri
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Clinical asst. professor, Dept of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland.
Area of Research interests:
Very much interested and actively involved in education of the Collegues and the Public.
Publications and Presentations:
Published in Hepatology, NewEngland Journal of Medicine, Journal of Hepatology, and other Journals.
Comments:
Dr Ravendhran has been actively involved in over 100 clinical trials in NASH, Hepatitis C and Hepatitis B. He is a member of AASLD and actively involved in related activities, such as SIG. He has widely published with about 39 articles in pubmed.
Nancy Reau, MD
Medical Education:
The Ohio State University Medical School, Internal Medicine Residency and GI fellowship
Johns Hopkins Transplant Hepatology Fellowship
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Professor of Medicine
Richard B. Capps Chair of Hepatology
Chief, Section of Hepatology
Associate Director, Solid Organ Transplantation
Rush University Medical Center
Area of Research interests:
Viral Hepatitis
Complications of End Stage Liver Disease
Efficiency and optimization of clinical care cascades
Publications and Presentations:
100+ peer-reviewed publications, 150+ Invited Reviews, Editorial,Textbook Chapters and Web-Based publications, 500+ Invited Lectures
Comments:
Nancy Reau, the Richard B. Capps Chair of Hepatology, is currently Associate Director of Solid Organ Transplantation and Section Chief of Hepatology at Rush University Medical Center.
Dr Reau received her undergraduate degree (BA) at Oberlin College in Oberlin, OH, USA and doctorate of medicine (MD), cum laude, from the Ohio State University in Columbus, OH. She completed a medicine residency and a gastroenterology fellowship at the Ohio State University in Columbus. She completed her advanced transplant hepatology fellowship in 2001 at The Johns Hopkins Medical Center in Baltimore, MD.
Dr Reau was employed at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, IL as an Assistant Professor from 2002 until 2005, when she accepted a position at the University of Chicago Medicine. She became an Associate Professor of Medicine in 2010, Medical Director of Hepatology Clinical and Translational Research in 2015 and then joined Rush University Medical Center in 2015 where she is a Professor of Medicine. She is a fellow of the American Gastroenterological Association, American College of Gastroenterology and of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases. She has also been the annual honouree of the Illinois chapter of the American Liver Foundation.
Dr Reau’s research interest is in viral hepatitis drug development as well as care path utilisation. She was editor in chief for Clinical Liver Disease, the AASLD multimedia journal. She served as the chair of the public policy committee for the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) and was a member of the AASLD practice guideline committee. She was one of the original authors of the AASLD/IDSA hepatitis C guidance document. She has been a member of the national board of directors of the American Liver Foundation (ALF) and served as the president of the Illinois chapter of the ALF, a member of the board of directors and a member of the medical advisory committee (MAC). She is current chair of the World Gastroenterology Organization Hepatology interest group and a member of the American College of Gastroenterology Practice Parameters Committee.
Mary E. Rinella MD
Medical Education:
MD (1996), University of Illinois, Chicago, IL
Residency in Internal Medicine (1999), University of Chicago, Chicago, IL
Fellowship in Gastroenterology and Hepatology (2002), Northwestern University, Chicago, IL
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Professor of Medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and is the Director of the Northwestern Fatty Liver Program.
Area of Research interests:
Include non-alcoholic fatty liver disease/NASH both before and after liver transplantation. Her primary clinical focus within the NASH realm is on the associations between NASH and other metabolic co-morbidities and the occurrence of NASH after liver transplantation
Publications and Presentations:
Dr. Rinella has published more than 60 peer reviewed papers and given numerous presentations nationally and internationally on the topics of NAFLD, transplantation, liver disease in pregnancy and complications of cirrhosis. recently established a multicenter consortium to study the risk factors for liver disease recurrence and outcomes of patients transplanted for NASH cirrhosis (NailNASH Consortium).
Stuart Roberts, MBBS MD MPH FRACP FAASLD
Medical Education:
University of Melbourne
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Head of Hepatology, Alfred Health
Clinical Professor of Gastroenterology, Monash University
Chair Australian Liver Association Clinical Research Network
Area of Research interests:
Hepatocellular Carcinoma, Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease, Autoimmune Liver Disease, Chronic Viral Hepatitis, Non-invasive Markers of Liver Disease; Clinical Trial Design
Publications and Presentations:
Author of 180 publications, 2 book chapters, 350 abstracts; Associate Editor Seminars in Liver Disease.
Michael Roden, MD
Medical Education:
University of Vienna, Austria (Dr. med. univ.), 1986
Yale University, CT, USA (post-doc fellowship) 1994-1995
Board certifications (internal medicine, endocrinology and diabetology, clinical pharmacology)
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Professor of Medicine, Endocrinology and Metabolic Diseases, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Germany
Chairman of the Division of Endocrinology and Diabetology, University Hospital Düsseldorf, Germany
Speaker of the Board and Chief Scientific Officer, German Diabetes Center (DDZ)
Board of Speakers, German Centers of Diabetes Research (DZD)
Area of Research interests:
His research interests comprise insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes mellitus with a focus on energy metabolism, metabolic imaging and obesity-/diabetes-related comorbidities including fatty liver diseases as well as precision medicine in diabetes (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Roden).
Publications and Presentations:
Authored over 700 peer-reviewed papers, 1 book and 25 book chapters and delivered more than 300 international lectures. He is a Highly Cited Researcher (Clarivate 2022) with an H-index of 103 (Scopus 2022)
Comments:
Dr. Roden served on several boards of international diabetes associations (e. g. chairman of EFSD, honorary treasurer of EASD, president of CEDA) and as head of the committee medicine of the German Council of Science and Humanities. He also received several awards and honors (e. g. Oskar-Minkowski Prize, G. B. Morgagni Gold Medal, Paul-Langerhans Medal; honorary doctorates of the Universities of Athens and Belgrade, honorary membership of the Hungarian Diabetes Association) and is currently collaborative professor of Kanasawa University, Japan. He is representing EASD as a member of the committee for the EASL-EASD-EASO clinical practice guidelines for NAFLD.
Stefano Romeo, MD, PhD
Medical Education:
“Policlinico Umberto I” Rome, Italy (Medical Specialist in Metabolic Diseases and Endocrinology).
Campus Biomedico University, Rome, Italy (MD).
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Professor in Molecular and Clinical Medicine at Sahlgrenska Academy, Institution of Medicine, Department of Molecular and Clinical Medicine, University of Gothenburg (Sweden).
Director of the Lipid Clinic and Senior Consultant at the Cardiology Department, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg (Sweden).
Adjunct Professor at University Magna Graecia of Catanzaro (Italy).
Organizer of the Keystone Symposia on NASH and Fibrosis: From Molecular Phenotypes to Precision Therapeutics, March 3-7, 2024, at the Fairmont Banff Springs in Banff, Canada.
Executive Committee Member of the European Atherosclerosis Society (EAS).
Member of the steering committee for the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) NAFLD study group and of the Scandinavian Society of the Atherosclerosis Research (SSAR).
Associate Editor of Liver International journal.
Area of Research interests:
Molecular genetics of fatty liver disease.
Publications and Presentations:
Current H-index is 68 (Oct 2023).
Authored more than 160 peer-reviewed publications, 19 reviews, more than 12 invited editorials (including 1 in New England Journal of Medicine), and 1 book chapter; with more than 30 articles with impact factor ≥20, including articles in Nature Genetics, New England Journal of Medicine, Nature Metabolism, Cell Metabolism, Journal of Clinical Investigation, Hepatology, Journal of Hepatology, Gut and Gastroenterology.
Invited to more than 60 Swedish, European and United States meetings in the last 5 years.
Comments:
Prof. Romeo’s research focus is the role of genetic variants in metabolic disorders such as fatty liver disease (FLD) and cardiovascular disease (CVD). His research field ranges from genetic association studies in large cohorts to molecular genetics and characterization of human mutations. In the field of FLD, among other works, Prof. Romeo identified its most robust genetic determinants in the PNPLA3 and MBOAT7 genes; generated an easy-to-use multilineage 3D in vitro model of FLD; and performed the 1st proof-of-concept study of precision medicine against FLD in mice. Moreover, he recently identified a genetic variant in the PSD3 gene protecting against FLD and, using liver organoids from human donors and mouse models, he has shown that PSD3 downregulation is beneficial against the disease, highlighting its potential as a gene target to treat FLD. In the field of CVD, Prof. Romeo recently generated an algorithm, empowered by machine learning, to easily perform diagnosis of familial hypercholesterolemia (FH); showed that lipoprotein(a) is an independent risk factor for CVD in those with FH; and identified and characterized new mutations responsible for a severe hypertriglyceridemia in the LPL gene increasing the risk for CVD.
Manuel Romero-Gómez MD
Medical Education:
Medical School, University of Seville, Sevilla, Spain. 1990
Digestive Diseases department. Virgen del Rocío University Hospital, Servicio Andaluz de Salud, Andalucía, Spain. 1994
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Full Professor of Medicine at University of Seville, Director of Digestive, liver and inflammatory diseases at Institute of Biomedicine of Seville.
Area of Research interests:
NAFLD (pathophysiology, personalised medicine, diagnostic methods and therapy) Hepatitis C (elimination) and Hepatic Encephalopathy.
Publications and Presentations:
Publications: 305; H-index: 52 Citations: 13.635
Akash Roy, MD, DM
Medical Education:
MD Internal Medicine from North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences (NEIGRIHMS, Shillong) 2017
DM, Hepatology from Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, PGIMER, Chandigarh 2020
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Consultant Hepatologist and Liver Transplant Physician, Institute of Gastrosciences and Liver Transplantation, Apollo Hospitals, Kolkata, India
Adjunct Associate Professor, Apollo Health Education and Research Foundation, Apollo Hospitals, India
Area of Research interests:
Metabolic Hepatology, MASLD, Non-Invasive Risk Stratification of Fibrosis, Hepatocellular Carcinoma, Patient Reported Outcomes and Health Economics In Liver Disease
Publications and Presentations:
Authored 102 research articles in national and international peer-reviewed indexed journals and 27 chapters. Presented over 25 abstracts at national and international scientific meetings.
Comments:
Dr Akash Roy works as a Consultant Hepatologist, Liver Transplant Physician and Adjunct Associate Professor, Apollo Hospitals, Kolkata. He is the recipient of the Professor Mindie H. Nguyen Award for Outstanding Clinical Research by Early Career Investigator for his research on Fecal Microbiota Transplantation in cirrhosis from the American Association for the Study of Liver Disease (AASLD), 2002-21. He also received the Cheung Family Memorial Travel Award for oral presentation on original research by the AASLD foundation 2020. He was awarded for the Best Oral Presentation Singapore Hepatology Conference for his work on Autoimmune Hepatitis Related Acute on Chronic Liver Failure, 2021. He is the current Editor of Clinical Rounds in Hepatology, Springer 1st Edition 2022. He is currently an Assistant Editor for Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hepatology and Journal of Digestive Endoscopy and serves as a peer-reviewer for multiple international journals in Hepatology.
Sammy Saab, MD, MPH, AGAF, FACG, FAASLD
Medical Education:
David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California at Los Angeles (MD)
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Medical Director, Pfleger Liver Institute
Medical Director, Adult Liver Transplant Program
Director, Metabolic Fatty Liver Disease Program
Chief, Transplant Hepatology
Head, Outcomes Research in Hepatology
Professor of Medicine and Surgery
Adjunct Professor of Nursing
Area of Research interests:
Liver Transplantation, Viral hepatitis and Metabolic fatty liver, Cirrhosis, Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease
Publications and Presentations:
Authored 351 peer-reviewed manuscripts, 19 editorials, 10 book chapters and 137 abstracts at international meetings
Comments:
Dr. Saab is a professor in the Departments of Medicine and Surgery at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and an adjunct professor of nursing at the UCLA School of Nursing. He is currently the medical director of the UCLA Adult Liver Transplant Program, medical director of the Pfleger Liver Institute, director of the Metabolic Fatty Liver Disease Program, and the chief of Transplant Hepatology. Dr. Saab is also the head of Outcomes Research in Hepatology. He has been on the faculty at UCLA for over two decades.
Dr. Saab received his BS, MD and MPH degrees from UCLA. He completed his residency in internal medicine at the University of California at San Diego Medical Center and a fellowship in gastroenterology/hepatology at the UCLA Center for Health Sciences. Dr. Saab is board eligible in gastroenterology and internal medicine, and board certified in transplant hepatology. He has received honorary fellowships from the American Gastroenterology Association (AGAF), American College of Gastroenterology (FACG) and the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (FAASLD).
Dr. Saab serves on many local, national and international committees. He is on board of directors for several liver-oriented foundations, Liver Wellness Foundation and the Chronic Liver Disease Foundation. Dr. Saab has been an investigator in multiple clinical trials and is a frequently invited speaker worldwide. Dr. Saab originated and leads a popular annual patient education seminar and is co-chair of the Annual UCLA Liver Diseases Symposium for health care professionals. He has mentored many college and medical students, as well as medical residents and fellows in gastroenterology.
Dr. Saab has published nearly 350 peer-reviewed manuscripts. He has authored numerous book chapters, editorials and abstracts. On the editorial board of over a dozen journals, Dr. Saab is the associate editor for the Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology, Digestive Medicine Research (DMR), and Journal of Clinical and Translational Hepatology.
Arun J Sanyal, MBBS, MD
Medical Education:
First MBBS - 1976
Second MBBS - 1978
Final MBBS - 1979
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Interim Chair of the Division of GI, Hepatology, and Nutrition and Director of the Stravitz-Sanyal Institute for Liver Disease and Metabolic Health
Area of Research interests:
Hepatology, NAFLD
Publications and Presentations:
Dr. Sanyal has authored more than 350 articles in such publications as Cell Metabolism, Nature Medicine, New England Journal of Medicine, Lancet, Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and the Journal of Infectious Diseases and has a H-index of 102.
Comments:
Arun J. Sanyal, M.D., is a Professor of Medicine, Physiology and Molecular Pathology in the Division of Gastroenterology at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) Medical Center in Richmond, Virginia. He currently is the Interim Chair of the Division of GI, Hepatology and Nutrition. Dr. Sanyal has been named Director of the Stravitz-Sanyal Institute for Liver Disease and Metabolic Health. Dr. Sanyal also serves as Chairman of the NIH NASH Clinical Research Network, the NIMBLE consortium and the Liver Forum for NASH and fibrosis. His research interests include all aspects of NAFLD and NASH as well as complications of end stage liver disease. He has served as a member of numerous advisory boards to pharmaceutical companies and also the liver center at Yale University. He chaired the hepatobiliary pathophysiology study section of the NIH and was a founding member of the Hepatology committee of the American Board of Internal Medicine. He has also served as Secretary as well as President of the American Association for Study of Liver Diseases. He has been continuously funded by the NIH since 1995 and is the principal investigator of four active NIH grants. He is the recipient of the Distinguished Mentorship Award from the American Gastroenterological Association and the Distinguished Scientific Achievement Award from the American Liver Foundation in 2017 and the Distinguished Achievement Award from the AASLD in 2018.
Rohit Satoskar, MD
Medical Education:
Medical College of Ohio (MD)
University of Chicago / Internal Medicine
University of Chicago / Gastroenterology
University of Chicago / Transplant Hepatology
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Director of Medical Services, MedStar Georgetown Transplant Institute
Medical Director, Liver Transplantation MedStar Georgetown Transplant Institute
Associate Professor of Medicine, Georgetown University School of Medicine
Area of Research interests:
Liver transplantation, portal hypertension, chronic liver diseases
Publications and Presentations:
100+ publications, abstracts, book chapters and presentations
Comments:
Rohit Satoskar, MD, is the Director of Medical Services for the MedStar Georgetown Transplant Institute. He is also medical director of Liver Transplantation and Associate professor in the Department of Medicine at the MedStar Georgetown Transplant Institute. An expert in hepatology and liver transplantation, Dr. Satoskar is board-certified in Internal Medicine, Gastroenterology and Transplant Hepatology. He is widely published and a frequent lecturer, regionally and nationally. In addition to Dr. Satoskar's role as a clinician, teacher and researcher, he is actively involved in public policy efforts to benefit patients with liver disease. He serves in leadership positions with professional societies such as the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases and the American Liver Foundation and is a founding board member of the Global Liver Institute dedicated to collaboration and innovation in dealing with liver disease.
Jörn M. Schattenberg MD
Medical Education:
University of Mainz, Germany. 1995-2002
Leopold Franzens University, Austria 1998-1999
Tulane University in New Orleans, 2001
Albert-Einstein College of Medicine, New York, USA 2002-2004
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Professor of Medicine and Director of the Department of Medicine II at the University Medical Center Homburg and University of the Saarland in Germany.
Area of Research interests:
Main research interest focus pathophysiology of acute and chronic liver injury and firbosis, the development of therapeutic interventions and novel biomarkers.
His research focuses on translational sciences and clinical trials in Hepatology. He is involved in multinational, EU-funded research consortia exploring new technologies and approaches for the prevention and screening of metabolic liver disease and the development of novel biomarkers.
Comments:
Professor Schattenberg is member of the Policy, Public Health and Advocacy Committee of the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL), a member of the Editorial Board of Hepatology and the Alimentary Pharmacology and Therapeutics and an Associate Editor of JHEP Reports. He is board-certified in Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology and Hepatology and Infectious Disease.
Jeffrey Schwimmer, MD
Medical Education:
University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, California B.A. in Biochemistry, May (1989)
New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York M.D., May (1994)
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Director of the Fatty Liver Clinic at Rady Children’s Hospital, San Diego, CA
Chair of the Pediatric Committee for the NIH NASH Clinical Research Network
Co-chairs of the AASLD Pediatric NAFLD Guidelines Committee
Area of Research interests:
Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) in children
Publications and Presentations:
With an impressive track record, his groundbreaking research in pediatric NAFLD covers clinical and population epidemiology, co-morbidity, diagnostics, and clinical trials, resulting in over 175 peer-reviewed publications, cited over 49,000 times.
Comments:
Dr. Jeffrey Schwimmer, a distinguished pediatric gastroenterologist and Professor of Pediatrics at UC San Diego, serves as the Director of the Fatty Liver Clinic at Rady Children’s Hospital San Diego. His expertise spans clinical management of obesity, pediatric hepatology, and clinical research, positioning him as one of the early authorities recognizing the significance and complexity of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) in children. Dr. Schwimmer is the founder and current director of the Fatty Liver Clinic at Rady Children’s Hospital, the pioneering clinic in the United States dedicated to children with hepatic steatosis. The Schwimmer Lab is a clinical and translational research team comprising five pediatric gastroenterologists. The lab's research spectrum encompasses epidemiology, clinical phenotype, diagnosis (including histology and non-invasive measures), pathophysiology (including genetics and microbiome), and treatment, involving clinical trials focused on nutrition and medications. Dr. Schwimmer's dedication to unraveling the complexities of NAFLD spans over two decades, and his leadership extends globally.
In addition to his research contributions, Dr. Schwimmer plays pivotal roles in national and international capacities. He chairs the Pediatric Committee for the NIH NASH Clinical Research Network, contributing significantly to advancements in pediatric liver health. Furthermore, he co- chairs the AASLD Pediatric NAFLD Guidelines Committee, actively shaping standards and guidelines for the international medical community. Dr. Schwimmer's enduring commitment to advancing knowledge and care in pediatric liver health underscores his prominent position in the field.
Giada Sebastiani, M.D.
Medical Education:
MD, University of Padua (1999)
University College of London / Hepatology (2001)
University of Padua / Internal Medicine (2004)
University of Bordeaux / Hepatology (2007)
Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research (2009)
Harvard Medical School (2015)
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Professor of Medicine, McGill University
Area of Research interests:
Fatty Liver Disease; Liver Fibrosis; Biomarkers; Hepatitis C; Hepatitis B
Publications and Presentations:
Authored over 160 articles, 13 book chapters, over 250 abstracts at scientific meetings and over 200 faculty lectures. His current h Index is 45 (September 2023).
Comments:
Dr. Sebastiani is founding and steering committee member of the Canadian NASH Network. She is Co-Chair of the first NAFLD chapter in the Diabetes Canada guidelines and panel member of the first Canadian NASH guidance (2024). She is also panel member in the Consensus on Models of Care in fatty liver disease of the International Liver Foundation. Dr Sebastiani is the sole North American representative in the guidelines of the prestigious European AIDS Clinical Society (primary reviewer of the liver section). Dr Sebastiani has been invited speaker in 80 international congresses and universities from 6 countries, including European, Asian Pacific, Mexican, Italian and Canadian Associations for the Study of the Liver. She was awarded the prestigious Senior Clinical Research Salary Award from Fonds Recherche Sante Quebec. Dr Sebastiani's work focuses on fatty liver disease, liver fibrosis and non-invasive diagnostic tools in liver disease, cohort studies, models of care, with a focus on at-risk populations, including people with diabetes, people living with HIV, patients with inflammatory bowel diseases. Her research is published in high impact journals, such as Lancet Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Nature Reviews Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Lancet Digital Health, Gastroenterology, Hepatology, Journal of Hepatology, Clinical Infectious Diseases. Her research program is funded by the Canadian Institute for Health Research, the Fonds Recherche Sante Quebec, the Canadian Donation and Transplantation Research Program, the CIHR Canadian HIV Trials Network, Crohn’s Colitis Canada.
Yosuke Seki MD
Medical Education:
MD from Osaka University Medical School (Osaka Japan). Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University (Osaka Japan).
Clinical and Research fellow, Department of Surgery, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University (Osaka, Japan).
Bariatric fellow, Department of Digestive and Bariatric Surgery and Adelaide Bariatric Centre (Adelaide, SA, Australia).
Visiting assistant professor, Division of Bariatric Surgery, Department of gastrointestinal surgery, University of Minnesota Medical School (Minneapolis, MN, USA).
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Consultant surgeon, co-director Weight Loss and Metabolic Surgery Center Minimally Invasive Surgery Center
Chief, Division of Clinical Research
Area of Research interests:
Effects of GI surgery on the pathophysiology of type 2 diabetes mellitus especially for Asian
Surgical treatment for gastroesophageal reflux diseases (GERD)
Surgical education, technical aspects of bariatric surgery, endoscopic suturing
Publications and Presentations:
Dr. Seki has published over 45 peer reviewed articles in NAFLD and Bariatric surgery.
Yuya Seko, MD., PhD.
Medical Education:
M.D. from Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Kyoto, Japan (2002-2008)
Ph.D. from Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine Graduate School of Medical Science, Kyoto, Japan (2013-2017)
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Assistant Professor of Molecular Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Japan.
Area of Research interests:
Clinical research on Metabolic associated steatotic liver disease and viral hepatitis. His research interest includes the effect of genetic factor on MASLD.
Publications and Presentations:
Clinical research on Metabolic associated steatotic liver disease and viral hepatitis. His research interest includes the effect of genetic factor on MASLD.
Lawrence Serfaty MD
Medical Education:
Dr Serfaty received his medical degree from University of Paris-Sud. He completed his residency as clinical fellow at Erasme Hospital, ULB University, Bruxelles, Belgium. He completed a clinical fellowship and a research fellowship in hepatology at Saint-Antoine Hospital, Pierre and Marie Curie University, Paris 6. He served as senior fellow in hepatology at Saint-Antoine Hospital, Paris.
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Lawrence Serfaty is Professor of Hepatologyand Gastroenterology, Chief of the Digestive Diseases Department, Hautepierre Hospital, University of Strasbourg, France. Before moving to Strasbourg University in 2017, he was the Viral and Metabolic Liver Unit Head and Associate Professor of Medicine in the Department of Hepatology at Saint-Antoine Hospital. He is Associate Researcher in the INSERM UMR_S938, University Pierre and Marie Curie, Paris 6, France.
He is also the co-director of HBV cure group at ANRS, Paris.
Area of Research interests:
Dr Serfaty began his research career studying viral HCV in the early 1990s and then focused on potential mechanisms of steatosis and its role in fibrogenesis in chronic HCV. He then extended his field of research to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), by investigating mechanisms of liver injury associated with insulin resistance in obese patients as well as those with HIV-associated lipodystrophy. He is now focusing his research on global epidemiology of NAFLD and mechanisms of fibrogenesis in NASH.
Publications and Presentations:
Author of more than 180 articles in international peer-reviewed journals, with an H-index of 47. More than 500 presentations in national and international congresses.
Comments:
Dr Serfaty has been involved in a number of trials evaluating anti-HCV direct-acting antivirals and new molecules in NASH. He is a member of the French Association for the Study of the Liver (AFEF) and the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL).
Abate Bane Shewaye, MD
Medical Education:
MD from Addis Ababa University Medical Faculty (1993)
Postgraduate specialty in Internal Medicine from Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia (2001)
Super specialty in Gastroenterology and Hepatology from Leipzig University, Germany (2005)
Higher diploma in Education, Addis Ababa University, 2016
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Professor of Medicine and Consultant Gastroenterologist at Addis Ababa University Medical School
Head of Gastroenterology and Hepatology Division, Department of Internal Medicine, AAU Medical School
Director and Founder of Addis Ababa World Gastroenterology Organization Endoscopy Training Center (2015-2017)
CEO and Consultant Gastroenterologist and Hepatologist at Adera Medical Center, Addis Ababa
Advisory board member and chair in several national, regional, and international organizations, including the Ethiopian Ministry of Health, Ethiopian Gastroenterology Association, World Gastroenterology Organization
Publications and Presentations:
Authored more than 50 original articles covering various topics, including upper gastrointestinal tumors, dyspepsia symptoms, hepatitis, genotypes and treatment outcomes of HCV, management of gastrointestinal foreign bodies, major risk factors and characteristics of hepatocellular carcinoma, and chronic viral hepatitis.
Authored and contributed to chapters in books covering liver, stomach, and intestinal diseases, national guidelines for prevention and control of viral hepatitis in Ethiopia, and medical emergency management
Comments:
Secretary of the Gastroenterology and Hepatology Association of Sub-Saharan Africa (GHASSA) since 2015, representing Ethiopia.
Founding member of the Ethiopian Gastroenterology Association, serving as Secretary from 2008 to 2011 and as President from 2012 to 2015..
Actively involved in the Ethiopian Medical Association since 1998, serving as Vice President from 2007 to 2011..
Contributed expertise to the National Health Research Coordinating Council at the Ministry of Health since 2017 and has been a member of the Research Advisory Board to the Ministry of Health since the same year..
Lifetime member of various humanitarian and professional organizations, including the Ethiopian Red Cross Society, the Ethiopian Public Health Association
Thrivikrama Shenoy DM
Medical Education:
DM from University of Kerala, Medical College, Trivandrum.
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Head, Dept. of Gastroenterology, Sree Gokulam Medical College and Director, Population Health and Research Institute
Area of Research interests:
Clinical trials, Epidemiology of G I disorders such as chronic pancreatitis, GERD, IBS, NAFLD and chronic HBV and HCV and HCC
Publications and Presentations:
Authored over 90 articles, over 5 book chapters, over 300 abstracts at the national and international scientific meetings. Comments:
I am currently Head of the Dept of Gastroenterology in Sree Gokulam Medical College. I was the Director of Clinical Epidemiology Research and Training Centre. I was the core faculty who has built up the Clinical Epidemiology Unit and later Resource and Training Centre and trained faculty in Research methodology and M Phil in Clinical Epidemiology. I played a key role as Coordinator for the Global Medicine program Karolinska Institute, Sweden and Govt Medical College Trivandrum from 1995-2006 and coordinator Linneus Palme Exchange Program 2001-2006. My main areas of research are tropical pancreatitis, hepatitis B and C, NAFLD, GERD and tuberculosis. I am the lead investigator in the Trivandrum Tobacco study with a male Cohort of 400,000 subjects being followed up from 2000 supported by NIH and University of Oxford and other studies such as GERD, Non alcoholic fatty disease supported by NHS and Nutrition supported by IARC, WHO unit, Lyon. I have studies supported by Karoliinska University in areas of GERD and Gut microbiota. I am the Executive Director of an NGO, Population Health and Research Institute and all studies in the community are coordinated through this organization which has a core team of 22 social workers and 4 office staff and Dr Leena is the senior Manager and Scientist who coordinates the work.
Yusuke Shimakawa, MD, PhD, DTM, MSc
Medical Education:
2014 PhD, Epidemiology London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK
2010 MSc, Epidemiology London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK
2007 Diploma in Tropical Medicine Institute of Tropical Medicine, Nagasaki University, Japan
2004 Bachelor of Medicine The Jikei University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Visiting Professor Kumamoto University, Kumamoto, Japan
Tenured Senior Researcher (Chargé de Recherche Expert) Institut Pasteur, Paris, France
Area of Research interests:
Epidemiology, global health, viral hepatitis, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, cirrhosis, liver cancer
Publications and Presentations:
Authored over 80 articles, 1 book and over 50 abstracts at the national and international scientific meetings.
Comments:
Dr. Yusuke Shimakawa is a senior epidemiologist at the Institut Pasteur in Paris, specializing in viral hepatitis control in Africa. He holds a medical degree from Jikei University in Japan, as well as an MSc and a PhD in epidemiology from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Additionally, he has earned an HDR (Accreditation to supervise research) from the Paris Cité University. Dr. Shimakawa has extensive professional experience in resource-limited countries, having worked as a clinician with Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) in Thailand and as an epidemiologist with the MRC Unit in The Gambia. His current work focuses on leading several research projects in Africa, including the NéoVac project, which aims to evaluate the impact of integrating birth dose hepatitis B vaccine into the routine infant immunization program in Burkina Faso. He also heads the PROTECT-B project, which explores the performance and feasibility of a hepatitis B core-related antigen rapid test in detecting HBV-infected pregnant women with a high viral load. Dr. Shimakawa has been commissioned by the World Health Organization (WHO) for the conduct of systematic reviews, aimed at informing clinical guidelines.
Jay H Shubrook DO, FAAFP, FACOFP
Medical Education:
D.O. Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine (1996)
Firelands Regional Health System: Family Medicine(1999)
Diabetes Fellowship: Ohio University Diabetes Institute (2005)
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Professor: Department of Clinical Sciences and Community Health, Director of Clinical Research, Director of Diabetes Services. Touro University California.
Area of Research interests:
Integration of best practices into primary care. Diabetes, Obesity, MASLD. Early intervention in metabolic based chronic diseases.
Publications and Presentations:
Authored more than 150 articles in diabetes and metabolism, NAFLD/MASLD and clinical practice and medical education, 1 book (Everyday Diabetes in Primary Care: A Case based approach) and multiple book chapters.
Comments:
Jay H Shubrook DO is a Board-Certified family physician and a Fellowship trained Diabetologist. His research focus is on the prevention and early intervention for type 2 diabetes. His clinical and professional focus is on better training the primary care workforce to be prepared to help people manage diabetes and metabolic disease. He is the Associate Editor of Clinical Diabetes. He is the Chair of the Executive Board of the American College of Diabetology- a new pathway to recognize primary care physicians who provide excellence in diabetes care. He recently published his first book—“Everyday Diabetes: Case Studies in Primary Care” which is available online.
Marcelo Silva, MD
Medical Education:
Degree with honors at University of Buenos Aires (UBA), Argentina.
PG training: Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology at UBA teaching Hospital, and Hepatology at University of Miami in USA.
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Hepatology Consultant at Austral University Hospital
Clinical Research Unit Medical Director, Austral University
Academic Development Department vice Director, Austral University
ALEH Foundation President and ALEH Past President
Coalition for Global Hepatitis Elimination Executive Board member
Buenos Aires National Academy of Medicine full member
Publications and Presentations:
Authored more than 130 articles on viral hepatitis, cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma, MASLD, liver transplant and acute liver failure in high and medium impact journals such as: J of Hepatology, Hepatol, Gastroenterol, Ann of Int Med, Lancet, N Eng J of Med, Liver Int, Liver Transpl, Ann of Hep, Transplant Int, J of Clinical Virology, J of Viral Hep, W J of Gastro, and Lancet Gastroenterol.
He has more than 250 abstracts and oral presentations for national and international scientific meetings and published chapters as author or co-author in 12 national and regional books.
Past Academic or Administrative Positions:
Medical Director of Hepatology and Liver Transplant Units, at Favaloro Foundation, Argentina
Head of Hepatology and Liver Transplant Units at Austral University Hospital, Argentina
WHO STAT Committe Advisor member
Latin Americam Liver Research Education and Awareness Network (LALREAN) Founder
Ashwani K. Singal MD
Medical Education:
University College of Medical Sciences, University of Delhi, India
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Associate Professor, University of South Dakota and Sanford School of Medicine
Transplant Hepatologist, Avera McKennan University Hospital and Transplant Institute
Chief Clinical Research Program, Avera Transplant and Human Genetics Research Institutes
Area of Research interests:
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and NASH; Alcohol-related liver disease and Alcoholic hepatitis;
Hepatorenal Syndrome; and Metabolic / Genetic liver diseases especially Porphyria
Publications and Presentations:
Authored over 160 peer-reviewed publications; 18 book chapters, guest edited 2 journal supplements, edited 2 books, and over 180 conference abstracts at national and international conferences and over 100 faculty invited lectures / talks. H-index is 38.
Comments:
Ashwani K. Singal MD, MS completed internship at the Bronx VA hospital affiliated with the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in NY, gastroenterology fellowship at the UT Medical Branch Galveston TX, and transplant hepatology fellowship at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester MN. During his gastroenterology fellowship at the UTMB in Galveston TX, he also obtained Master's in Clinical Sciences degree with expertise in statistics and epidemiology. After serving as faculty at the University of Alabama at Birmingham until September 2018, Dr. Singal joined the growing transplant program at the Avera Medical Group and Transplant Institute in Sioux Falls SD. In addition to head the clinical research program at the Avera, he also directs the hepatology elective course for senior medical students at the Sanford Medical School of the University of SD. Dr. Singal's research has been funded through the NIDDK, NIAAA, ACG, and the industry resources. Apart from regularly reviewing research grants for the AASLD and AGA, Dr. Singal has led writing the practice guidelines for the 'American College of Gastroenterology (ACG)' on alcohol-related liver disease and co-authored guidelines for vascular disorders of the liver including portal vein thrombosis. Currently, he is also co-authoring practice guidelines on nutritional management of patients with liver disease. He is Editor-in-Chief of the 'Translational Gastroenterology Hepatology'; Associate Editor for 'Journal of Clinical Translational Hepatology' 'PLoS One' 'Digestive Liver Disease' and is on editorial board of over 10 journals including 'Journal of Hepatology' and 'Liver Transplantation'. Apart from the Schering Plough transplant hepatology AASLD fellowship award, he has been awarded the prestigious Edgar Achkar Visiting Professorship by the ACG for his presentation on "Management of Hepatorenal Syndrome Before and After Liver Transplantation" and "Management of Porphyria" at the University of Iowa. Currently, Dr. Singal Chairs the Special Interest Group of the AASLD on 'Alcohol-related Liver Disease'.
Myeong Jun Song MD, PhD
Medical Education:
MD from Catholic University Medical College, Seoul, Korea (2001)
Ph.D. from Catholic University Graduate School, Seoul, Korea (2014).
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Associate professor, Division of Hepatology and Gastroenterology, Department of Internal medicine, Daejeon St. Mary’s Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Republic of Korea.
Area of Research interests:
Hepatitis B virus and its related diseases (especially, hepatocellular carcinoma). My current research interests are the role of Extracellular Vesicles (EVs) in the fields of NAFLD
Publications and Presentations:
Dr. Song has published more than 30 peer-reviewed research articles.
Comments:
Dr. Song is also the principal investigator of several multicenter clinical trials involving patients with chronic viral hepatitis B, C, and hepatocellular carcinoma.
Wendy Spearman MBChB, PhD
Medical Education:
Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town: MBChB, MMed and PhD
Fellow of the College of Physicians of South Africa: FCP(SA)
Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, London: FRCP
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Head of the Division of Hepatology, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town and Groote Schuur Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa.
Area of Research interests:
Hepatitis B and hepatitis C, drug-induced liver injuries, autoimmune liver diseases, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, hepatocellular carcinoma and liver transplantation.
Publications and Presentations:
Authored or co-authored 150 articles, 10 book chapters, 155 abstracts at international scientific meetings and given 100 International invited presentations.
Comments:
Wendy Spearman is Head of the Liver, Porphyria and Liver Transplant clinics at Groote Schuur Hospital. She completed her 2-year Hepatology Fellowship under Professors Ralph Kirsch and Simon Robson at the UCT/MRC Liver Research Centre in 1991 and obtained her PhD in 2008 from the University of Cape Town on “The effect of two novel C-type lectins, Ba100 and Ba25, isolated from the venom of the puff adder, Bitis arietans on T lymphocyte proliferative responses.” She is actively involved in outreach Liver education programmes and was appointed by the International Association of Providers of AIDS Care to develop Training modules on the management of Hepatitis B for sub-Saharan Africa. She is the co-lead of the ‘Viral Hepatitis in sub-Saharan Africa” Project ECHO Clinic programmes promoting delivery of care for patients with viral hepatitis in under-resourced regions and was appointed by WHO Africa as the Lead consultant to develop the National Guidelines on the management and prevention of viral hepatitis in South Africa. She is a member of the International Advisory Board of The Lancet Gastroenterology and Hepatology Journal.
Doc Shalimar, MD
Medical Education:
All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Professor, Department of Gastroenterology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India
Area of Research interests:
Metabolic dysfunction associated steatotic liver disease, portal hypertension, acute on chronic liver failure
Publications and Presentations:
100+ publications in reputed journals.
Comments:
Prof Shalimar is a member of the Indian National Association for the Study of the Liver and the Indian Society of Gastroenterology. He is the Associate Editor of the Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hepatology (JCEH) and is on the editorial board of various Internal and National journals.
Valerie Shin, MSN, RN, AGACNP-BC
Medical Education:
University of California, Los Angeles (MSN)
New York University (BSN)
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Hepatology Nurse Practitioner at Pfleger Liver Institute at UCLA Health
Comments:
Valerie Shin received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from New York University. After receiving her degree, she furthered her education at Cleveland Clinic in Ohio as a cardiology nurse and at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in West Los Angeles as a medical-surgical nurse. Valerie eventually advanced her nursing career by completing her master’s degree in nursing at the University of California, Los Angeles. From there, she started her new chapter as an acute adult gerontology nurse practitioner specializing in hepatology at the Pfleger Liver Institute at UCLA. She served as a treasurer for Korean American Nurses Association of Southern California in 2018-2019. Valerie is a member of Gastroenterology & Hepatology Advanced Practice Providers (GHAPP) and participates regional and national meetings. Valerie was given the opportunity to lecture at UCLA School of Nursing on the topic of liver cirrhosis and the management of its complications and at the UCLA Annual Patient Seminar for Liver Diseases regarding the topic of viral hepatitis. She enjoys educating her APP students in her clinic.
Akash Shukla MD, MBBS, DM
Medical Education:
MBBS and DM (Gastroenterology): Seth GS Medical College and KEM Hospital, Mumbai, India
TN Medical College and BYL Nair Hospital, Mumbai, India
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Head, Dept of Gastroenterology Seth GSMC and KEM Hospital
Director and Consultant, Hepatology, Sir HN Reliance Foundation Hospital Mumbai, India
Joint Director (In-charge) Regional Organ and Tissue Transplant Organization (ROTTO, Western India) and State Organ and Tissue Transplant Organization(SOTTO, Maharashtra) (2020-now)
Member, State Advisory Committee on transplant and organ donation, Govt of Maharashtra
Nodal officer, member of technical resource group and master trainer, National Viral hepatitis Control Program (NVHCP) and Member steering committee of Govt of Maharashtra, NVHCP
Nodal Officer, Center of Excellence, Rare Diseases at KEM Hospital, Mumbai under Government of India
Area of Research interests:
Non-invasive markers of NASH/MASH, NASH/MASH in other diseases, Vascular liver disorders, Portal Hypertension and Hepatocellular carcinoma.
Publications and Presentations:
Authored and co-authored over 120 research papers in peer-reviewed journals, and over 200 abstracts at scientific meetings.
Comments:
Dr. Akash Shukla is a life member of the Indian National Association for study of liver and the Indian Society of Gastroenterology. In addition, he is a member of the APASL, EASL and AASLD. Over 120 original published research papers and is known for teaching and training Gastroenterologists/Hepatologists for last 15 years. His papers have won the Plenary award at APASL (Asia-Pacific Association for Study of Liver) 2018, best research paper award at VALDIG meeting at Switzerland 2016 and at national meetings 4 times. He has written textbooks on “Jaundice” and “Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease”.
He has a keen interest in NASH/MASH, especially non-invasive markers and association with other liver diseases as well as with other GI diseases. He is a world renowned expert and done pioneering work in the field of vascular liver diseases. He was nominated to the steering committee of the Vascular liver diseases interest Group, EASL, Europe and has is the first author on the Asia-Pacific guidelines for management of Budd-Chiari syndrome. He is also the secretary of the INASL national task force for vascular liver diseases. He has also been part of authoring several international and national disease management guidelines for various liver diseases like acute liver failure, acute on chronic liver failure, nutrition in cirrhosis, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, NAFLD/MAFLD, HCC.
Gerald Shulman MD, PhD
Medical Education:
Wayne State University (MD, PhD)P
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
George R. Cowgill Professor of Physiological Chemistry
Investigator Emeritus, HHMI
Professor of Medicine and Cellular and Molecular Physiology
Co-Director, Yale Diabetes Research Center
Director of the Yale Metabolic Phenotyping in Live Models of Obesity and Diabetes
Area of Research interests:
MASH/MAFLD, type 2 diabetes, to assess tissue specific flux rates of glucose and fat metabolism in vivo in both humans and awake transgenic rodent models of insulin resistance and diabetes.
Publications and Presentations:
29 book chapters and books, 533 citations with an h index of 191.
Comments:
Dr. Shulman is the George R. Cowgill Professor of Physiological Chemistry and Professor of Internal Medicine and Cellular and Molecular Physiology at Yale University and an Investigator Emeritus of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. He is also Co-Director of the Yale Diabetes Research Center. Dr. Shulman has pioneered the use of magnetic resonance spectroscopy combined with stable isotopes and mass spectrometry to non-invasively examine intracellular glucose and fat metabolism in humans that have led to several paradigm shifts in our understanding of type 2 diabetes and MAFLD/MASH, including the molecular mechanisms by which ectopic lipids promote liver and muscle insulin resistance, as well as developing new drugs for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, MALSD and MASH. Dr. Shulman is the recipient of the Stanley J. Korsymeyer Award from the American Society for Clinical Investigation, the Outstanding Clinical Investigator Award from the Endocrine Society, the Solomon Berson Award from the American Physiological Society, the Banting Medal for Lifetime Scientific Achievement from the American Diabetes Association and most recently the EASD-Lilly Centennial Anniversary Award for Landmark Achievements in the Pathogenesis of Diabetes. Dr. Shulman has been elected to Fellowship of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Inaugural Fellow of the American Physiological Society, Master of the American College of Physicians, Master of the American College of Endocrinologists, Fellowship in the Royal College of Physicians (London) and he is a member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation, the Association of American Physicians, the National Academy of Medicine, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the National Academy of Sciences.
Yoshio Sumida, MD, PhD, MBA
Medical Education:
MBA in Healthcare Management, MBA program, Wales University, UK (2015)
PhD Degree, Graduate from Graduate School of Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine (2002)
Graduate from Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine (1995)
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Graduate School of Healthcare and Welfare Management, International University of Healthcare and Welfare
Visiting Professor, Anglia Ruskin University, UK, ExeJapan Business School
Representative Director of Japan Strategic Medical Administration Research Center (J-SMARC)
Area of Research interests:
Hepatology and Gastroenterology
Frank Tacke, MD, PhD
Medical Education:
Hannover Medical School, Germany (MD and PhD); Houston (M.D. Anderson Cancer Centre, research scholar); and New York (Mount Sinai Medical Centre, post-doctoral fellow).
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Chairman and Professor of Medicine, Head of the Department of Hepatology and Gastroenterology, Campus Charité Mitte and Campus Virchow-Klinikum, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
Area of Research interests:
Liver immunology, inflammation and fibrosis (basic, translational and clinical Research); mechanisms of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease; biology of monocytes and macrophages; gut-liver axis; intensive care medicine; hepatocellular carcinoma.
Publications and Presentations:
Authored 722 articles, 15 book chapters, total citations 26,814 and has an H-index of 95.
Comments:
Prof. Dr. Frank Tacke, MD, PhD, MBHA, is the Chairman of Hepatology and Gastroenterology at the Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany, one of the largest universities hospitals in Europe. He was educated in Hannover, Germany; Houston (M.D. Anderson Cancer Centre); and New York (Mount Sinai Medical Centre). From 2006-2019, he worked at the University Hospital Aachen, Germany. He is board-certified in Internal Medicine, Gastroenterology, Endocrinology and Diabetology, Critical Care Medicine and Infectious Diseases. He has received several prizes and awards (including the prestigious Emmy-Noether-research group funding by the German Research Foundation). For the third time in a row (2020, 2021, 2022), Prof. Tacke is one of the Highly Cited Researchers ("Cross-field") by Web of Science. He has served on the Governing Board of the European Association for the Study of the Liver (Board member 2014-2017, Vice Secretary General 2017-2018). He is currently Co-Editor at the Journal of Hepatology (Impact-Factor 25.1). He is the coordinator of the multidisciplinary European guideline of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (EASL-EASD-EASO).
Hirokazu Takahashi, MD, Ph.D
Medical Education:
Saga Medical School, Saga, Japan (1996 - 2002)
Graduate School of Medicine, Saga University (2007 - 2011)
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Associate professor of the Division of Metabolism Diabetes and Endocrinology
Vice President of the Liver Center, Saga University Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Saga University
Publications and Presentations:
Dr. Takahashi published over 60 articles, over 10 book chapters and a number of presentations at the international and domestic scientific meetings.
Comments:
Dr. Takahashi is experienced basic research, clinical study and trial. Among many research awards, he received The Best of The Liver Meeting 2019 AASLD. He was a research fellow of Joslin Diabetes Center of Harvard Medical School and his research interest includes metabolism of liver, skeletal muscle and adipose tissue, exercise and translational research of obesity/diabetes as well as NAFLD.
Eugen Tcaciuc MD, PhD
Medical Education:
Nicolae Testemitanu State University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Moldova
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Head of the Department of Gastroenterology, Nicolae Testemitanu State University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Republic of Moldova
Head of the Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Republican Clinical Hospital „Timofei Mosneaga”, Republic of Moldova
Area of Research interests:
Hemodynamic changes in liver cirrhosis, portal hypertension, NAFLD, viral hepatitis.
Publications and Presentations:
Author of over 100 publications in national and international journals, 2 monographs, 10 National Clinical Guidelines, and over 100 oral presentations at national and international scientific meetings. Editorial board member in 2 national medical journals.
Comments:
President of Society of Gastroenterology and Hepatology of the Republic of Moldova, member of the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL), National Representative from the Republic of Moldova at the European Crohn's and Colitis Organization (ECCO).
President of the organizing committee of the annual national scientific events: the Autumn Conference of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, the Summer School of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, the National Congress of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, member of the organizing committee of the annual conference dedicated to International NASH day in the Republic of Moldova.
Shuji Terai, MD, PhD, FAASLD
Medical Education:
Yamaguchi University (MD), 1990
Yamaguchi University Graduate School of Medicine(PhD), 1997
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Chairman and Professor Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Niigata University
Boardman: Japanese Society of Gastroenterology, Japan Gastroenterological Endoscopy Society, Japan Society of Hepatology (Director), Japanese Society for Regenerative Medicine (Executive Director), The Japan Society of the Study of Obesity, ACTO (Asian Cellular Therapy Organization) (Director)
Area of Research interests:
Stem cell, exosome (extracellular vesicles), and peptide therapy for chronic liver disease (MASLD, Liver Cirrhosis, and HCC)
Publications and Presentations:
He has authored over 600 articles (December 2023).
Comments:
Prof. Terai graduated from Yamaguchi University Medical School. He got Ph.D. degree at Yamaguchi University in 1997. After getting Ph.D., he joined LEC/NCI/NIH Postgraduate Training as a Guest Researcher (Chief: Dr. Snorri S. Thorgeirsson)(1998-2000). During his stay in LEC/NCI, he cloned the Helix-Loop-Helix transcriptional regulator, the human homolog of the Maid (HHM) gene. HHM regulates hepatic progenitor cells. Recently HHM has also been found as a regulator of TGF-beta signaling.
After returning to Yamaguchi, Japan, Prof. Terai started a basic study to develop a cell therapy using bone marrow cells for liver cirrhosis. After getting the results of a basic study that showed bone marrow cell therapy improved liver fibrosis and liver function, I got the proof of concept to develop an autologous bone marrow cell infusion therapy (ABMi) therapy for liver cirrhosis patients. He started the first clinical trial in 2003. The effectiveness and safety of ABMi therapy were reported in Stem Cells 2006. He also conducted a Medaka fish NASH model analyzed more for a drug screen.
In January 2015, Prof. Terai was selected as a Chairman and professor, of the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, he is proceeding to develop the next generative stem cell therapy using allogeneic stem cells for liver cirrhosis. In September 2017, He started allogenic MSC therapy for decompensated liver cirrhosis. This is the first clinical trial in Japan. Now he is analyzing MSC-derived extracellular vesicles (EV). On the other hand, he used medaka fish to analyze NASH. Medaka is a suitable model fish for studying space from a long experiment history. Next March 2024, he will be the president of the 23rd annual meeting of the Japanese Society for Regenerative Medicine (Niigata).
Kessarin Thanapirom, MD, M.Sc.
Medical Education:
M.D. from Chulalongkorn University, Faculty of Medicine, Thailand.
Ph.D. candidate in Medicine from Chulalongkorn University, Faculty of Medicine, Thailand.
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Associated Professor of Hepatology, Chulalongkorn University, Faculty of Medicine, Thailand.
Consultant Hepatologist, Chulalongkorn University Hospital.
Area of Research interests:
Liver fibrosis and cirrhosis, Metabolic-associated fatty liver disease, Acute-on-chronic liver failure, Hepatocellular carcinoma, Chronic hepatitis B and C virus, Liver regenerative medicine
Publications and Presentations:
Authored over 45 research papers in peer-reviewed journals, and over 50 abstracts at scientific meetings.
Comments:
Dr. Thanapirom is experienced in translational and clinical research in Hepatology. She has published several multicenter studies involving gastrointestinal bleeding, chronic viral hepatitis, and acute-on-chronic liver failure in Thailand and Asia-Pacific. Among many research awards, she received Professor Mindie H. Nguyen Award for Outstanding Clinical Research by Early Career -Investigators from The Liver Meeting AASLD 2023. She was a research fellow at the Institute of Liver and Digestive Health, Royal Free Hospital, University College London, UK.
Maja Thiele, MD, PhD
Medical Education:
University of Copenhagen (MD)
University of Southern Denmark (PhD)
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Professor of Hepatology at Centre for Liver Research and consultant at Odense University Hospital and University of Southern Denmark.
Area of Research interests:
Steatotic liver disease associated with alcohol, metabolic dysfunction, or overlapping risk factors. Elastography and blood-based biomarker development and validation, early disease detection and screening, cost-effective referral pathways and omics technologies.
Publications and Presentations:
Authored 93 peer-reviewed articles, 6 book chapters, and four international clinical practice guidelines. Has an H-index of 33.
Comments:
Maja Thiele MD PhD is Professor of Hepatology at Centre for Liver Research at Odense University Hospital in the Region of Southern Denmark. Dr. Thiele earned her medical degree from University of Copenhagen in 2007 and completed her specialist training in gastroenterology and hepatology at hospitals in the Capital Region, Seeland Region and Region of Southern Denmark from 2007-2021, while earning her PhD degree at University of Southern Denmark (2016).
Dr. Thiele authored key works on the accuracy of elastography and blood-based biomarkers for diagnostic, prognostic and screening purposes in alcohol-related liver disease and steatotic liver disease, including explorative biomarkers derived from omics technologies. She is a key opinion leader on liver disease in the population, with roles as work package leader in several multicentre European research consortia on early detection for liver disease, the gut-liver axis, and biomarker development and validation (LiverScreen, GALAXY, LIVERAIM). She leads the Danish DECIDE study on screening for liver disease in at-risk individuals and de-stigmatizing liver disease in the population. She is vice-chair for the non-governmental organization Alcohol and Society, which combats alcohol-related harm, member of the Baveno group’s Research Committee, member of The Lancet Commission on Liver Disease in Primary Care, and co-contributor to several international guidelines (EASL, AASLD, EFSUMB, WFUMB).
Dr. Thiele's academic experience also includes being the associate editor of JHEP Reports, and serving on the editorial board of Liver International and Hepatology Communications. In addition to research, Dr. Thiele is highly engaged in public dissemination of research on television, podcast and broadcasting, newspapers and online media. She has also chaired for a number of international scientific meetings. She annually gives 10-15 invited scientific presentations.
Michael Trauner MD
Medical Education:
Professor of Medicine, Experimental and Clinical Hepatology, Medical University of Graz, Austria (2005 – 2010)
Associate Professor of Medicine, Medical University of Graz, Austria (2000 – 2005)
Fellow, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University of Graz, Austria (1997 – 1999)
Postdoctoral Research Associate, Department of Internal Medicine and Liver Center, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT (1994 – 1997)
Fellow, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Graz, Austria (1991 – 1994)
Studies of Medicine, University of Graz, Austria (1982 – 1991)
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Professor of Medicine, Chair of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Medical University of Vienna, Austria (since 2010)
Guest Associate Editor Journal of Hepatology (since 2020)
Visiting Professor at the Oslo University Hospital, Norwegian PSC Research Center (2016 – 2019)
External Advisory Committee, Center for Basic Research in Digestive Diseases at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester (2016 – 2018)
Associate Editor Seminars of Liver Disease (since 2016)
Executive Board at the Center for Sepsis, Control and Care at the University Jena (since 2015)
Associate Editor Hepatology (second term) (since 2011)
Council Member, United European Gastroenterology Federation (2009 – 2013)
Scientific Committee Member, European Association for the Study of the Liver (Vice Secretary 2007-2009) (2006 – 2010)
Council Member of the Austrian Society for Gastroenterology and Hepatology (President 2014-2016) (since 2010)
Delegate of the Medical University of Graz to the Austrian Science Foundation (2003 – 2010)
Head of the Liver Study Group of the Austrian Society for Gastroenterology and Hepatology (2002 – 2008)
Deputy-Secretary of the Austrian Society for Gastroenterology and Hepatology (2000 – 2002)
Associate Editor Journal of Hepatology (2000 – 2009)
Area of Research interests:
Pharmacological treatment of fatty liver and cholestatic liver disease. Mechanisms of cell injury in cholestatic and fatty liver disease. Molecular regulation of hepatobiliary ABC transporters and bile acid signaling in cholestatic and fatty liver disease.
Publications and Presentations:
More than 500 Pubmed-listed papers, H-index: 74
More than 250 invited lectures at international scientific meetings
Sombat Treeprasertsuk MD, PhD
Medical Education:
M.D. from Mahidol University, Faculty of Medicine, Thailand. Ph.D. in medicine from Chulalongkorn University. M.Sc. in Clinical Translational Science, CTS, from Mayo Clinic, Mayo Graduate School. Research Fellow in Clinical Liver Research, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Mayo Clinic.
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Assistant to President, for Planning and budget, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand (https://www.chula.ac.th/en/about/team)
Area of Research interests:
Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH/ NAFLD)
Chronic liver diseases and liver complications
Hepatocellular carcinoma
Diseases burden of GI and Liver in Thailand
Gastrointestinal bleeding
Publications and Presentations:
Sum of the Times Cited 1,613
Sum of Times Cited without self-citations 1,592
Citing Articles without self-citations 1,420
Average Citations per Item 8.27
H-index: 21 from all to present
Comments:
Professor Sombat is Fellow of American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (FAASLD 2018), member of Asia- Pacific Working Party on NAFLD and member of Gut and Obesity in Asia (GOASIA) working group. He is also an active member of the APASL ACLF Research Consortium; AARC.
Emmanuel Tsochatzis MD, PhD
Medical Education:
Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Professor of Hepatology, UCL Institute for Liver and Digestive Health, UCL
Head of Centre for Metabolic Liver Diseases, UCL Institute for Liver and Digestive Health, UCL
Consultant Hepatologist, Sheila Sherlock Liver Centre, Royal Free Hospital
Area of Research interests:
NAFLD, non-invasive fibrosis assessment, cirrhosis and portal hypertension
Publications and Presentations:
Authored over 260 publications in peer reviewed journals, over 500 abstracts in scientific conferences, over 200 faculty lectures.
Current h-index is 61 (June 2022).
Comments:
Professor Emmanuel Tsochatzis (MD, MSc, FEBTM, FRCP, PhD) is a Professor of Hepatology and Consultant Hepatologist at the UCL Institute for Liver and Digestive Health, Royal Free Hospital in London. He is Head of the Centre for Metabolic Liver Disease in ILDH and a member of the Baveno steering committee for portal hypertension. His main research interests include non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, cirrhosis and portal hypertension and non-invasive assessment of liver fibrosis.
Professor Tsochatzis finished his specialty training and PhD in Hippokration General Hospital in Greece, before moving to the Royal Free Hospital for his post-doc research under Professor Andy Burroughs. He is the recipient of the Rising Star in Gastroenterology prize by the UEG and the EASL Physician Scientist Fellowship.
His work on the cost-effectiveness of non-invasive fibrosis tests has informed the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines on diagnosis and treatment of both HBV and HCV. He has designed and implemented a primary care pathway for NAFLD referrals to secondary care. He leads the specialist multidisciplinary service in NAFLD at the Royal Free Hospital and has an active research program in NAFLD. He has published more than 260 articles in peer-reviewed journals. He served a member of the EASL Governing Board from 2019 to 2022 and was a chair of the EASL Scientific Committee in 2021-22. He has received funding for his research from NIHR, EASL and EU Horizon 2020.
Svetlana Turcan MD, PhD
Medical Education:
Nicolae Testemitanu State University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Moldova
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Professor of the Department of Gastroenterology, Nicolae Testemitanu State University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Moldova
Area of Research interests:
Epidemiological and clinical aspects of viral hepatitis, NAFLD and IBD
Publications and Presentations:
Author of over 300 publications, including 3 monographs, 106 articles in national and international journals, 4 chapters in textbooks, 10 Clinical National Protocols; over 150 oral presentation at the international scientific meetings. Editorial board member in 2 national and 2 international medical journals.
Comments:
Project manager or principal/senior investigator in 5 National Projects in the frame of the State Program, 8 International Projects and 2 Bilateral Projects (Moldovan-German, Moldovan-Romanian).
Member of the Governing Board of Association for the Study of Liver Disease from Moldova
Member of the Governing Board of European Crohn's and Colitis Organization (ECCO) as the National Representative from Moldova
Regular member of several professional international organizations, including the EASL, UEG, ECCO and national gastroenterological and hepatological organizations from Moldova, Romania, Russia, Ukraine.
Adela Turcanu MD, PhD
Medical Education:
Medical degree from “Nicolae Testemitanu” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Chisinau, Moldova
Ph.D. and Hability Doctor in medical science from “Nicolae Testemitanu” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Chisinau, Moldova
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Professor (associate) from Discipline of Gastroenterology, “Nicolae Testemitanu” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Chisinau, Moldova
Consultant professor in the Department of Internal Medicine of the Hospital of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Moldova
Area of Research interests:
Clinical research on MASLD, viral hepatitis B, C, D, E and rare liver diseases.
Publications and Presentations:
She is widely published with more than more than 200 published articles, 4 books and 6 book chapters, the co-author of the national clinical protocols. She has over 200 presentations.
Comments:
Professor Adela Turcanu is the founder and President of the Alliance of Rare Liver Diseases from Moldova, co-founder of the National Society of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, and multiple international society (EASL, AASLD, ERN- Rare liver disease, RoALD). She is the director and trainer of the UpDate on Hepatology course, which is held annually. She has served as the investigator in multiple projects in viral hepatitis, NAFLD.
Christian Tzeuton MD, PhD
Medical Education:
Medical degree (1979) at Lille University (France).
PhD in Hepatology and Gastroenterology (1983) at Lille University (France).
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Professor of Hepatology and Gastroenterology, Douala Medical School and Bangangte Mountain University (Cameroon).
Visiting Professor of Gastroenterology Marian Ngouabi University Brazzaville (Congo).
Area of Research interests:
Hepatitis B - Mother to child transmission of hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, Liver cirrhosis, Hepatocellular Carcinoma.
Publications and Presentations:
Author/co-authors of over 50 papers in international peer reviewed journals, one book, over 100 lectures and presentations at local and international scientific meetings.
Comments:
Board Member of Society on Liver Disease in Africa (SOLDA). Board Member of Africa HCC Guidelines.
Medical specialist for the “viral Hepatitis in sub-Saharan Africa” Project ECHO Clinic (Cape Town, South Africa) and programmes promoting delivery of care for patients with viral hepatitis in under-resourced regions.
Member of Scientific Council of many french ANRS projects on MTCT of HBV. Member of the African Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AFASLD). Past vice-President of AMAGE (WGO Zone 4). Honorary President of the Cameroonian Society of Gastroenterology.
Pietro Vajro MD
Medical Education:
Graduated in Medicine and post graduated in Pediatrics and in Hepatology at the University of Naples “Federico II”, Naples, Italy.
"Assistant Etranger" at the Pediatric Hepatology Unit of Bicêtre –France directed by prof. Alagille.
Assistant Professor and Advanced NATO Fellow at the Liver Center of the UCSF- USA.
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Former Full Professor of Pediatrics and Director of the Pediatrics Section at the University Hospital of Salerno - Italy.
Former Faculty Delegate for the Erasmus Exchange Programme and Former Director of the Pediatric Residency Program.
Presently retired but still deeply involved in scientific research.
Area of Research interests:
Main clinical and research interests are focused on Pediatric liver and biliary tract disorders; Ped GI and Nutrition disorders; Pediatric obesity and related disorders.
Special focus on the Gut liver-axis in NAFLD; Transition from pediatric to adult care of people with hepatobiliary disease.
Publications and Presentations:
He has coauthored more than 300 original papers published in international Peer reviewed Journals (h-Index Scopus 47; Scholar 59), more than 500 communications at major national and international scientific congresses, and several Books chapters.
He has been invited to give more than 200 talks and to chair scientific sessions at several major national and international meetings.
EB member/associate editor of several major medical Journals.
Luca Vittorio Carlo Valenti MD
Medical Education:
Medical degree, Università degli Studi di Milano
Fellowship: Columbia University, NY, USA
Specialist in Internal Medicine, Università degli Studi di Milano
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Professor of Internal Medicine at the Università degli Studi di Milano
Physician Scientist and Director of the Biological Resources Center at the Transfusion Medicine Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Ca’ Granda Ospedale Policlinico Milano, Italy
Area of Research interests:
Metabolic liver diseases, in particular SLD, iron overload disorders and liver cancer, identification of novel biomarkers, therapeutic strategies and clinical algorithms, in a personalized medicine approach
Publications and Presentations:
Author of 403 peer-reviewed papers (296 in the last 10 years); impact factor (IF)=4,427; average IF=11.3
Bibliometric indices: Scholar: H-index 90, i10-index: 287; citation index 33,808; Scopus H-index: 77
127 Invited presentations at scientific meetings in the last 10 years (58 international)
Comments:
Prof. Valenti is an Associate Professor of Internal Medicine at the Università degli Studi di Milano, Physician Scientist and Director of the Biological Resources Center at the Transfusion Medicine Unit at Fondazione IRCCS Ca’ Granda Ospedale Policlinico Milano, Italy.
His main research interest is understanding the molecular basis of metabolic liver diseases, such as SLD, iron overload disorders and liver cancer; in collaboration with his international network he has discovered new genetic determinants of SLD.
In the iron field, he contributed to establishing the role of body iron accumulation in the pathogenesis of metabolic and cardiovascular complications of insulin resistance, and the therapeutic utility of iron depletion. He uses a variety of tools ranging from epidemiological studies in large cohort of individuals to human and molecular genetics to understand how a gene mutation results into a phenotype.
Arun Valsan, MD, DM, DNB, MNAMS
Medical Education:
Armed Forces medical College, Pune (MD)
Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh (DM, Hepatology)
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Consultant Hepatologist and Transplant Physician, Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences, Kochi, Kerala, India
Area of Research interests:
MASLD, Alcoholic Hepatitis, Obesity, Infections, Fecal Microbiota transplantation and Patient safety.
Publications and Presentations:
Authored 83 articles, 5 book chapters and 39 abstracts for international scientific meetings.
Comments:
Arun Valsan, MD, DM is currently working as Assistant Professor and Consultant hepatologist and Transplant Physician at Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences (AIMS), Kochi, Kerala, India. He also is the director of the Transplant Hepatology fellowship programme beginning in early 2024 and also heads the Centre of Metabolic Liver diseases at AIMS, Kochi. He is an Army veteran and has served with distinction in The Indian Army Medical Corps for 11 years. He completed his medical degree from Government Medical College, Calicut. Thereafter completed postgraduate training in Internal medicine at the premier Armed Forces Medical College, Pune where he was adjudged “the best bedside clinician” and was the gold medallist having conferred with the “Lt Gen N Krishnan Memorial Gold medal”. He did a teaching tenure in internal medicine at AFMC, Pune. During the time, he also secured first in merit in the All India DNB (Medicine) exam and was conferred the “Dr Sam GP Moses Gold Medal” for outstanding performance in Internal medicine. He then went onto pursue his specialist training in Hepatology and Liver transplantation at the prestigious Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh. His doctoral thesis on treatment strategies on fungal infections in ACLF was awarded the “Early career Investigator award in Clinical/Translational Science” in 2021. His work on oral semaglutide in overweight diabetics won a travel grant in EASL 2023. He also has been awarded seed grants for his work on FMT in alcoholic hepatitis and sepsis prediction in alcoholic hepatitis. He is an avid researcher with active interest in metabolic liver diseases, alcoholic hepatitis and infections in liver disease. His centre is involved in 20 international projects including the AARC, Global AlcHep, Cholangiocarcinoma registry, CLEARED consortium, CHANCE study etc. He has set up various registries for chronic liver diseases. He is a member of AASLD, EASL, ACG, INASL, ISG, IAC and VALDIG. He is a reviewer for multiple peer reviewed international medicine and hepatology journals. He is also the Treasurer of Armed Forces Association of Physicians and is the editorial member of Amrita Journal of Medicine. His passion is in teaching bedside medicine and is actively involved in mentoring undergraduate and postgraduate medical students. He has been invited as speaker and faculty in most of the CME in Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Internal medicine conducted in India.
Cristiane A. Villela-Nogueira, MD, PhD
Medical Education:
Cristiane A. Villela-Nogueira obtained her MD at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil and was trained in Hepatology at the same University, where she obtained her Fellowship and PhD degree in 1993 and 2000 respectively. In 2008 she was a Fulbright Visiting Professor at the Liver Center – Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center from Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA.
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Full-Professor of Internal Medicine/Hepatology at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Brazil.
Area of Research interests:
MASLD and related non-invasive biomarkers for fibrosis, genetic polymorphisms and its impact on MASLD-related outcomes and comorbidities.
Publications and Presentations:
Author/co-author of over 90 articles in peer-reviewed journals and authored several book chapters on viral hepatitis and MASLD, and over 200 faculty lectures. She has also been is involved as a PI in phase 3 MASLD trials in the last years.
Comments:
Cristiane A. Villela-Nogueira has been developing liver-related teaching and research for the last 30 years at Medical School, UFRJ, having an outpatient clinic of MASLD with more than 200 patients on follow-up. She has initially dedicated herself to the study of Viral Hepatitis and for the last 15 years her main research interest is focused on MASLD. She is current an AASLD fellow, and member of EASL and ALEH. She has been the president of the Scientific Liver Group of Rio de Janeiro and the First Secretary of The Brazilian Society of Hepatology. She is currently a Full Member of the Post-Graduation Program of Internal Medicine (branch of Hepatology) at UFRJ and has supervised more than 50 residents, post-graduation students and fellows overall. She has received a research grant from the National council for Research and Technology (CNPq) since 2012 and is currently a Scientist of the State of Rio de Janeiro by FAPERJ (Fundação Carlos Chagas de Amparo à Pesquisa), the research funding agency in the state of Rio de Janeiro.
Raj Vuppalanchi, M.D.
Medical Education:
Gandhi Medical College, MB,BS (1998)
Long Island College Hospital, Brooklyn, NY, Residency (2003)
IU School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, Fellowship (2005)
Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, Fellowship(2007)
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Professor of Medicine, Director of Hepatology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN
Area of Research interests:
Research interests include pathogenesis and therapy for nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and drug induced liver injury (DILI).
Publications and Presentations:
Dr. Vuppalanchi has over 200 publications in Pubmed.
Comments:
For details, please see https://medicine.iu.edu/faculty/5034/vuppalanchi-raj
Khin Maung Win, FRCP, FAASLD
Medical Education:
University of Medicine, Mandalay, Myanmar
GI and Liver Unit, Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, Scotland
Liver Unit, Royal Free Hospital, London, UK
Inserm U99, HÔpital Henri Mondor, Paris, France
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Honorary Professor, Department of Hepatology, University of Medicine 1, Yangon, Myanmar
Chairman, Yangon GI and Liver Centre
Founder and Senior Patron, Myanmar GI and Liver Foundation
Area of Research interests:
Previously conducted active research works on Viral Hepatitis B, C and Hepatocellular Carcinoma For the last 5 years theme of the research has shifted to metabolic liver disease with special emphasis on fatty liver and NASH.
Publications and Presentations:
Published more than 40 articles and poster, oral presentations in most of the major hepatology events.
Comments:
Obtained MBBS degree and MSc (medicine) from the University of Medicine, Mandalay. Professionally trained by Prof. Neil Finlayson in the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, Scotland where he worked as registrar. Worked as Assistant Lecture under Prof. Dame Sheila Sherlock in Liver Unit, Royal Free Hospital of London. Awarded WHO Senior Research Fellow Grant and spent 1 year in Inserm U99, HÔpital Henri Mondor, Paris, France conducting research on Hepatic fibrosis under Prof. Daniel Dhumeaux together with Jean Michelle Powlosky
Extensive Collaborative research works done with CDC USA and Nihon University, Tokyo, Japan on Enterically Transmitted Non A, Non B Hepatitis, Mother infant Transmission of Hepatitis B and other regional WHO research works on various aspects of Viral Hepatitis.
Recently involved in research on NASH and Fatty Liver Disease Collaborated with various international institutions.
Conducted CME programs participated by Arun Sanyal, Laurent Castara, Laurent Safety, Mary Rinella, Norah Terrault, Michael Charlton, Raj Reddy and Blaine Hollinger
Robert J. Wong, MD
Medical Education:
University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine (MD)
Stanford University School of Medicine (MS Epidemiology and Clinical Research)
California Pacific Medical Center (internal medicine residency)
Stanford University School of Medicine (gastroenterology fellowship)
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Clinical Associate Professor (Affiliated), Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Stanford University School of Medicine
Staff Physician, Gastroenterology, VA Palo Alto Healthcare System President (2023), Northern California Society of Clinical Gastroenterology
Area of Research interests:
Epidemiology, outcomes, and health services research in chronic liver diseases with a focus on MASLD/NAFLD, alcoholic liver disease, viral hepatitis, and hepatocellular carcinoma. Also with interest in healthcare disparities in chronic liver disease care and outcomes.
Publications and Presentations:
Authored over 220 publications and over 200 abstracts at national and international scientific meetings. H-index 51 (google scholar September 2023).
Comments:
Robert J. Wong, MD, MS, FACG is a Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Stanford University School of Medicine, and staff physician at the Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Healthcare System. His clinical interests include management of patients with complex liver diseases, including viral hepatitis, hepatocellular carcinoma, and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. His research focuses on epidemiology, outcomes, and health services research in patients with chronic liver diseases, with a particular focus on healthcare disparities among under-served, vulnerable, and ethnic minority populations. His research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health (R01), the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (2017-2019 CTORA Career Development Award), the American College of Gastroenterology, and others. His work has been published in high impact journals including, JAMA, American Journal of Medicine, Hepatology, Gastroenterology, Journal of Hepatology, Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, and American Journal of Gastroenterology. He serves on the editorial board of Hepatology and Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology, and he is the current editor-in-chief of Gastroenterology Research. He is the current President (2023) of the Northern California Society of Clinical Gastroenterology.
Vincent Wong, MBChB
Medical Education:
The Chinese University of Hong Kong (MBChB, MD).
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Professor, Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
Head, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Prince of Wales Hospital.
Area of Research interests:
Epidemiology, non-invasive assessment and treatment of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.
Publications and Presentations:
Authored over 600 articles, over 10 book chapters and over 150 abstracts at international scientific meetings. His current H-index is 102 (June 2023).
Manida Wungjiranirun, MD
Medical Education:
Chicago Medical School
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Assistant Professor of Medicine, Oregon Health and Science University
Area of Research interests:
Metabolic Dysfunction Associated Steatotic Liver Disease
Comments:
Dr. Wungjiranirun specializes in caring for patients with liver disease and liver transplant recipients. Her area of interest is in Metabolic Dysfunction Associated Steatotic Liver Disease. She completed internal medicine training at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, followed by gastroenterology fellowship at Brown University, and a transplant hepatology fellowship at the University of California, San Francisco.
Yusuf Yilmaz MD
Medical Education:
M.D. from the Istanbul University, Cerrahpasa Medical Faculty, Istanbul, Turkey (2002)
Residency in internal medicine, Uludag University, Medical School, Bursa, Turkey (2007)
Gastroenterology fellowship, Marmara University, School of Medicine, Istanbul, Turkey (2011)
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Associate professor of medicine at the Marmara University in 2012. Director of the Institute of Gastroenterology in 2014 and of professor of medicine in 2017. President of the Turkish Fatty Liver Study Group within the Turkish Association for the Study of the Liver (TASL). Member of the European Association for the Study of Liver (EASL) and serves as principal investigator in ongoing phase II/III clinical trials of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), of which he is the leading recruiter.
Area of Research interests:
Noninvasive imaging techniques to diagnose liver fibrosis and NAFLD, with a special emphasis on transient elastography − reflecting a logical path of investigations aimed at targeting liver biopsy to patients at high risk only.
Publications and Presentations:
Dr. Yilmaz has published more than 100 peer-reviewed research papers and has a h-index of 37 (January 2019).
Comments:
One of the most renowned Turkish clinical hepatologist specializing in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), he has introduced and systematically validated various non-invasive serum biomarkers of NASH, including fibroblast growth factor 21 and cytokeratin 18 (CK18) fragments.
Seung Kew Yoon MD
Medical Education:
Professor Yoon earned his MD at the Catholic University of Korea in 1985. He trained in Hepatology and Gastroenterology at Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital, The Catholic University of Korea from 1992 to 1994. He then subsequently trained as research fellow in Molecular Hepatology Laboratory, MGH, Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA from 1996 to 1998.
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Professor of the division of Hepatology and Gastroenterology, Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea.
Area of Research interests:
Professor Yoon has been principal investigator in several international multicenter researches on antiviral therapy against hepatitis virus B and C, and target therapy for HCC
Publications and Presentations:
Professor Yoon has published more than 300 authored and co-authored original articles on the viral hepatitis B and C, NASH, and HCC. He had also written chapter on molecular diagnostics of HCC in the textbook “Principles of Molecular diagnostics and personalized cancer medicine”.
Comments:
Professor Yoon serves as the Vice president of Korean Association of Internal Medicine. He works as a director of Liver Cancer Center in Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital and Catholic University Liver Research Center. Professor Yoon holds scientific membership in numerous professional associations in Korea and is a member of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD), EASL and APASL. He served as a secretary general of Korean Association for the Study of the Liver (KASL) from 2013 to 2015. Also, He served as a secretary general of APASL STC 2016 in Busan. Currently, he is a vice president of Korean Association of Internal Medicine. He works as a director of Liver Cancer Center in Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital and Catholic University Liver Research Center.
Dan Yok Young MBBS, PhD
Medical Education:
MBBS (1994), National University of Singapore
MMed (Int Med) (2000)
Fellow of Academy of Medicine (Gastroenterology) (2003)
PhD, NUS (2010)
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Chair, University Medicine Cluster. NUHS
Head, Department of Medicine. NUS
Vice Chairman Medical Board, NUH
Senior Consultant, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology
Adjunct, Cancer Science Institute
Adjunct, Genome institute of Singapore, ASTAR
Area of Research interests:
Include liver progenitor cells, their mechanistic roles and potential for therapeutic applications in liver failure, liver cancer and NAFLD
Publications and Presentations:
70 publications to date
Comments:
Dr. Dan Yok Young obtained his medical degree (MBBS) from the National University of Singapore in 1994 He is a gastroenterologist and hepatologist having obtaining his MRCP(UK) and MMed (Int Med) in 2000 and Fellow of Academy of Medicine (Gastroenterology) in 2003. He spent 2 years at University of Washington studying liver stem cells under the mentorship of late Prof Nelson Fausto which led to his PhD from NUS in 2010.
Ming-Lung Yu, M.D, Ph.D
Medical Education:
M.D.,Faculty of Medicine, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan (1989)
Ph.D. Graduate Institute of Medical Science, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan (2000)
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Chair Professor, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, National Sun Yat-Sen University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
Chair Professor, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
Senior Vice President, National Sun Yat-Sen University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
Attending Physician, Hepatobiliary Division, Department of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
Area of Research interests:
Molecular epidemiology of viral hepatitis
HBV/HCV virology, viral kinetics
Translational research of antiviral treatment for HBV and HCV
NAFLD/NASH
Hepatocellular carcinoma
Publications and Presentations:
Authored over 400 articles, over 3 book chapters, over 200 abstracts at the international scientific meetings and over 100 faculty lectures. His current H-index is 50 in WOS and 65 in Google scholarship
Comments:
Ming-Lung Yu, MD, PhD, is a Chair Professor at the School of Medicine, College of Medicine, National Sun Yat-Sen University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, and the College of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Taiwan. Professor Yu, a board-certified internist and gastroenterologist, is currently teaching at the National Sun Yat-Sen University, Kaohsiung Medical University and Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital.
Professor Yu’s research interests in epidemiology and natural history of viral hepatitis have led him to publish more than 400 journal and review articles. Professor Yu has won numerous awards over his career in recognition of his research. In addition to his academic and clinical achievements. Professor Yu also holds various editorial roles with several scientific journals some of which include Clinical and Molecular Hepatology, Journal of Infectious Diseases, PLoS ONE, and World Journal of Gastroenterology. He also frequently serves as a reviewer for major international journals in medicine, gastroenterology and hepatology, such as The Lancet series, Nature Review of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Gastroenterology, Hepatology, Gut, Journal of Hepatology, Clinical Infectious Disease, Canadian Medical Association Journal, Thorax, Alimentary Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Scientific Reports and Journal of Infectious Diseases.
Shira Zelber-Sagi, Prof., Ph.D
Medical Education:
BS.c Nutrition Sciences in the Agriculture Faculty, Hebrew University, Israel (1998)
Ph.D Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Israel (2007)
Tel-Aviv Medical Center, Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Israel (2008)
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Head of School of Public Health, Faculty of Social Welfare and Health Sciences University of Haifa
A member of the EASL Policy and Public Health Committee and the United European Gastroenterology (UEG) Policy and Public Health Committee.
Founder of the Gastroenterology forum of the Israeli dietitians’ association.
Area of Research interests:
Major research focus is on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).
Publications address a wide spectrum of issues regarding lifestyle, nutritional and behavioral epidemiology and chronic morbidity, mortality and metabolic status.
Publications and Presentations:
Prof. Zelber-Sagi has published more than 150 peer-reviewed research articles.
Ming-Hua Zheng, M.D, Ph.D
Medical Education:
MD from Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China (2008)
Ph.D. from Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China (2016)
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Professor, MAFLD Research Center, Department of Hepatology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, China.
Area of Research interests:
Clinical, basic and translational research on NASH.
Publications and Presentations:
Dr. Zheng has published more than 100 peer-reviewed research articles.
Comments:
Dr. Zheng had founded the PERSONS platform and has dedicated to the development of its infrastructure since 2016-12-07.
PERSONS is the acronym for Prospective Epidemic Research Specifically Of NASH. The database is an ongoing prospective cohort consisting of more than 930 cases of biopsy-proven NAFLD (2019-07-01) and supported by a multidisciplinary team. The team boasts its advantage in patient data collection across multiple fields of medicine including nutrition, sports, hepatology, endocrinology, cardiology, psychology, pathology, and radiology. The team of doctors specialized in each of these fields contribute in a consistent manner to ensure continuity and steady growth of database. Moreover, biobank including blood, urine, stool, pathology slides (digitized by scan), and liver tissue samples, are collected and stored in the same day of biopsy.
Fariba Ahmadizar, PharmD, MSc, PhD
Medical Education:
PhD in epidemiology from Utrecht University in 2016
MSc in Pharmacoepidemiology from University Medical Center Utrecht (UMCU) in 2017
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Senior Assistant Professor of Molecular (Pharmaco) Epidemiology at the Data Science and Biostatistics Department, Julius Global Health, UMCU, Utrecht, the Netherlands.
Area of Research interests:
Epidemiology of NAFLD/MASLD in Type 2 diabetes, Biomarker discovery, Omics.
Publications and Presentations:
Authored and co-authored over 100 research papers
Comments:
Dr. Ahmadizar is a dedicated researcher on precision medicine for type 2 diabetes. She actively contributes to epidemiological studies, utilizing advanced methodologies and molecular epidemiology analyses. Her expertise lies in biomarker discovery in cardiometabolic disorders, emphasizing the intersection of omics (e.g., genetics and metabolomics), risk factors, drug response, and public health. After completing her PhD and holding a subsequent postdoctoral role at Erasmus MC, Dr. Ahmadizar contributed to over 80 projects focused on diabetes precision medicine. She demonstrated leadership in multiple projects and guided students, including 10 PhD students, 13 MSc students, 4 interns, and a junior Postdoc. Dr. Ahmadizar 's research has a strong international dimension, collaborating with esteemed institutions like Steno Diabetes Centre/Denmark. Engaging in studies within the Rotterdam Study, the UKB, and various Consortia, she consistently applies advanced methodological and statistical analyses. Currently, she leads the FLinDeR (biomarker discovery for non-alcoholic fatty liver disorders) consortium. Dr. Ahmadizar's extensive professional memberships include the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD), the Dutch Association for Diabetes Research, and the International Society for Pharmacoepidemiology (ISPE). Actively participating in various networks and groups, such as COST Action, Pro-Euro DiLi Network, EGIR, the NAFLD study group at EASD, and the WHO Global Diabetes Compact Forum.
Paola Andrenacci, Bs.c in Nutrition
Medical Education:
Bachelor Degree in Nutrition - University Institute of Health Sciences. School of Medicine. H. A. Barceló
Full Attendance - Department of Food. Hospital of Gastroenterology Carlos B. Udaondo. Position awarded by order of merit through an examination of the System of Residences and Concurrences organized by the DIRCAP. Buenos Aires, Argentina
Honorary Research Fellow - Department of Food of the Hospital of Gastroenterology B.Udaondo with agreement of the University Institute of Health Sciences. H.A. Barceló Foundation. Faculty of Medicine for clinical research. Buenos Aires, Argentina
Full scholarship - WHO/Cochrane/ Cornell Summer Institute for Systematic Reviews in Nutrition for Global Policy Making. Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 2022
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Cochrane US Mentoring Program – coordinator and mentor
Editorial Team Cochrane Hepato - Biliary Group
Cochrane Nutrition Contributor
Member of the Nutrition Subcommittee of the Argentine Society of Hepatology
Member of the Study Group on Nutrition in Liver Diseases of the Argentine Association of Enteral and Parenteral Nutrition
ISHEN member (International Society for Hepatic Encephalopathy and Nitrogen Metabolism)
Area of Research interests:
The importance of nutritional treatment across the entire spectrum of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).
Publications and Presentations:
Peer reviewer of the Cochrane Hepato-Biliary Group Editorial Team.
Certificate of Reviewing – Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hepatology – ELSEVIER
Co-author of 3 poster presentations in the Cochrane Colloquium 2023
Comments:
2022 Anne Anderson Award Prize Money Recipient through Tiffany Duque
https://community.cochrane.org/news/2022-anne-anderson-award-prize-money-recipient-paola-andrenacci
Leyla deAvila
Education:
Bachelor's Degree in Public Health, American University
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Clinical Research Coordinator, Beatty Center for Integrated Research, Inova Health System
Research Project Manager, Center for Outcomes Research in Liver Diseases (COR-LD)
Area of Research interests:
Outcomes, lifestyle, and cognitive performance in Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)
Publications and Presentations:
Leyla has published several articles related to cognitive performance in NAFLD and Long COVID research
Comments:
Serves as a coordinator in an ongoing Alcohol-related liver disease (ALD) study
Linda Henry, PhD, RN
Medical Education:
University of Iowa, BSN
Georgetown University, MS
George Mason University, PhD
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Research Investigator at Center for Integrated Research, Inova Fairfax Hospital, Falls Church Virginia.
Area of Research interests:
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, patient reported outcomes, health-related quality of life, economic analysis and outcomes research in liver disease.
Publications and Presentations:
Numerous articles, 5 journal supplements, 5 book chapters, numerous abstracts at national and international scientific meetings.
Comments:
Linda Henry, PhD, RN is a research investigator for Inova Health Systems in Falls Church, VA and for the Guy and Betty Beatty Center for Integrated Research at Inova Fairfax Medical Campus. Dr. Henry earned her nursing degree from the University of Iowa in 1984 and then went on to serve in the United States Army as a critical care nurse. After completing her active-duty time, Dr. Henry continued to serve as a reserve officer in the Army Medical Corps while pursuing her masters in critical care nursing at Georgetown University graduating as a “Superior Student”. Following her obtainment of her masters’ degree, Dr. Henry was a clinical nurse specialist in several critical care units as well as holding teaching positions at Lagrange College in Georgia and the University of South Carolina. When her husband’s military assignment brought them back to the Washington DC area, Dr. Henry pursued her doctorial studies at George Mason University in Fairfax, VA and was awarded the Research Dissertation Award upon graduation from the College of Nursing and Health Science in 2006. Dr. Henry’s first post- doctoral position was with the Cardiac Surgery Research team at the Inova Heart and Vascular Institute where her research focus was on patient outcomes to include health related quality of life following cardiac surgery. She joined Dr. Younossi’s research team in 2014 first as a consultant and then as a full-time employee. She has assisted Dr. Younossi in his pioneering research in NAFLD, patient-reported outcomes (PROs), economic assessment and other areas of outcomes research in liver disease. Dr. Henry also is actively involved in teaching students, residents and fellows while serving as the Research Lead for the Medicine Service Line General Medicine Academic Pod (Critical Care, Emergency Department and Hospitalists) for Inova Health System.
Dana Ivancovsky Wajcman, Ph.D
Education:
BS.c, Nutrition Sciences in the Agriculture Faculty, Hebrew University, Israel (2013)
MAN, School of Public Health, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel (2016)
Ph.D, School of Public Health, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel (2022)
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Post Doctoral fellow, Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), Barcelona, Spain.
A member of the Gastroenterology forum of the Israeli Dietitians’ association.
Area of Research interests:
Primary research focus MASLD/MASH (NAFLD/NASH).
Publications address the association between meat consumption, ultra-processed food, pro-inflammatory nutrients, social nutrition, and hepatic outcomes.
Publications and Presentations:
Dr. Ivancovsky-Wajcman has published more than 20 peer-reviewed research articles.
Megumi Kawakubo, RN, PHN, MS
Medical Education:
BSN. and PHN. from Saga University
MS. from Saga University Graduate School of Medicine
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Assistant Professor of the Department of Nursing, Faculty of Medicine, Saga University
Area of Research interests:
Quality of life of Patients with hepatitis and Patients with decompensated cirrhosis, Nursing care for Patients with chronic liver disease
Publications and Presentations:
Several articles related to Patients with chronic hepatitis and Patients with decompensated liver cirrhosis, several summaries at national and international scientific meetings
Eda Kaya, MD
Medical Education:
Istanbul University, Cerrahpasa Medical Faculty, Istanbul, Turkey (2018)
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Internal medicine residency: University Hospital Knappschaftskrankenhaus Bochum, Ruhr University, Bochum, Germany.
Member of the Turkish Fatty Liver Study Group within the Turkish Association for the Study of the Liver (TASL), German Association of the Study of the Liver (GASL) and German Society of Internal Medicine (DGIM) and serves as a subinvestigator in Phase III clinical trials of metabolic associated steatohepatitis (MASH).
Area of Research interests:
Non-invasive imaging techniques and non-invasive diagnostic tools to diagnose liver fibrosis and MASLD.
Publications and Presentations:
Eda has published more than 30 peer-reviewed research papers and has an h-index of 16 (May 2024).
Aaron B. Koenig, MD, MS
Medical Education:
MS in Physiology, University of Cincinnati
MD, The Ohio State University College of Medicine
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Research Intern, Betty and Guy Beatty Liver and Obesity Research Program, Inova Fairfax Hospital
Area of Research interests:
Pathology, epidemiology, global health, hepatocellular carcinoma
Publications and Presentations:
Aaron has published 13 peer-reviewed articles and has presented posters at multiple research meetings.
Comments:
Assisting with ongoing mega-analysis of MASLD pathology
Kondarapassery Balakumaran Leena, MSc Ed, PhD
Medical Education:
University of Kerala, Medical College, Trivandrum (PhD)
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Senior Research Scientist, Manager and Coordinator at Population Health and Research Institute (PHRI), Trivandrum and Director, Holistic Health and Research Institute, Trivandrum
Area of Research interests:
Epidemiology of G I disorders such as chronic pancreatitis, GERD, IBS, NAFLD and chronic HBV and HCV and HCC; Yoga in G I disorders.
Publications and Presentations:
Authored over 90 articles, over 5 book chapters, over 250 abstracts at the national and international scientific meetings.
Comments:
Dr Leena is currently Senior Research Scientist Manager and Coordinator at Population Health and Research Institute (PHRI), Trivandrum and also the Clinical Trial Coordinator at the Dept. of Gastroenterology, Sree Gokulam Medical College and Research Foundation, Venjaramoodu, Trivandrum. She is the Project Director of the Holistic Health and Research Institute, Medical College, Trivandrum. and Course co-ordinator of PG Diploma in Yoga Therapy course, Kerala University. She is the Co-PI of a large cohort study involving 400,000 subjects under the Urban and Rural Trivandrum Tobacco Study. (supported by CTSU, University of Oxford) (Sample size: 400, 000 males) which was initiated in 2000 and currently in the third follow up round. She is also involved in the population-based studies on GI disorders, diabetes mellitus, NAFLD and other chronic liver diseases. She is CO PI of the project “Dietary, life style and genetic factors associated with dyslipidemia, insulin resistance, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and it’s severity in a population-based cohort in South India “(Sample size 2200) supported by: National Institute for Health Research Nottingham Digestive diseases Biomedical Research Unit (NIHR NDDBRU), Nottingham University Hospitals and University of Nottingham, UK.
Henry Mark, BSc, MSc, MBA
Education:
BSc Food and Human Nutrition, Newcastle University, UK; MSc Global Health, Copenhagen University, Denmark; MBA, Durham University, UK
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Global Public Health Consultant and Advisor
Area of Research interests:
MASLD/NAFLD, Non-Communicable Disease, Public Health Policy
Publications and Presentations:
Henry has authored over 30 academic publications and several conference abstracts and has contributed frequently to white papers and reports.
Comments:
Henry has worked across policy, programming, and research in global health and international development, with a proven record of building impactful multi-stakeholder collaborations and engagements. Henry’s previous roles include with UNICEF and Wilton Park, a UK based forum for strategic dialogue. Within the liver health field, Henry supported with the EASL International Liver Foundation until 2021 and currently consults for EASL and the Global NASH Council. He has coordinated large global research studies, including a global review of policies and guidelines and a Delphi study to develop a consensus-built research and action agenda.
Maria João Meneses, PhD
Education:
B.Sc, Biomedical Sciences, University of Beira Interior, Portugal (2013)
M.Sc, Biomedical Sciences, University of Beira Interior, Portugal (2015)
Ph.D, Mechanisms of Disease and Regenerative Medicine, NOVA Medical School, NOVA University of Lisbon, Portugal (2021)
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Invited Assistant Professor, NOVA Medical School, NOVA University of Lisbon, Portugal.
Post Doctoral Researcher, NOVA Medical School, NOVA University of Lisbon, Portugal.
Area of Research interests:
Clinical, translational and basic research on MASLD (NAFLD) and prediabetes.
Publications and Presentations:
Dr. Meneses has published around 20 peer-reviewed articles and more than 50 communications in national and international meetings, including European Association for the Study of the Liver, European Association for the Study of Diabetes and European Society for Clinical Investigation.
Comments:
Dr. Meneses is an Invited Assistant Professor of Physiology and a Post Doctoral Researcher at NOVA Medical School. In 2022, she was recognized by the European Commission as a young leader with outstanding work in research through the ShEUleads campaign. She closely collaborates with APDP Diabetes Portugal in clinical and translational studies, with the Portuguese Diabetology Society as a science communication consultant and with the European Groups of Insulin Resistance (EGIR) and MASLD (NAFLD). She has participated in three EU-funded projects, during which she had the opportunity to work at King’s College London (UK), Helmholtz Munich (Germany) and at the National Research Council (Italy).
Fatema H. Nader, MSBM, CCRC, CCRA
Education:
Masters in Bioscience and Business Management, George Mason University
Bachelor’s degree in Health Science, George Mason University
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Director of Research and Business Operations, Global NASH Council (GNC) / Center for Outcomes Research in Liver Diseases (COR-LD)
Area of Research interests:
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, viral hepatitis, diabetes, obesity, cirrhosis, patient reported outcomes, health-related quality of life, economic analysis and outcomes research in liver disease.
Publications and Presentations:
Co-authored over 100 research papers in peer-reviewed journals, and over 150 abstracts at national and international scientific meetings.
Comments:
Fatema H. Nader is the Director of Research and Business Operations at CORLD. She is responsible for overseeing and implementing new projects and leads the research team to ensure all research activities are conducted in accordance with regulatory requirements in research. In addition, she has a secondary role in the oversight of new business partnerships, joint ventures, and alliances. Prior to her appointment, Fatema had over ten years of experience in Research and Development.
Her clinical experience in research includes the coordination of Hepatology studies for over eight years. Prior to managing clinical trials, she worked as a Clinical Research Associate monitoring clinical research at Parexel International. Fatema received her Bachelor’s degree in Health Science and her Master’s in Bioscience and Business Management at George Mason University. She also holds national certification through the Association of Clinical Research Professionals as a Certified Clinical Research Coordinator (CCRC).
James Paik, MS, PhD
Education:
Statistics, Iowa State University, MS/PhD
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Director of Health Economics and Outcomes Research, Global NASH Council (GNC) / Center for Outcomes Research in Liver Diseases (COR-LD)
Research investigator for Inova Health Systems in Falls Church, VA and for the Guy and Betty Beatty Center for Integrated Research at Inova Fairfax Medical Campus.
Area of Research interests:
Epidemiological research, patient reported outcomes, health-related quality of life, economic analysis and outcomes research in liver disease with a focus on NAFLD, NASH, viral hepatitis, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma.
Publications and Presentations:
Authored and co-authored over 50 research papers in peer-reviewed clinical and molecular biology journals, and 80 abstracts at scientific meetings.
Comments:
Dr. Paik earned his statistics PhD degree from Iowa State University in 2009. Following his PhD degree, Dr. Paik was a faculty and director of statistical consulting service at University of Toledo, establishing a statistical consulting program to serve the research needs of the university, mentor students, and build a formal mechanism for interacting with the research community in industry. After joining INOVA health system in 2017, as a senior biostatistician and research investigator, Dr. Paik is a proven leader and individual contributor with 10 years of successful experience in epidemiological and health-related studies, large-data base [National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), National Vital Statistics System (NVSS), Global Burden of Diseases (GBD), National Impatient Sample (NIS), Nationwide Readmissions Database (NRD), Medicare data)], economic analysis, and statistical support of clinical trials research.
Elizabeth J. Pekas, PhD
Medical Education:
PhD in Physiology of Exercise from University of Nebraska at Omaha
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Senior Manger, Medical Affairs at American Diabetes Association
Area of Research interests:
Low-cost exercise interventions for cardiometabolic disease prevention and treatment; redox and vascular function alterations in aging and cardiometabolic disease states
Publications and Presentations:
First- and co-authored 25+ peer-reviewed publications in top physiology journals and 30+ conference abstracts including both clinical and mechanistic work investigating macro- and microvascular function in response to exercise intervention, sedentary activity, and dietary interventions (e.g., antioxidant and dietary nitrate intake) in aging and populations with cardiometabolic disease.
Comments:
Dr. Liz Pekas is currently a Senior Manager with Medical Affairs in Science and Health Care at the American Diabetes Association (ADA). She is a cardiovascular and exercise physiologist by training and graduated with her PhD in Physiology of Exercise from the University of Nebraska in 2023, focusing on therapeutic approaches for peripheral artery disease, the impacts of prolonged sitting on hemodynamic regulation, and redox homeostasis in health and disease. As an ACSM certified exercise physiologist and NSCA certified strength and conditioning specialist, she actively promotes wellness and fitness in both healthy and clinical populations. At the ADA, Dr. Pekas helps oversee the development of the Standards of Care and consensus reports, helping shaping guidelines to improve diabetes management.
Jillian Kallman Price, PhD
Education:
George Mason University, PhD
University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, MS
The College of William and Mary, BS
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Research Investigator at Center for Integrated Research, Inova Fairfax Hospital, Falls Church Virginia
Adjunct Professor, Department of Global and Community Health, George Mason University
Committee Director, Pediatric Committee, Global Nash Council (GNC), Center for Outcomes Research in Liver Diseases (COR-LD)
Research Affiliate, Center for Advancing Systems Science and Bioengineering Innovation (CASSBI), of George Mason University
Area of Research interests:
Health outcomes research, patient reported outcomes (PROs), function, health behavior change, and health-related quality of life in chronic conditions, metabolic dysfunction, and steatotic liver disease. Also skilled in test development, item reduction, and multivariate analyses.
Publications and Presentations:
29 published manuscripts- 15 with students; 98 abstracts- 44 with students; 5 co-authored book chapters. Citations: 1,833+total (2007-2024, h-index 17, i10-index 20; since 2019 692 citations, h-index 15, i10 index 18).
Comments:
Jillian Kallman Price, PhD is a research investigator for Inova Health Systems in Falls Church, VA and for the Guy and Betty Beatty Center for Integrated Research at Inova Fairfax Medical Campus. During her 19 years of chronic liver disease research with Inova, she has pursued research focused on individualized assessment and intervention accounting for physical and biological factors, social factors, cognitive and behavioral factors, and patient-defined goals. Prior to obtaining her doctoral degree Jillian was awarded the Midlevel Associate’s Award from the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD).
Dr. Price has also two decades of mentoring research students and medical residents, and recently joined the Department of Global and Community Health at George Mason University as an adjunct professor. Dr. Price is also a research affiliate of George Mason’s Center for Advancing Systems Science and Bioengineering Innovation (CASSBI), a member of the GNC/COR-LD Lifestyle Committee, and Committee Director for the GNC/COR-LD Pediatric Committee.
Maria Stepanova, PhD
Education:
MS in Applied Mathematics, Moscow Institute for Physics and Technology (MIPT), Moscow, Russia
PhD in Bioinformatics, Nanyang Technological Univesity, Singapore
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Director of Statistical Services, Global NASH Council (GNC) / Center for Outcomes Research in Liver Diseases (COR-LD)
Research investigator at Beatty Center for Integrated Research, Inova Fairfax Hospital
Area of Research interests:
Epidemiological research, patient-reported outcomes, health-related quality of life, outcomes research in liver disease with a focus on NAFLD, NASH, viral hepatitis, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma.
Publications and Presentations:
Authored and co-authored over 150 research papers in peer-reviewed clinical and molecular biology journals, and over 200 abstracts at scientific meetings.
Comments:
Dr. Stepanova earned her PhD degree in bioinformatics from Nanyang Technological University in 2009. Following the PhD degree, Dr. Stepanova joined the newly reorganized Center for Liver Diseases at Inova Fairfax Hospital as a biostatistician. Later, she left to head the department of statistical services at the Center for Outcomes Research in Liver Diseases, a CRO which provided a wide range of data analysis services to pharmaceutical companies with a focus on patient-reported outcomes. In 2021, she joined Inova Health System again in the role of research investigator. Dr Stepanova co-authored more than 150 peer-reviewed manuscripts in medical journals including Hepatology, Gastroenterology, Lancet, JAMA.
Manisha Verma MD, MPH
Education:
Government Medical College, Amritsar
All India Institute of Medical Sciences
Jefferson School of Population Health
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Research Investigator at Center for Integrated Research
Associate Professor of Medicine at Thomas Jefferson University
Area of Research interests:
Patient Reported Outcomes- Clinical Applications, Provider Education, and Integration into Routine Care.
Implementation Science Research to reduce the time gaps between evidence generation and impacting direct patient care.
Bringing patient voice and needs to optimize care management pathways.
Publications and Presentations:
Dr. Verma has published in the field of clinical applications of patient reported outcomes, and health system level interventions to optimize care for patients with advanced liver diseases. She is a member of the Steering Committee of AASLD Public health/ health care delivery SIG.
Andrei Racila, MS, OCP, MCITP
Education:
Technical University Of Moldova
Current Academic or Administrative Positions:
Director of IT and Data Management, Global NASH Council (GNC) / Center for Outcomes Research in Liver Diseases (COR-LD)
Publications and Presentations:
Co-authored over 150 publications and presentations.