2024 Research & Career Development Award Recipients
AASLD Foundation’s Research & Career Development Awards are one to three-year awards that support innovative research in liver diseases, career development for early career investigators, and specialized training for front-line providers treating liver patients.
Pinnacle Research Award in Liver Diseases
Marco De Giorgi, PhD
Baylor College of Medicine
Project Title: In vivo expansion of gene-targeted hepatocytes for liver gene therapy
Mentor: William Lagor, PhD
Jesus M. Gomez Salinero, PhD
Weill Cornell Medicine
Project Title: Mechanisms of liver sinusoids adaptation and response to damage
Mentor: Shahin Rafii, MD
Davide Povero, PhD, MBA
Mayo Clinic Rochester
Project Title: Metabolic vulnerabilities driving susceptibility to ferroptosis in cholangiocarcinoma
Mentor: Gregory Gores, MD, FAASLD
The 2024 Pinnacle Research Awards in Liver Diseases are made possible through independent grants and unrestricted donations from AASLD and donors to the AASLD Foundation.
Clinical, Translational, and Outcomes Research Award in Liver Diseases
Maria J. Duarte, MD, MAS
University of California San Francisco
Project Title: Evaluating the role of the gut microbiome and microbial translocation in the development of steatotic liver disease in people living with HIV
Mentor: Jennifer Price, MD, PhD
Rebecca G. Kim, MD, MAS
University of Utah Health
Project Title: Understanding and Intervening on Social Determinants of Health to Reduce Disparities in Chronic Liver Disease
Mentor: John Inadomi, MD
Yael R. Nobel, MD, MS
Columbia University Irving Medical Center
Project Title: Microbiome-Based Biomarkers of Liver Allograft Rejection and Drug Metabolism after Liver Transplant
Mentor: Elizabeth Verna, MD, FAASLD
Kelley Weinfurtner, MD
University of Pennsylvania
Project Title: Tumor intrinsic factors that impact response to immunotherapy in hepatocellular carcinoma
Mentor: David Kaplan, MD, FAASLD, FACP, AGAF
Robert M. Wilechansky, MD
OHSU
Project Title: The Influence of Diet and Lifestyle on Metabolic Profiles and Cirrhosis Risk
Mentor: Tracey Simon, MD
The 2024 Clinical, Translational, and Outcomes Research Awards in Liver Diseases are made possible through independent grants and unrestricted donations from AASLD and donors to the AASLD Foundation.
Bridge Award
Renumathy Dhanasekaran, MD, PhD
Stanford University
Project Title: Disrupting the Sinister Nexus between Macrophages and Stem-like Cancer Cells in Cancer Recurrence
The 2024 Bridge Award is made possible through unrestricted donations from AASLD and donors to the AASLD Foundation.
Pilot Research Award in Liver Diseases
David P. Al-Adra, MD, PhD
University of Wisconsin
Project Title: Extracellular Vesicle Production During Normothermic ex vivo Liver Perfusion: Determinants of Immunomodulatory Effects
Mentor: John Rice, MD
Patricia Bloom, MD
University of Michigan
Project Title: Potato Starch as a Novel Therapy to Treat Hepatic Encephalopathy
Mentor: Anna S. Lok, MD, FAASLD
The 2024 Pilot Research Award in Liver Diseases is made possible through AASLD and donors to the AASLD Foundation.
Gupta Family Pilot Award in PSC Research
Nidhi Jalan-Sakrikar, PhD
Mayo Clinic Rochester
Project Title: Inflammation and Oxidative Stress in Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis
Mentor: Robert Huebert, MD
The 2024 Gupta Family Pilot Award in PSC Research program is made possible through a generous contribution from the Lalit and Anubha Gupta Family Foundation.
Frank J. Tusa Pilot Award for Research in Hepatic Encephalopathy
Jin Ge, MD, MBA
University of California, San Francisco
Project Title: A Large Language Model (LLM)-Based Approach for Detecting Covert Hepatic Encephalopathy (CHE)
Mentor: Jennifer Lai, MD, MBA
The 2024 Frank J. Tusa Pilot Award for Research in Hepatic Encephalopathy program is made possible through a generous contribution from the Tusa Family to establish the Frank J. Tusa Fund.
Autoimmune Liver Diseases Exploratory Research Award
Astha Malik, PhD
Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center
Project Title: Significance of type I interferon response gene expression in circulating leukocytes for stratification and surveillance of disease activity in children and adults with autoimmune hepatitis
Mentor: Alexander Miethke, MD
The 2024 Autoimmune Liver Disease Pilot Research Award is made possible through a generous contribution given to establish this award and unrestricted donations from AASLD Foundation donors.
Anna S. Lok Advanced/Transplant Hepatology Fellow Award
Abigail E. Russi MD, PhD
Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center
The 2024 Anna S. Lok Advanced/Transplant Hepatology Fellow Award is made possible through the Anna S. Lok Fund for Excellence in Research and Training and donors to the AASLD Foundation.
Joseph R. Bloomer Advanced/Transplant Hepatology Fellow Award
Claire Durkin, MD, MSCE
University of Pennsylvania
The 2024 Joseph Bloomer Advanced/Transplant Hepatology Fellowship Award is made possible through a bequest from the estate of Dr. Joseph Bloomer and donors to the AASLD Foundation.
Kimberly A. Brown Advanced/Transplant Hepatology Fellow Award
Alan L. Hutchison, MD, PhD
University of Chicago
The 2024 Kimberly A. Brown Advanced/Transplant Hepatology Fellow Award is made possible through the Kimberly A. Brown Fund and donors to the AASLD Foundation.
Ashwani K. Singal Advanced/Transplant Hepatology Fellow Award For Research in Alcohol-Associated Liver Disease
Hanna Blaney, MD, MPH
Georgetown University
The 2024 Ashwani K. Singal Advanced/Transplant Hepatology Fellow Award is made possible through the Singal Family Fund and donors to the AASLD Foundation.
Vinay Sundaram Advanced/Transplant Hepatology Fellow Award
Lisa X. Deng, MD
University of California, San Francisco
The 2024 Vinay Sundaram Advanced/Transplant Hepatology Fellow Award is made possible through the Vinay Sundaram Legacy Fund and donors to the AASLD Foundation.
Advanced / Transplant Hepatology Fellow Award
Kathryn S. Czepiel, MD, MS
Stanford University
Mohammad Amin Fallahzadeh, MD
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Elise Kang, MD, MS
New York Presbyterian/Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital
Rachel Schenker, MD, MST
Children's Hospital Los Angeles
Stefani S. Tica, MD, MPH
Indiana University/Riley Hospital for Children
Nabeel Wahid, MD
Northwestern Medicine
The 2024 Advanced/Transplant Hepatology Awards are made possible through unrestricted donations from AASLD and donors to the AASLD Foundation.
