2026 AASLD Foundation Abstract Awardees

American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) Foundation Abstract Awards recognize excellence and promote the professional development of early career investigators. These awards provide recipients travel support to defray costs associated with attending The Liver Meeting® or Digestive Disease Week® to present their outstanding research to an international audience.

The Liver Meeting® 2026 Abstract Awards

ANNA S. LOK ABSTRACT AWARD IN HBV RESEARCH

Sung Won Chung, MD, PhD
Asan Medical Center
Kinetic Breakpoint Analysis Identifies Immune Remodeling During qHBsAg Decline in Chronic Hepatitis B

ARUN J. SANYAL TRAVEL AWARD

Luis Antonio Díaz, MD
Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile
Dynamic Changes in Steatotic Liver Disease Subtype Classification and Predictors of Advanced Fibrosis in Latin America

INTERNATIONAL EARLY CAREER INVESTIGATOR AWARD PRESENTED IN HONOR OF PROFESSOR C.Y. KIM

Yuni Ko, MD, PhD
Inha University Hospital
Sequential Transarterial Radioembolization and Atezolizumab plus Bevacizumab Improves Survival in Advanced Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Propensity Score-Matched Analysis

NORTHERN LIGHTS CANADIAN LEGACY AWARD

Andre J. Jeyarajan, MD
University of Toronto
Ethnic differences in non-invasive tests, disease severity, and clinical outcomes in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease: a longitudinal retrospective cohort study

Ramsha Ahmed Khan, MBBS
McMaster University
Comparison of Endoscopic Ultrasound-Guided Versus Percutaneous Liver Biopsy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

THE PROFESSOR MINDIE H. NGUYEN AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING CLINICAL RESEARCH BY EARLY CAREER INVESTIGATORS

Johana Acuña C, MD Universidade Federal de Ciências da Saúde de Porto Alegre MIP-3α and IP-10 as Promising Biomarkers for Hepatocellular Carcinoma in HIV and Viral Hepatitis Coinfected Patients: A Pilot and Validation Cohort Study	Shunsuke Ikejima, MD Juntendo University Graduate School of Medicine FADS2 rs174583 TT Genotype Identifies PNPLA3 GG Carriers with At-Risk MASH and a Pro-Fibrogenic Lipid Signature
Yeo Wool Kang, MD, PhD Dong-A University Metabolic-Alcohol Spectrum of Steatotic Liver Disease and Risk of Incident Gout: A Multi-National Cohort Study in Korea, Japan, and the United Kingdom	Thanh V. Kim, MD, MPH Pham Ngoc Thach University of Medicine Integrating Hepatitis B Screening into Primary Care in a High-Burden LMIC: A Mixed-Methods Implementation Study from Viet Nam
Misa Norita, MD Saga University Serum and Hepatic Lipidomics Analyses in Patients with MASLD Identify Glycerol Tripalmitate as a Biomarker Elevated in MASH	Riham Soliman, MD, PhD Egyptian Liver Research Institute and Hospital A Novel Point-of-Care Test for Detection of HCV Antigens Using Smart Polymer Technology: A Prospective Multinational Study
Pimsiri Sripongpun, MD Prince of Songkla University High Prevalence and Suboptimal FIB-4 Sensitivity Support Direct VCTE Referral for Diabetic Patients With MASLD	Xinrong Zhang, MD, PhD Sun-Yat Sen University Cardiovascular and Mortality Risks in Young-Onset Versus Late-Onset Type 2 Diabetes Among Patients With Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease

THOMAS D. BOYER TRAVEL AWARD FOR EARLY CAREER INVESTIGATORS IN PORTAL HYPERTENSION

Adam Buckholz, MD, MS
New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical College
Paradoxically Elevated Sleep-Stage Heart Rate Variability is Associated with Cognitive Impairment in Cirrhosis Independent of Liver Disease Severity

SHIV KUMAR SARIN MERIT AWARD

Jayashree Biswas, MD, DM
Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences, New Delhi
Role of Plasma Exchange in Acute-on-Chronic Liver Failure Due to Hepatitis B Reactivation

Sagnik Biswas, MD, DM
All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi
A multicenter, randomized controlled trial comparing endoscopic ultrasound-guided coil and glue embolization with balloon-occluded retrograde transvenous obliteration for prevention of rebleeding from gastric varices

SHREYA "MOU" SENGUPTA MEMORIAL TRAVEL AWARD

Hyunseok Kim, MD, PhD, MPH
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Genetic ancestry, PNPLA3, and per-drinker susceptibility to alcohol-associated cirrhosis: a multi-ancestry analysis of 414,830 All of US participants

ADVANCED PRACTICE PROVIDER AWARD

Alise D.E. de Groot, PharmD University Medical Center Groningen The end of the discussion: surgical biliary diversion and liver transplantation induce catch-up growth in BSEP deficiency, but not in FIC1 deficiency	Pegah Farrokhi, PharmD University of Minnesota WNT/β-Catenin-Mutated HCC: Pathway-Level Profile and Gene-Level Heterogeneity Defining Distinct Subtypes
Sue Hyon Kim, MSN, RN University of Pennsylvania Examining Topics, Sentiment, and Meeting Dynamics in Liver Transplant Candidate Selection Practices: An LLM-powered analysis	Michelle Maguire, PharmD Ohio Gastroenterology Group Real-World Effectiveness and Safety of Resmetirom in Patients with MASH: A Descriptive Cohort Study
Ngan Nguyen, PharmD Northwell Health Assessing the Effect of Semaglutide in Patients With MASLD: Real-World Experience From a Pharmacist-Led Sub-Clinic	Jansi R. Sethuraj, DNP, AGACNP-BC, APRN, CCRN Memorial Hermann LiteMedSAM and MedNet: A Segmentation-Assisted, Attention-Guided Lightweight Framework for Edge-Deployable Sonographic Classification of Hepatocellular Carcinoma

EARLY CAREER INVESTIGATOR AWARD IN BASIC SCIENCE

Sayed Obaidullah Aseem, MD, PhD Virginia Commonwealth University Cholangiocyte Stearoyl-CoA Desaturase (SCD) Isoforms Have Paradoxical Roles in Biliary Inflammation	Shaunak Deota, PhD Salk Institute for Biological Studies Time-restricted feeding (TRF) attenuates fatty-liver disease and potentiates the efficacy of resmetirom for Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) resolution
Chengji Dong, MD Hannover Medical School Impaired glycoRNA biogenesis in metabolic-dysfunction associated steatotic liver disease	Frederick Adams Ekuban, PhD University of Louisville PPARα-Mediated Species-Specific Hepatic Responses to PFOS Exposure in Humanized and Knockout Mouse Models of Alcohol-Associated Liver Disease
Arijita Ghosh, PhD Thomas Jefferson University Probing Metabolic-dysfunction associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) induced structure-function changes in hepatic ER-mitochondria contacts with a focus on Inositol-1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3) receptors	Alyssa Goldberg, MD University of Colorado Lymphatic Interaction with and Trafficking of Immune Cells is Altered in Cholestatic Liver Disease
Arielle Klepper, MD, PhD University of California, San Francisco Humoral Immune Dysfunction Defines High-Risk Cirrhotic Ascites	Liqiu Li, PhD Kunshan Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine Intratumoral Klebsiella pneumoniae drives anti-PD-L1 resistance in hepatocellular carcinoma by promoting 7-dehydrocholesterol-mediated ferroptosis evasion
Juan Lu, PhD The First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine Vitamin C reprograms the hepatic immune landscape to alleviate ConA-induced liver injury	Scott B. Minchenberg, MD, PhD Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center DNase I Protects Against Alcohol-Induced Intestinal Barrier Failure and Endotoxemia
Yuta Myojin, MD, PhD The University of Osaka Childhood Obesity-Induced Kupffer Cell Dysfunction Promotes Liver Cancer Susceptibility Later in Life	Henry H. Nguyen, MD, FRCPC University of Calgary Cumming School of Medicine Intestinal Pathobiont Aggravates Liver Injury in Western Diet Induced MASLD
Takahiro Ohkura, MD, PhD Saint Louis University BATTED Reveals CYP7A1 as a Targetable Pathway in Biliary Atresia	Daichi Onomura, PhD Jichi Medical University A novel mechanism of inflammation-induced hepatocarcinogenesis in HBV infection
Erika Paolini, PhD Fondazione IRCCS Cà Granda, Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milan, Italy Metabolic ferroptosis as targetable signature for the genetic subtype of MASLD	Belinda Joyce Petri, PhD University of Louisville Aroclor1260, PCB126, and palmitic acid exposure regulate site-specific m6A modifications in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD)-related genes in fetal FL83B and adult AML12 mouse hepatocytes
Alireza Ramandi, MD Weill Cornell Medicine Dietary substrate composition uncouples steatosis from inflammation in primary human hepatocytes	Abigail E. Russi, MD, PhD Indiana University Tolerogenic KLF2-Expressing T Cells Confer Protection in a Preclinical Model of Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis
Takuya Seike, MD, PhD Kanazawa University Hospital ALDH2 Deficiency Blunts Serum ALT Elevation Despite Ongoing Hepatocellular Injury by alcohol consumption	Yaping Wang, PhD Virginia Commonwealth University Mitochondrial oxysterols and their sulfates establish a nuclear 25HC/25HC3S axis controlling DNMT1 in MASLD
Yunguan Wang, PhD Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center Spatial Transcriptomics Reveals a TLS-like Immune-Fibrotic Niche Driving Biliary Fibrosis in Pediatric Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis	Yankai Wen, PhD The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston Eosinophils promote cytotoxic CD8+ T cell responses in an IL-4-dependent manner

EARLY CAREER INVESTIGATOR AWARD IN CLINICAL/TRANSLATIONAL SCIENCE

Maria Paola Anolli, MD University of Milan Cirrhosis Does Not Impact Bulevirtide Response or Virological and Biochemical Breakthroughs in Chronic Hepatitis Delta: Data from the Prospective Multicenter D-SHIELD Study	Tamir Diamond, MD, MSTR Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Potential Biomarkers in Activated T-Cell Pediatric Acute Liver Failure for Diagnosis and Recovery: TNFSF11, ITGA11 and LTA4H
Butros Fakhoury, MD, MBBS Virginia Commonwealth University Identifying Silent Progressors: Machine Learning Prediction of Major Adverse Liver Outcomes in an Early At-Risk SLD Population	Jacqueline Henson, MD Duke University Liver Transplant Quality Measures Affect Health Outcomes: A Multicenter Analysis of the Consortium for the Holistic Assessment of Risk in Transplant
Dr Vandana Jain, MDRes, MBBChir King's College Hospital Longitudinal Urinary Metabolomic Profiling Following Kasai Portoenterostomy in Infants with Biliary Atresia	Chaowapong Jarasvaraparn, MD Indiana University The Natural History, Clinical and Laboratory Predictors of Survival and Portal Hypertension in Pediatric Fontan-Associated Liver Disease (FALD): A Multicenter PED FALD Network
Hidenori Kido, MD, PhD Kanazawa University 4-Hydroxy-2-Nonenal Directly Induces Mitochondrial Ultrastructural Injury in MASLD	Jimmy Che-To Lai, MBChB, MRCP, FHKCP, FHKAM The Chinese University of Hong Kong Implication of Multiple First Decompensation Events on the Definition of Further Decompensation
Yuhan Lin, PhD Sinew Pharma Inc Novel Acetaminophen Formulation at Supratherapeutic Doses with a Favorable Human Liver Safety Profile: Preventing Toxic Metabolite Formation	Kenta Makino, MD, PhD Massachusetts General Hospital Spatially Resolved Lineage Programs Define Prognosis, Therapeutic Vulnerabilities, and Stromal Crosstalk in Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma
Yosuke Murata, MD, PhD University of FUKUI Serial Monitoring of Circulating Tumor Cells Reflects Treatment Response Across Systemic Therapies in Unresectable Hepatocellular Carcinoma	Tamar Orgad, MD Hadassah Medical Center Jerusalem Integrated Imaging and Plasma Biomarkers for Detection of Ductal Disease and Fibrosis in Pediatric Autoimmune Liver Disease
Gopanandan Parthasarathy, MBBS Stanford University Loss of Y Chromosome Is a Novel Somatic Aneuploidy and Potential Biomarker in Hepatocellular Carcinoma	Brandon J. Peiffer, PhD Johns Hopkins University Multi-Compartment DNA Methylation Analysis Reveals Immune and Inflammatory Epigenetic Remodeling in Alcohol-Associated Hepatitis
Resham Ramkissoon, MD Case Western Reserve University/University Hospitals Steatohepatitis and Fibrosis-Related Outcomes for Resmetirom and Co-Prescriptions with GLP1 Receptor Agonists, Vitamin E, and Statins	Katie Ross-Driscoll, PhD, MPH Indiana University School of Medicine Center-Level Variation in Donation After Circulatory Death Liver Transplantation and Its Association with Access and Outcomes
Jian Wang, MD, PhD Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Nanjing University Antiviral Therapy Reduces Liver-Related Events in HBeAg-Negative Chronic Hepatitis B Patients with Low HBV DNA Levels and No Significant ALT Elevation	Taihua Yang, PhD Renji Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiaotong University CRISPR-Cas12 Based Gene Editing Therapy for Primary Hyperoxaluria Type 1: A Phase 1 Clinical Trial
Terry Cheuk-Fung Yip, PhD The Chinese University of Hong Kong Poorer Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) Survival Following Spontaneous but Not Nucleos(t)ide Analogue (NA)-Induced Hepatitis B Surface Antigen (HBsAg) Loss in Chronic Hepatitis B (CHB)	Jianjun Zhu, MD, PhD Renji Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University Taurine Attenuates Senescence in Aged Livers During Normothermic Machine Perfusion

EARLY CAREER INVESTIGATOR AWARD IN HEALTHCARE DISPARITIES

Ahmed Musa Hago Bakheet, PhD Auburn University Autophagy Reporter LC3B Mice Are Protected from Alcohol-Induced Liver Injury Through Suppression of Adipose Lipolysis	Yooyun Chung, MBBS King's College Hospital Sexual Function in Liver Transplant Recipients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
Adrià Juanola Mayos, MD, PhD Hospital Clínic de Barcelona LiverRisk Score for Early Detection of Liver Fibrosis in the General Population: The LiverScreen Implementation Study	Takao Miwa, MD, PhD University of California San Diego Lean Phenotype Identifies a High-Risk Group for Major Liver-Related Outcomes Across Steatotic Liver Disease Subtypes
Saisai Zhang, PhD The University of Hong Kong Gut Multi-Omics Profiles Associated with Spontaneous HBsAg Seroclearance in Chronic Hepatitis B

FELLOW RESEARCH AWARD

Olufunso M. Agbalajobi, MBBS, MPH UPMC Impact of Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonists (GLP-1 RA) on Metabolic Dysfunction associated Steatohepatitis (MASH) Cirrhosis.	Giovanni Andres Roldan Carrillo, MD Baylor College of Medicine Generational Shifts in U.S. Hepatitis B Vaccine-Derived Immunity After Universal Infant Vaccination
Christina Liava, MD, MS Mayo Clinic Updated Surgical Risk Assessment in Patients with Cirrhosis	Srishti Saha, MBBS, MD University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center Fecal virome is associated with clinical outcomes in primary sclerosing cholangitis
Aalam Sohal, MD, MBBS Creighton University-Phoenix Health Science Campus Contemporary Trends in healthcare and economic burden of MASLD, MASH Cirrhosis, and ACLF among Hospitalized Patients in the United States: A nationwide analysis (2016-2023)

INTERNATIONAL EARLY CAREER INVESTIGATOR AWARD

Yasmeen M. Attia, PhD The British University in Egypt FXR Signaling Rewires Ceramide Homeostasis and Ferroptotic Vulnerability in MASH	Phool Chand, MBBS, MD, DM Hepatology Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences Metabolic Hepatitis B' (Met-B): A Distinct Clinical Phenotype carries a higher risk of Hepatocellular Carcinoma development Despite Effective Antiviral Therapy - A Large histology based Longitudinal Cohort Study.
Sayan Malakar, MBBS, MD, DM Punjab Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences Splenic stiffness measurement to predict the esophageal varices in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma	Angelica V. Mariano, MD Manila Doctors Hospital The Effect of Semaglutide on Liver Histology in Metabolic Dysfunction Associated Steatohepatitis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials
Deep Patel, MD, DM Govind Ballabh Pant Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research Beyond MELD-Na: A LASSO-Integrated Urinary Biomarker Model Rewrites 3-Month Mortality Prediction in Patients with Cirrhosis and Acute Kidney Injury

LIVER TRANSPLANT AND/OR HEPATOBILIARY SURGERY FELLOW AWARD

Mohammad Almokdad, MD Henry Ford Health Impact of Normothermic Machine Perfusion in Donation After Brain Death Liver Transplantation	Chen Chen, MD Virginia Commonwealth University Intestinal Epithelial S1PR2 Regulates Gut-Liver Lipid Homeostasis and Hepatic Steatosis
Zhihao Li, MD Mayo Clinic GLP-1 Receptor Agonist Use After Liver Transplantation in MASH or Metabolic-Risk Recipients Is Associated With Improved Survival and Renal Protection: A Three-Center Cohort Study	Yuan Liu, MD Renji Hospital affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine Low-Dose Oral Methylprednisolone Reverses Intrahepatic Fibrosis After Pediatric Liver Transplantation by eliminating CD206⁺HLA-DR⁺CD14⁺ Macrophage
Patricia Viana, MD University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center Machine perfusion and hepatocellular carcinoma recurrence after liver transplantation: a systematic review and meta-analysis

PEDIATRIC RESEARCH AWARD

Brandon Perumpail, MD
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Impact of Multidisciplinary Care on Longitudinal ALT Outcomes in Children With MASLD

RESIDENT RESEARCH AWARD

Sarpong Boateng, MD, PhD
Yale New Haven Health
GLP1R Gene Variants Modify Longitudinal Outcomes and GLP1 Receptor Agonist Response in MASLD: A Whole-Genome Sequencing Pharmacogenomic Study

EzzElDien A. Ibrahim, MD
University of Missouri-Columbia
Twelve-Month Biochemical Response to UDCA Predicts Five-Year Decompensation and Mortality in Primary Biliary Cholangitis: A Propensity-Matched Landmark Cohort Study

Adnan Zafar, MD
University of Tennessee Health Science Center
Temporal Trends in Mortality Burden of Alcohol-Associated Liver Disease and Early-Onset Pancreatic Carcinoma in Young Adults (15-44): A CDC WONDER Analysis of Age, Racial, Sex and Geographic Disparities 1999-2023.

STUDENT RESEARCH AWARD

Garnik Arustamyan
University of Southern California
Shared and Isoform-Specific Roles of PPAR-α, -δ, and -γ Signaling in Mitigating Cholestatic Hepatocyte Injury in Primary Biliary Cholangitis

Shifat-E Ferdous, M.Pharm
Northeast Ohio Medical University
Elevated FGF21 in TGR5-/- Mice Differentially Regulates Alcohol and Sweet Preference via Metabolic-Reward Pathways

DIGESTIVE DISEASE WEEK ® 2026 ABSTRACT AWARDS

FELLOW ABSTRACT AWARDS

Omar Albhaisi, MBBCh Virginia Commonwealth University ACTIVE CANNABIS USE IS A POTENT INDEPENDENT PREDICTOR OF MORTALITY IN ALCOHOL-ASSOCIATED HEPATITIS: A MULTINATIONAL COMPETING-RISK ANALYSIS	Cindy E. Ament, PhD University of California, San Francisco ZONAL HEPATOCYTE VULNERABILITY AND MACROPHAGE REPROGRAMMING IN A MOUSE MODEL OF PORPHYRIA CUTANEA TARDA
Somesh Banerjee, PhD Emory University IRON OVERLOAD INDUCES METABOLIC MALADAPTATIONS AND MITOCHONDRIAL DAMAGE EXACERBATING LIVER INJURY IN DIABETES	Ashley Calder, PhD University of Michigan UPREGULATION OF NRF2-MEDIATED OXIDATIVE STRESS RESPONSE IN THE EXTRAHEPATIC BILE DUCT DURING CHOLESTASIS
Chen Chen, MD Virginia Commonwealth University AGING-DRIVEN S1PR2 DYSREGULATION ACROSS THE GUT-LIVER AXIS PROMOTES HEPATOCELLULAR CARCINOMA	Hyundam (Dami) Gu, MD, MPH Virginia Commonwealth University PERFORMANCE AND RISK OF FALSE NEGATIVES IN CLINICAL PATHWAYS TO IDENTIFY ADVANCED FIBROSIS IN METALD AND ALD
Ximena Parraga Nunura, MD Virginia Commonwealth University EXTRACELLULAR VESICLES AND THEIR BILE ACID CONTENT: NOVEL BIOMARKER FOR THE ALCOHOL-ASSOCIATED HEPATITIS	Bansi P. Savaliya, MD Mayo Clinic HERV-MEDIATED VIRAL MIMICRY IN CHOLANGIOCYTES ELICITS A TYPE-I INTERFERON RESPONSE VIA RIG-I/MAVS PATHWAY IN PRIMARY SCLEROSING CHOLANGITIS (PSC)
Mai Sedki, MD, MPH University of California, San Francisco PSYCHOSOCIAL BARRIERS FACED BY WOMEN OF CHILDBEARING AGE WITH UNTREATED OR INCOMPLETELY DIAGNOSED HEPATITIS C VIRUS	Pornpawit Thangseresuk, MD Phramongkutklao Hospital METADOXINE FOR THE TREATMENT OF METABOLIC DYSFUNCTION ASSOCIATED STEATOTIC LIVER DISEASE AND INCREASED ALCOHOL INTAKE (METALD): A RANDOMIZED CROSSOVER TRIAL - PRELIMINARY ANALYSIS
Melinda Wang, MD, MHS University of California, San Francisco METABOLIC DYSFUNCTION-ASSOCIATED STEATOTIC LIVER DISEASE (MASLD) IS ASSOCIATED WITH DISTINCT MUSCLE HEALTH PHENOTYPES: A UK BIOB