2026 Emerging Liver Program Awardees

Emerging Liver Advanced Practice Provider Program

Meet the 2026 Emerging Liver Scholars

Now in its fifteenth year, AASLD Foundation's Emerging Liver Scholars program will host 35 early career physicians at The Liver Meeting^® 2026.

Chosen from a highly qualified applicant pool of individuals, these trainees have received grants covering travel, housing, and meeting expenses. In addition to attending the meeting with an AASLD member/mentor from their institution, the ELS attendees will have the opportunity to attend special events specifically suited to their current and future academic needs.

Raymond T. Chung Emerging Liver Scholar

Bishoi Aziz, MD, MSc
Western Ontario University

Guadalupe (Lupe) Garcia-Tsao Emerging Liver Scholar

Chelsea S. Pan, MD
University of California, San Francisco

Bruce A. Luxon Emerging Liver Scholar

Theja V. Channapragada, DO, MBA, MS
Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center

Hugo Ramon Rosen Emerging Liver Scholar

Cherechi Nwabueze, MBBS, MPH
John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County

2026 Emerging Liver Scholars

Razan Aburumman, MD
Henry Ford Hospital

Lauren Alpert, MD
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

John Donlan, MD
Massachusetts General Hospital

Caren Doueiry, MD, PhD
Montefiore-Einstein

Fatima Elmustafa, MD
Henry Ford Warren

Leith Ghani, DO
University of Arizona College of Medicine Phoenix

Farinaz Ghodrati, MD
Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania

Prajwal Gowda, MD
University of California, San Francisco

Adel Hajj Ali, MD
Indiana University

Bima J. Hasjim, MD, MSc
University of California, Irvine

Darya M. Herscovici, MD
University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School

Kimberly Ho, MD
Brown University

Fayez J. Jabboure, MD
Johns Hopkins Hospital

Basil Jalamneh, MD
Cleveland Clinic Foundation

Rohan Karkra, MBBS
Rutgers New Jersey Medical School

Muhammad Ali Ibrahim Kazi, MD
Luminis Health Anne Arundel Medical Center

Alexis J. Kim, MD
Virginia Commonwealth University

Mahesh Krishna, MD
Yale University

Kaley Schwartz Levitt, MD
Florida International University

Sienna D. Lila, MD
University of Washington

Husam Mikati, MD, MS
Virginia Commonwealth University Health System

Guy Loic Nguefang Tchoukeu, MD, MPH
Texas Tech University Health Science Center, Permian Basin

Vitchapong Prasitsumrit, MD
Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Lubbock

Islam Rajab, MD
St. Joseph University Medical Center

Rahul Sandella, MD
University of Chicago

Jeevin Singh Sandhu, DO
Methodist Dallas Medical Center

Sanjna Shelukar, MD
Thomas Jefferson University Hospital

Elizabeth Townsend, MD, PhD
New York-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center

Renuka Verma, MD
Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at University of Nevada Las Vegas

Paul S. Yoon, MD
University of Southern California/Los Angeles General Medical Center

Ioannis A. Ziogas, MD, MPH
University of Colorado

Emerging Liver Scholar Alumni Leaders

AASLD Foundation's Emerging Liver Scholar Alumni Leaders program will host 7 early career physicians at The Liver Meeting® 2026.

Alumni Leaders play a meaningful role in shaping the next class of Emerging Liver Scholars, serving as near‑peer mentors and ambassadors for the program throughout the award year. These trainees have also received grants covering travel, housing, and meeting expenses.

Makeda Dawkins, MD
Westchester Medical Center

Markos Kalligeros, MD
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center/Harvard University

Layla Shojaie, MD
University of California, Los Angeles

Roy X. Wang, MD
UT Southwestern

Shawn Wen, MD, MS
University of California, San Francisco

Marcel Jose Yibirin Wakim MD, MPH
Mass General Hospital/Harvard Medical School

Xiaohan Ying, MD
NewYork Presbyterian Weill Cornell

Emerging Liver Advanced Practice Provider Program

Now in its fifth year, AASLD Foundation's Emerging Liver Advanced Practice Provider (APP) Program will host 10 APPs at The Liver Meeting® 2026.

Chosen from a highly qualified applicant pool of individuals, these providers have received grants covering travel, housing, and meeting expenses. In addition to attending the meeting with an AASLD member/mentor from their institution, the ELAPP attendees will have the opportunity to attend special events specifically suited to their current and future academic needs.