Since 1979, the Research Awards Program has provided more than $26 million in research funding. Over 850 qualified scientists and physicians have pursued careers in liver disease research and treatment as a result of receiving these grants early in their careers.
The American Liver Foundation is proud to support these research efforts and is hopeful that they will bring us closer to finding a cure for liver disease.
Contact us here for any questions about these research awards.
The Distinguished Scientific Achievement Award is a prestigious award honoring a scientist who has made a major contribution to liver disease research in basic science or in its application towards the prevention, treatment or cure of liver disease.
Download the 2021 Distinguished Scientific Achievement Award Form
Nominations – Due October 4th.
2021
Guadalupe Garcia-Tsao
Professor of Medicine at Yale University School of Medicine and Chief of Digestive Diseases at the VA-Connecticut Healthcare System
2020
Gyongyi Szabo, MD
Professor of Medicine and Faculty Dean at Harvard Medical School, Chief Academic Officer at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Beth Israel Lahey Health
2019
David Brenner, MD
Distinguished Professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Diego
2018
Michael Houghton, PhD
Li Ka Shing Applied Virology Institute, University of Alberta
2017
Arun Sanyal, MD
Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine
2016
Scott L. Friedman, MD
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
2015
Anna Suk-Fong Lok, MD
University of Michigan Health System
2014
Raymond Schinazi, PhD, DSc
Emory University, Center for AIDS Research
2013
Charles M. Rice, PhD
The Rockefeller University
2012
Allan W. Wolkoff, MD
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
2011
Robert H. Purcell, MD
National Institutes of Health
2010
George K. Michalopoulos, MD, PhD
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
2009
Snorri S. Thorgeisson, MD, PhD
National Cancer Institute
2008
Neil Kaplowitz, MD
University of Southern California School of Medicine
2006
Roberto J. Groszmann, MD
West Haven VA Medical Center
2004
Nelson Fausto, MD
University of Washington School of Medicine
2002
Harvey J. Alter, MD
National Institutes of Health
2001
Nancy L. Bucher, MD
Boston University School of Medicine
2000
David A. Shafritz, MD
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
1999
James L. Boyer, MD
Yale University
1998
Irwin M. Arias, MD
Tufts University School of Medicine
1997
Francis V. Chisari, MD
The Scripps Research Institute
Past ALF Research Award Program Recipients
Charles Trey, MD Memorial Liver Scholar Award
$75,000 annually/3 years; $225,000 total
Hien Dang, PhD
Thomas Jefferson University
Project: Genome-wide CRISPR/Cas9 screening for synthetic lethal targets in NELFE/MYC HCC
Mentor: Jonathan Brody, PhD
American Liver Foundation Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Awards
$12,500 over 1 year
Biliary Atresia Fund for the Cure Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Award
Jessica Llewellyn, PhD
University of Pennsylvania
Project: Identification and characterization of fibrogenic cell of the extrahepatic bile duct
Mentor: Rebecca G. Wells, MD
Hans Popper Memorial Postdoctoral Research Fellowship
Omar Haque, MD
Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School
Project: Ex-Vivo Liver Graft Regeneration via Normothermic Machine Perfusion in a Two-Thirds Partial Hepatectomy Model
Mentors: Korkut Uygun, PhD & James F. Markmann, MD, PhD
Alexander M. White, III Memorial Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Award
Debanjali Dasgupta, PhD
Mayo Clinic, Rochester
Project: Hepatic IRE1alpha activation induces EV release, leading to hepatic injury
Mentor: Harmeet Malhi, MBBS
Irwin M. Arias, MD Postdoctoral Research Fellowship
Taylor M. Coe, MD
Massachusetts General Hospital
Project: Role of IdeS in Depletion of IgG to Reduce Antibody Mediated Graft Damage in Non-Human Primate Liver Xenotransplantation
Mentor: James F. Markmann, MD, PhD
Research Award Recipients
American Liver Foundation Liver Scholar Award
$75,000 annually/3 years; $225,000 total
Xiaobo Wang, PhD
Columbia University
Project: “Regulation and Role of TAZ in NASH-Associated Hepatocellular Carcinoma”
Mentor: Ira A. Tabas, MD, PhD
Click more to learn more about Dr. Wang and his research project
American Liver Foundation PBC Fund for the Cure Award
$100,000 over 1 year
Marina Silveira, MD
Yale University
Project: “Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction in the Treatment of Fatigue in Patients with PBC”
Click Here to learn more about Dr. Silveira and her research project
Weici Zhang, PhD
University of California, Davis
Project: “IGFBP4 Expression Licenses Macrophage Immune-Mediated Biliary Destruction in PBC”
Click here to learn more about Dr. Weici Zhang and her research project
American Liver Foundation Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Awards
$12,500 over 1 year
Irwin M. Arias, MD Postdoctoral Research Fellowship
Norihiro Imai, MD, PhD
Joan & Sanford I. Weill Medical College of Cornell University
Project: “Muscle-Specific Metabolic Regulation by Thioesterase Superfamily Member 2 (Them2) in the Pathogenesis of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease”
Mentor: David E. Cohen, MD, PhD
Click here to learn more about Imai and his research
Hans Popper Memorial Postdoctoral Research Fellowship
Aveline Filliol, PhD
The Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York
Project: “Role of HSC and ECM in the Development of Hepatocellular Carcinoma”
Mentor: Robert F. Schwabe, MD
Click here to learn more about Dr. Aveline Filliol and her research
Sandra Steensels, PhD
Joan & Sanford I. Weill Medical College of Cornell University
Project: “Thioesterase-mediated Control of Hepatic Lipid and Glucose Homeostasis”
Mentor: Baran A. Ersoy, PhD
Click here to learn more about Dr. Steensels and her research
James Heslop, PhD
Medical University of South Carolina
Project: “The Role of GATA6 in Endoderm Formation and Hepatic Specification”
Mentor: Stephen A. Duncan
Click here to learn more about Dr. Heslop and his research
American Liver Foundation Liver Scholar Award
$75,000 annually/3 years; $225,000 total
Graham Brady, MD, PhD
University of Michigan
Role of the nuclear lamina in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease
Mentor: M. Bishr Omary, MD, PhD
American Liver Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship Research Award Winners
$12,500 over 1 year
Yongfeng Song, MD, PhD
University of Connecticut
ZEB1/EpCAM Axis in LncRNA H19-Mediated Cholestasis
Mentor: Li Wang, PhD
Mariana L. Acuña, PhD
Cornell University
ACOT12-Mediated Acetyl-CoA Degradation in the Pathogenesis of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease
Mentor: David E. Cohen, MD, PhD
Enis Kostallari, PhD
Mayo Clinic
PDGFR-alpha trafficking through hepatic stellate cell-derived extracellular vesicles
Mentor: Vijay H. Shah, MD
Paul J. Wrighton, PhD
Brigham and Women’s Hospital / Harvard Medical School
How Liver Stiffness Promotes Liver Cancer
Mentor: Wolfram Goessling, MD, PhD
Kazuki Takeshi, MD, PhD
University of Pittsburgh
Mass Production of iPS-derived Hepatocytes to engineer Autologous Liver Graft
Mentor: Alejandro Soto-Gutierrez, MD, PhD
Ruisi (Rose) Wang, PhD
The Rockefeller University
Novel stem cell approaches to explore hepatic stellate cell biology
Mentor: Charles M. Rice, PhD
Liuyi Hao, PhD
University of North Carolina at Greensboro
The role of ATF4 in alcoholic hepatitis
Mentor: Zhanxiang Zhou, PhD
Barent N. DuBois, PhD
Chapman University School of Pharmacy
Effect of acute-on-chronic liver failure on drug metabolism in the brain.
Mentor: Reza Mehvar, PharmD, PhD
Chun-Hao Huang, PhD
The Regents of the University of California, Berkeley
Understanding cellular immune response to viral translation during liver damage
Mentor: Jennifer A. Doudna, PhD
Wei Wang, MD
New York University School of Medicine
Role of gamma delta-T cells in the pathogenesis of NASH
Mentor: George Miller, MD
American Liver Foundation Liver Scholar Award
$75,000 annually/3 years; $225,000 total
Hepatitis Fund for the Cure Liver Scholar Award
Holly Ramage, PhD
University of Pennsylvania
Characterizing the Role of Host Cell Ubiquitylation Machinery in HCV Infection
Mentor: Sara R. Cherry, PhD
American Liver Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship Awards
$12,000 over 1 year
NASH Fatty Liver Disease Postdoctoral Research Fellowship
Michele Alves-Bezerra, PhD
Weill Cornell Medicine
Phospholipid-mediated control of hepatic insulin signaling
Mentor: David E. Cohen, MD, PhD
Herman Lopata Memorial Hepatitis Postdoctoral Research Fellowship
Joshua A. Jackman, PhD
Stanford University School of Medicine
Engineering Platform for Deciphering Inositol-Binding Domains in Hepatitis C Virus
Mentor: Jeffrey S. Glenn, MD, PhD
Thomas E. Starzl, MD Postdoctoral Research Fellowship
Negin Karimian, MD, PhD
Massachusetts General Hospital / Harvard Medical School
A Novel Approach to Improve Organ Viability and Availability before Orthotopic Liver Transplantation
Mentor: Korkut Uygun, PhD
Charles Trey, MD Memorial Postdoctoral Research Fellowship
Chad M. Walesky, PhD
Brigham and Women’s Hospital / Harvard Medical School
A Balancing Act: Role of HNF4α/β-catenin in Hepatobiliary Development and Cholangiocarcinoma Formation
Mentor: Wolfram Goessling, MD, PhD
Hans Popper Memorial Postdoctoral Research Fellowship
Ju Dong Yang, MD
Mayo Clinic College of Medicine
Detection of Actionable or Predictive Tumor DNA Mutations in Peripheral Blood (Liquid Biopsy) from Patients with Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA)
Mentor: Lewis R. Roberts, PhD
Irwin M. Arias, MD Postdoctoral Research Fellowship
Janice E. Yang, PhD
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
The role of hyaluronan synthase-2 in the pathogenesis of Liver Fibrosis
Mentor: Ekihiro Seki, MD, PhD
Thomas F. Nealon, III Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Honoring Zachary Rue
Anna L. Peters, MD, PhD
Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center
Control of cholangiocyte proliferation by innate lymphoid cells
Mentor: Jorge A. Bezerra, MD
Congressman John Joseph Moakley Postdoctoral Research Fellowship
Regina Español-Suñer, PhD
University of California, San Francisco
In vivo reprogramming of scar tissue into hepatocytes as a therapy for liver fibrosis
Mentor: Holger Willenbring, MD, PhD
PSC Postdoctoral Research Fellowship
Ana Catalina Arce-Clachar, MD
Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center
The role of TGR5 signaling in the pathogenesis of murine fibrosing cholangitis and its response to pharmacological inhibition of intestinal bile acid reuptake
Mentor: Alexander Miethke, MD
Roger L. Jenkins, MD Postdoctoral Research Fellowship
Stephanie A. Kingman, MD
The Regents of the University of California, Los Angeles
Gene Therapy-Corrected Autologous Hepatocyte-Like Cells from Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells For the Treatment of Pediatric Single Enzyme Disorders
Mentor: Gerald S. Lipshutz, MD
Last Updated on November 19, 2021
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