Washington University in St. Louis (WU)
My clinical research interests center around diseases leading to liver transplantation and their recurrence in the transplanted liver. Thus, I am involved in clinical trials of antiviral agents used for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C. Interferon alfa and its long-acting pegylated form, in combination with ribavirin, now allow us to cure patients of a disease that is currently the leading indication for liver transplantation in the United States. Unfortunately, many patients progress to end-stage liver disease and its complications. Furthermore, infection of the transplanted liver is nearly universal, though antiviral agents are poorly tolerated and less efficacious in the transplant population. I am working, along with investigators at other centers, on studies to minimize the amount of post-transplant liver injury secondary to the hepatitis C virus. I am also studying a small group of our patients with liver allograft dysfunction following treatment with pegylated interferon and ribavirin. My other area of interest is the function of the cirrhotic liver, previously something that has been difficult to quantify. I am studying the clearance of indocyanine green as a measure of hepatocellular function in patients following placement of a transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt.