UM Researchers Make Noteworthy Contributions at The Liver Meeting

David Goldberg, M.D., associate professor of medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, presented a study on liver and kidney transplants and a second on screening for the hepatitis C virus (HCV) at The Liver Meeting, the annual conference of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases.

“It was an exciting meeting for me as a new faculty member, opening the door to new opportunities for collaborative research, while building awareness of the research work in our program,” said Dr. Goldberg, who is co-principal investigator of an upcoming multicenter clinical trial on transplanting HCV-infected donor kidneys.

One of Dr. Goldberg’s studies analyzed whether there was an appropriate upper age cutoff for simultaneous liver-kidney transplants. “Traditionally, many centers would not consider this procedure for individuals age 65 or older,” he said. “We sifted through the national data and found that restricting these transplants based on age was not justified, although a cautious approach is needed since overall outcomes are worse at age 70 and above.”

Dr. Goldberg was among the dozen University of Miami faculty members, trainees and students who participated in the 2019 conference, held at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston on November 8-12.

“Our faculty were involved in a variety of activities at this year’s meeting including presenting original data, chairing scientific sessions and serving on expert panels,” said Paul Martin, M.D., professor and chief of the Division of Digestive Health and Liver Diseases. He served as program chair for the Academic Skills Workshop: Journal Editors Session, aimed at teaching strategies to trainees and junior faculty members to increase their chances of manuscript acceptance.  He was also a judge for the popular “Academic Debates” event.

Cynthia Levy, M.D., professor of medicine, the Arthur H. Hertz Endowed Chair in Liver Diseases, and associate director of the Schiff Center for Liver Diseases, presented her recent research and chaired a session of the Cholestatic and Autoimmune Liver Diseases Special Interest Group. “We discussed bile acid signaling and new therapeutic options for these rare diseases,” said Dr. Levy. “The session brought together basic scientists, clinical researchers and treating providers, and was very well received with standing room only!”

Another faculty member, Patricia D. Jones, M.D., assistant professor, moderated a session on medical approaches for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) treatment.  Other Miller School attendees included Leopoldo Arosemena, M.D.; Kalyan Bhamidimarri, M.D.; Andres Carrion Monsalve, M.D.; Jose R. Estrada, M.D., a transplant fellow; Lavinia Goldstein, P.A.; Melissa Franco, P.A.; Carla Molliner, P.A.; and Glenda Quinones, A.R.N.P.

Tags: American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, Dr. David Goldberg, Dr. Paul Martin, The Liver Meeting