At several different points early in her medical education and training, mentors pointed Laurie DeLeve, MD, PhD, FAASLD, in a particular area of research: hepatology. When she was in medical school at the Erasmus University of Rotterdam in The Netherlands, Dr. DeLeve was mentored along with a small group of fellow students by an older hepatologist on the faculty.

"Mentoring is absolutely crucial. I’ve had so many good mentors and role models throughout my life."
“We decided to set up a journal club, and I ran it for four years,” says Dr. DeLeve, who is a physician-scientist doing basic science research and is a Professor of Medicine in the Division of Gastrointestinal and Liver Diseases at the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles. She’s also run the journal club in her division for the past 28 years. “So I was interested in the liver early on, but I was not yet settled on it.” DeLeve instead earned a doctorate in pharmacology at the University of Toronto in Canada.

From Pharmacology to GI/Hep
“There was a guy who ran the clinical pharmacology program across the city, and during my exit interview, he said, ‘Hmm…you’re interested in drug metabolism? You should sub-specialize in hepatology after your residency,’” says Dr. DeLeve. He made a strong impression on her, so she followed his advice, and completed her internship and residency in Internal Medicine at the University of Michigan, then a fellowship in gastroenterology at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA).

“I just got really lucky with a fantastic mentor,” she says. More mentors entered her life in the second year of her residency. At the end of her GI consult month, she met with Tadataka “Tachi” Yamada, MD, KBE, who was the chief of GI at the University of Michigan and the future editor-in-chief of Yamada’s Textbook of Gastroenterology. “I was interested in research, academic medicine and the liver, and he recommended three different institutions for Gastroenterology Fellowship for my subsequent fellowship. The day after I met with Dr. Yamada, I received a phone call from Neil Kaplowitz, who was then a division chief at UCLA and would later become president of AASLD. He said, ‘I understand you are interested in research. Would you come for an extra day to tour my lab if you get a fellowship interview at UCLA?’ This was the day after I met with Dr. Yamada, and for a resident to get a call like this was totally unheard of!”

Dr. DeLeve feels that mentors can make a strong positive impact on young researchers who need guidance as they make important decisions for their training and career, and she ran a women’s mentoring group at USC for years. “Mentoring is absolutely crucial. I’ve had so many good mentors and role models throughout my life,” she says.

Focus on Microcirculation
With Dr. Kaplowitz as her mentor, Dr. DeLeve focused her research on liver microcirculation, with an early emphasis on toxic liver injury. She spends about one third of her time on administrative work and mentoring tenure-track faculty, including an intense, structured program she instituted that includes ample time for feedback and questions between the mentor and mentee, and regular check-ins by the mentor to find out what the mentee may need. In 2015, DeLeve received the USC/Mellon Mentoring Award for Faculty Mentoring Faculty.

“In this day and age, when funding for research is tight, a lot of young doctors are finishing their training with a lot of debt. It’s hard to recruit doctors to go into research when they have so much debt,” she says. “Research disciplines thrive when both PhD scientists and physician-scientists are working in a given field, because they each have different strengths. Physician-scientists may have better insight in clinical relevance, whereas PhDs may be better grounded in advanced methodology. When we work together, research moves forward more effectively. It’s crucial to make sure that young scientists are well mentored. If you’ve never written a grant before, having your grant reviewed by an experienced mentor first helps. We didn’t have a formal mentoring program at USC before I came here, so this is very gratifying for me. It’s one of my proudest achievements.”

AASLD Involvement
During Dr. Kaplowitz’ tenure as AASLD President, Dr. DeLeve joined the Education Committee. From both Dr. Kaplowitz and another of her mentors, the committee’s chair and later AASLD President, Keith Lindor, she learned various administrative “soft” skills.

“I learned a lot about how to run a meeting, and I had a fantastic time. Three years later, Dr. Lindor recommended me to become the next chair of the committee. I love everyone I work with at AASLD, including the staff, who are very fun people to work with,” she says. “It’s fun and rewarding, and it’s my home away from home. At the Member’s Reception at the Annual Meeting, I get more hugs than I do the rest of the year combined!” She became a Fellow of the AASLD in 2014.

At home in Los Angeles, Dr. DeLeve says her life away from campus rotates around her daughter and her two dogs, a border terrier and a bichon frisé. She enjoys regular workouts, wine and spending time with her many friends.

“I spend about four hours every weekend walking my dogs,” she says. “I’m known as a grill master also. My gas grill is only steps from the kitchen door. We have two seasons here in Southern California: summer and ski season. I love skiing and snowboarding, but my knees do not – I’ve had two crunched menisci. So no more skiing. Now, it’s scuba diving when I travel.”

Carla W. Brady, MD, MHS, FAASLD is an Associate Professor in the Division of Gastroenterology at Duke University Medical Center, having been a faculty member within the division since 2006 and having served as an elected member of the Duke University Executive Committee of Academic Council and as an appointed member of the trustee-led Graduate and Professional Education and Research Committee.  She is a transplant hepatologist with a particular interest in liver disease and liver transplantation from a women's health perspective.  Dr. Brady has authored various manuscripts on liver disease in pregnancy and liver disease in menopause, including the first AASLD Practice Guidance on Reproductive Health and Liver Disease. 

As an active member of the AASLD, she has served on its Scientific Program Committee and Nominating Committee.  She was a member of the AASLD Diversity Task Force that led to the creation of the Inclusion and Diversity Committee.  She has served as chair of the AASLD Program Evaluation Committee (currently known as the Continuing Medical Education Committee) and as chair of the Inclusion and Diversity Committee.  She became a Fellow of the Association in 2016.

What inspired you to choose hepatology?
I chose Hepatology because it combines the fascination of pathophysiology and challenges of diseases. I like this is a subspecialty of Internal Medicine that delves into most areas of human health!

What is your professional area of focus?
I am fortunate to be able to practice as a clinician, educator and perform research. My main expertise and research interests are cirrhosis and its complications, interventional procedures in patients with cirrhosis and portal hypertension and biliary complications in liver transplant recipients.

What moment(s) in your career have you been most proud of?
There have been several; among the most pivotal was being accepted as Gastroenterology and Hepatology Fellow at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center/Harvard Medical School and completing a Master’s Degree in Clinical Investigation at HMS and MIT in Boston. In addition, I was very honored to receive the Advanced Hepatology Training Award sponsored by AASLD to complete additional Transplant Hepatology training at BIDMC.

Did you have a mentor(s)? How was mentorship impactful for your career? Are you a mentor?
Of course, I had wonderful mentors that inspired me to follow this specialty. In particular Dr. J Thomas Lamont and Dr. Nezam Afdhal at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center which encouraged me to train in Gastroenterology and Hepatology and pursue a research fellowship in Hepatology at Hospital Clinic in Barcelona before my Clinical Fellowship at Harvard. In Barcelona, I was exceptionally fortunate to have Dr. Pere Gines and Dr. Vicente Arroyo as mentors, they both guided and trained me in Clinical Research.

I also currently mentor both residents and fellows. I believe we need to get them passionate about the field so they can advance their knowledge and take better care of our patients. If they are interested in research, I tell them to get specific training in clinical or basic research. This is key because formal training with a master’s degree or a Ph.D. will really teach you how to understand and conduct research.

What are some of the challenges facing hepatologists today? How do you think some of these issues can be addressed?
The greatest challenges are related to having enough time for patients and research. There is a growing amount of bureaucracy and paperwork that physicians need to deal with daily. We should equally focus our efforts and dedication to what we enjoy and is productive for our family, friends, job, and hobbies. 

As specialists we have the challenge of preventing liver-related disease from be that from NAFLD, alcoholic liver disease, and/or hepatitis B and C.

What’s a piece of advice (career or personal) you’ve received that has been helpful for you?

1. Surround myself with colleagues that have a similar drive and want the best for them and their patients.
2. Patient care, family, and friends always come first.
3. The best tool for performing research is time and patience!

Why is your AASLD membership important to you?
It is important because it was the first medical society I joined when I was a fellow.  I became involved with AASLD because of my mentors and because it is one the premier hepatology associations in the world. AASLD allows you engage in many areas including medical education, editorial boards, SIG, global outreach, public affairs, and research to name a few. It allows its members to easily network with colleagues from the United States and around the globe.

When you’re not working, what do you like to do?
I have many interests but perhaps not enough time to pursue them all! My hobbies are playing tennis, biking, jogging, skiing, and listening to all types of music.

Let's Connect
Twitter:@acv69cardenas

Following the advice of his instructor while pursuing his doctorate in toxicology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Professor Gavin E. Arteel, PhD, FAASLD, joined the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases. He would later become a Fellow of the AASLD and rank this achievement among one of the top experiences of his career.

“My mentor was a very enthusiastic member of the society and strongly encouraged his students to be the same,” says Dr. Arteel, now a faculty member of UPMC’s Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition, and the director of the Pittsburgh Liver Research Center’s Pilot and Feasibility program. Before starting at UPMC, he led a research team at the University of Louisville that focused on acute and chronic alcohol-induced liver injury, the inflammatory response in the liver, the sensitization of cytotoxic cell killing in the liver, and hepatic regeneration and remodeling. Dr. Arteel’s initial training was in biochemical toxicology, and he has published numerous articles in peer-reviewed medical journals like Gastroenterology and HEPATOLOGY on alcohol-induced liver injury, including the potentially preventive effects of the widely prescribed diabetes medication metformin.

“The liver is, in my opinion, the ideal organ for study for this field,” says Dr. Arteel. “As the main detoxifying organ in the body, the liver has a high likelihood of toxic injury, and it has several lines of defense that protect (or rebuild) from this injury. It’s only when these defense systems break down, or are overwhelmed, that you see significant liver injury. This process has always fascinated me, and my work to this day focuses on trying to better understand the underlying mechanisms that lead to the chronicity of liver disease.”

It may be no surprise that Dr. Arteel’s research focuses on the liver’s ability to rebuild itself, as he has had a longtime passion for construction of all types.

“I supported myself in college partly by building houses during the summer. I’m a pretty good DIYer, and almost always have some sort of remodeling or rebuilding house project going on,” he says. “It’s nice to do something that creates results that are more tangible than what my work often does.”

Dr. Arteel drew inspiration for his research career from the early advice his grandfather, Leonard, gave him: “Being successful is having something you love to do that you do well, and having either the luck or the foresight that it ends up being your job. Life’s too long to spend it doing something that you hate.” Luckily for the fields of toxicology and liver disease, Dr. Arteel enjoys studying, research, writing and mentoring young investigators.

He began his studies at the University of Wisconsin School of Pharmacy, where he graduated cum laude in 1993. In 1995, his research data was included on the cover of the British Journal of Cancer, and in 1996, he earned the George L. O’Donaghue Memorial Predoctoral Fellowship from the American Liver Foundation. After earning his doctorate at UNC, Dr. Arteel was named an Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung Fellow, studying in Germany from 1998 to 2000, and then returned to UNC for a postdoctoral fellowship from 2000-2001 at the Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies.

At The Liver Meeting® 2001, Dr. Arteel participated in the Presidential Plenary Lecture, and just a year later, he received the President’s Choice Award. Additionally, Dr. Arteel received the Most Promising Basic Science Research faculty award in 2004, the Outstanding Young Investigator award in 2005 and the Scientific Importance faculty award in 2005, 2007 and 2013.

While widely recognized for his work, Dr. Arteel measures his career success by another metric. “These days, there are clear metrics by which one can measure the direct impact of a scientist on the field: the number of publications, your H-index, your i10-index. However, there is no metric for the impacts of a particular scientist via their efforts as a mentor,” says Dr. Arteel. “These contributions, while less tangible than publications, are arguably more important in the long term and are the true legacy of the scientist.”

He looks back with appreciation for his own formal and informal mentors, who took time out of their intense research or teaching schedules to advise and guide him at pivotal points in his career.

“I have no doubt that I would not be where I am today without their guidance,” says Dr. Arteel. “These experiences also cemented my commitment to academia, so I, in turn, can also serve as a mentor.”

"Involvement in AASLD connects busy professionals to the wider community, creating a truly valuable network of colleagues who share the same passion for liver disease research and improved patient outcomes," he says.

AASLD members are committed to the advancement of young members’ careers, which gives trainees the opportunity to network and build relationships with mentors. Mentorship has exponential benefits at every stage of one’s career, for both the mentor and the mentee. For Dr. Arteel, mentors reinforced his commitment to academic medicine and he hopes that their knowledge and advice will help him mentor his current and future students and colleagues.

Name: William F. Balistreri, MD, FAASLD

Institution: Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center

When did you join AASLD?
I joined the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases [AASLD] in 1976.

Describe what AASLD was like at the time you joined.
What I recall was a focus on liver pathology, in both the abstract presentations and a recurring (biennial), specific Liver Biopsy Post Graduate Course. In these early meetings, presentations also addressed newly developed liver "function" tests (using analysis of enzymes, prothrombin time, gamma globulins, and protein electrophoresis, as well as assessment of the fate of injected substrates, such as BSP).

The clinical entities of key interest were alcohol-associated liver disease and viral hepatitis – there was no mention (and presumably no recognition) of the now dominant NAFLD. Of course, liver transplantation was still a dream!

What do you feel is your greatest accomplishment which has contributed to the success of AASLD?
There are a few accomplishments I would like to share.

• Helping to catalyze the formal emergence of a body of knowledge and an organized focus on disorders of the liver in early life – Pediatric Hepatology – the development of a new clinical subspecialty. Over the past 20 years, the pace of patient‐ and laboratory‐based research in the field has expanded, allowing the deciphering of the consequences of genetic or metabolic aberrations on immature liver structure and function. These clinical advances led to development of specific approaches to the diagnosis and management of liver disease in infants and children, including both liver transplantation and nontransplant treatment options. These events were followed by expansion of the workforce, creating a critical mass of pediatric hepatologists / transplant specialists, consisting of individuals with focused, specialized skills and techniques.
• This rite of passage has been marked by the election of four pediatric hepatologists to AASLD leadership (President).
• Further validation of the field occurred with approval of the petition to establish a Certificate of Added Qualification in Transplant Hepatology by the American Board of Pediatrics. (ref = HEPATOLOGY 2013;58:458‐476)

What would people be surprised to learn about AASLD from "back in the day?"
Maybe not too surprising – the meeting took place in small, smoke-filled rooms, with limited reliance on audiovisual elements (simple podium presentations – No PowerPoint!).

There was a relatively selective membership process!

What would you say is AASLD's great strength?
AASLD has several strengths.

• The broad focus of AASLD activities and thus the ability to unify and integrate all those with an interest in liver disease – thus the opportunity for all to have a voice.
• The promotion and discussion (at several levels) of the extraordinary advances in basic sciences and how to successfully apply these principles to human liver disease.
• Development of a broad and accessible education profile
• Interaction with other societies – the success of the AASLD has fostered the growth and development of international liver organizations such as the International Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, the European Association for the Study of the Liver, and the Asian Pacific Association for the Study of the Liver.

What would you say is AASLD's biggest accomplishment in its first 70 years?
There are several "society related" accomplishments – specifically the establishment of The Liver Meeting® and the inauguration of the official journals – HEPATOLOGY, Clinical Liver Disease, and Hepatology Communications. In addition, the establishment of hepatology as a focused discipline – leading to ABIM and ABP Certification, with expansion of the work force.

In terms of clinical impact, AASLD members (and The Liver Meeting®) have played a major role in the identification of the causative agent of "non-A non-B" hepatitis – the molecular delineation of the hepatitis C virus in the late 70s. This allowed, over the next 25-30 years, the development of highly effective antiviral agents – a major step towards global elimination of this potentially devastating disease.

The AASLD members and The Liver Meeting® have highlighted detailed molecular studies of inherited forms of cholestasis. This in turn led to a greater understanding of normal liver metabolism (e.g. bile acid metabolism and transport mechanisms), as well as disease-related adaptive processes. This has opened the possibility of gene or cell therapy for these disorders.

There are several other accomplishments that could be mentioned: two examples – the advances in liver transplantation and linkage of liver disease mechanisms and potentially treatment to the gut microbiome.

How/where do you seen AASLD in the next 70 years?
I would envision continued growth and impact of the advocacy profile of AASLD – bringing public attention to liver health and disease. I also see the following happening.

• Expansion of the AASLD Foundation focus on research funding.
• Innovative discovery and precise application of clinical tools such as disease markers, genomic profiles, and novel pharmaceuticals.
• Given the success of the education profile of the AASLD, I would expect continued development of focused single topic conferences
• Given the impact of social media, I would expect enhanced communication among those interested in liver diseases – fortifying the bridges between basic scientists, physician-scientists and clinicians.

Steven K. Herrine, MD, FAASLD, the Program Director of Transplant Hepatology at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia and one of the creators of the AASLD Foundation’s Emerging Liver Scholars Program, has been a consistently active AASLD member since he started his career. He’s served as the chair of several AASLD volunteer committees in the past, and through his involvement, "Early on, I saw the value of commitment to and involvement with AASLD. It's not just holding a membership card. I have met more valuable colleagues than I can count.”

“I first joined AASLD as a trainee, and I’ve only missed on Annual Meeting since that time,” says Dr. Herrine, whose specialties include treating patients with gastrointestinal cancers and liver disease, including those who require transplant surgery. He says he was attracted to this subspecialty because he identified closely with the way hepatologists approach their work: with care, sympathy and attention to detail. “The individuals involved in the care of patients with liver disease are my type of people.”

In addition to his clinical work, Dr. Herrine also conducts hepatology research, and teaches and mentors those just starting in their hepatology careers. “Anything I have the opportunity to publish with our trainees” are the journal articles he says he is most proud to showcase. He’s also proud of the “influence I have had on many trainees as they became transplant hepatologists.”

Dr. Herrine’s work in transplant hepatology and GI cancer treatment at Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals has earned him several notable honors over the past decade. He was named the Internal Medicine Residency Teacher of the Year at the institution and the recipient of the Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Award in 2015. In 2010, Dr. Herrine was given the Christian R. and Mary F. Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching at Jefferson Medical College, and was also highlighted in a Senior Class Portrait.

Serving as a mentor to hepatology trainees and young investigators is a way for him to follow in the footsteps of Santiago Munoz, MD, “my first hepatologic mentor, who taught me that fastidiousness of care is the key to good patient outcomes,” he says.

Outside of the classroom, laboratory and clinic, Dr. Herrine enjoys spending time in the kitchen. “I can cook pretty well,” he shares. A fulfilling career is based on pursuing the goals that you find most rewarding, he says. “Do what makes you happy.”