Michael R. Lucey MD
Brief Biography
June 29, 2025

Dr. Vodkin is a transplant hepatologist at the University of California, San Diego. She is a dedicated educator across the Department of Medicine, and the program director for the transplant hepatology fellowship. Her clinical and research interests are in Fontan Associated Liver Disease, collaborating with a multidisciplinary team to look at nodule imaging and follow up, clinical management and combined heart-liver transplant.

Prof. Josep M. Llovet is a full professor of Medicine at Hospital Clínic–University of Barcelona and at Mount Sinai Hospital, New York, where he is the Director of the Liver Cancer Program. He has published approximately 400 papers, with an h-index of 150 and more than 140,000 citations, primarily in the field of liver cancer.

Dr. Tincopa completed her medical degree and residency in internal medicine at Johns Hopkins University. She completed gastroenterology and transplant hepatology fellowship at the University of Michigan. Dr. Tincopa has a Masters degree in Health and Healthcare Research from the University of Michigan and is also board certified in Obesity Medicine.

I am studying mechanisms of cell death escape by liver cancer cells as a consequence of oncogenic mutations and/or metabolic reprogramming. I obtained a Bachelor of Science in Molecular Biology, a Master of Science in Biomedical Sciences and a PhD in Experimental Oncology from University of Torino, Italy. After training as a visiting graduate student first and postdoctoral research fellow at the Cleveland Clinic and University of California San Diego, I joined Jecure Therapeutics as a research scientist for three years.

Dr. Veeral Ajmera is Associate Professor of Medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology and Medical Director of Liver Transplantation at the University of California, San Diego. Dr. Ajmera serves as an investigator in the UCSD Metabolic Dysfunction Associated Steatotic Liver Disease (MASLD) Research Unit where his research focuses on non-invasive biomarkers, genetics and patient factors associated with disease severity and prognosis.

Matthew Kappus, MD is the medical director for the living donation liver transplant and combined heart-liver transplant programs at Duke University Hospital. He conducts research in understanding physical function and transplant optimization for those undergoing liver transplantation.

Doug Simonetto is a Transplant Hepatology and Associate Professor of Medicine at Mayo Clinic, Rochester. He serves as the Director of the Gastroenterology and Hepatology Fellowship Program and Co-Director of Data Analytics and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. His research focuses on portal hypertension and alcohol-associated liver disease.