The American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases Public Policy Committee explores challenges for liver health professionals within the health policy landscape, with particular emphasis on physician reimbursement, National Institutes of Health funding, vaccines and hepatitis B, and the Cure Hepatitis C Act of 2025. 

Join this community conversation about the current work of the US National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. Key topics include: the potential adverse health risks posed by alcohol at all levels of use, particularly among special populations (eg, women and adults older than 65 years); alcohol use screening and treatment follow-through; and the importance of eliminating stigma to the success of screening and treatment programs.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Division of Viral Hepatitis (DVH) Director Carolyn Wester discusses the ongoing work at DVH and the division's role in supporting the national hepatitis C elimination plan.

Join this cutting-edge program in which experts review and discuss the patient perspective of hepatitis C test and treat strategies; test and treat models of hepatitis C care across various settings; and diagnostic, treatment, and guideline advances. 

The exponential global rise in type 2 diabetes, obesity, and metabolic dysfunction–associated steatohepatitis (MASH) has driven the pursuit of increasingly effective therapies. Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonsits (GLP-1 RAs) have revolutionaled the management of these diseases but are not without risk. While rare, liver injury potentially associated with GLP-1 RA use is becoming more widely known; it is an increasing concern for drug developers as well as clinicians and their patients. Similarly, patients continue to search for and utilize herbs and supplements that purport to improve these metabolic conditions, some of which may have adverse effects on the liver. This interactive program focuses on GLP-1 RAs and herbal/supplemental remedies used for weight reduction and their potential adverse effects on the liver, sometimes severe.  A lively panel discussion follows speaker presentations. 

Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection remains a major global public health challenge, affecting an estimated 250 million individuals worldwide. Chronic hepatitis B (CHB) is a leading cause of cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and liver-related mortality. Approximately 5% to 10% of persons with CHB are coinfected with hepatitis D virus (HDV), a defective virus that depends on hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) for its replication and life cycle. Chronic HDV infection is associated with accelerated progression to cirrhosis, a higher incidence of HCC, and substantially increased liver-related morbidity and mortality compared with HBV monoinfection. In parallel, the expanding use of HBsAg–positive donor livers in transplantation has emerged as an important and evolving clinical consideration, particularly in the context of HBV/HDV coinfection.

Faculty for this program review the clinical course, management, and complications of chronic hepatitis B—highlighting the impact of HBV/HDV coinfection—and discuss emerging considerations in liver transplantation with HBsAg–positive donors. Topics include: current and emerging treatment options for HBV/HDV coinfection; molecular mechanisms driving HCC development in patients with CHB (with or without HDV coinfection) versus other HCC etiologies; clinical presentation, tumor characteristics, and patient outcomes in persons with CHB–related HCC compared with those with non-CHB–related HCC; and the clinical feasibility and safety protocols associated with use of HBsAg–positive cadaveric donors, including the selection of appropriate recipients and the implementation of lifelong antiviral prophylaxis.

Artificial intelligence (AI) tools are increasingly integrated into hepatology clinical practice and training, such as ambient scribes and note drafting in clinic, chart summarization on consult services, and AI–enabled platforms that synthesize evidence for point-of-care questions. While these tools may accelerate access to knowledge, they also introduce important educational and professional risks: (1) Trainees may become overly reliant on AI and never fully acquire core clinical skills, (2) AI–generated recommendations may be accepted without appropriate verification or contextualization, and (3) evolving boundaries on AI usage in scholarly pursuits and research. 

Presented as a partnership between the Clinical Informatics and Digital Health Special Interest Group and the Training and Workforce Committee, this program provides a hepatology-centered framework for responsible AI use across 3 domains: enhancing hepatology education quality; using AI to enhance self-directed learning and evidence appraisal; and establishing guardrails for scholarly use of AI to maintain academic integrity. The session concludes with an interactive panel discussion using common scenarios to translate principles into implementable teaching strategies and program policies.

Every day scientists make exciting discoveries that have the potential to improve human health. The path to the clinic, however, can be challenging. In this session, scientist-physician pairs give short presentations summarizing how they took their discoveries from the bench to the bedside. The scientist discusses the process of drug discovery, development, and testing. The clinician discusses how to identify promising preclinical therapies for patients and partner with scientists to establish clinical trials. Both pairs talk about the importance of finding the right partner in order to translate preclinical findings to patients. The program concludes with a panel discussion and question-and-answer period.

The landscape of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) treatment options has changed dramatically in recent years. There is also increasing recognition of the importance of incorporating patient values, preferences, and patient-reported outcomes (PROs), including health-related quality of life (HRQOL), into treatment decisions. In light of these changes, the Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC)—which previously advocated a strict treatment algorithm—now endorses the CUSE decision framework incorporating complexity, uncertainty, subjectivity, and emotion. Utilizing more flexible decision frameworks such as CUSE remains most feasible in co-located multidisciplinary HCC clinics but may be more challenging outside of these settings where many patients with HCC receive care.

This session aims to provide practical guidance on best practices for assessing patient preferences, monitoring and incorporating PROs, and applying more flexible treatment decision frameworks. These concepts are practiced through an interactive, case-based activity to provide hands-on experience with patient-informed treatment decision-making in common clinical scenarios.

Join journal editors from Hepatology, Hepatology Communications, and Liver Transplantation for an interactive community conversation tailored to residents, fellows, junior faculty, and students. Expect a pragmatic mix of brief talks and an extended open discussion focused on how to craft compelling manuscripts, what editors look for in submissions and review articles (basic and clinical), and how to navigate decisions and revisions with confidence. The editors emphasize practical takeaways that you can apply immediately to your interaction with journals.