AASLD The Liver Meeting Abstracts & Presentations

Laura Kulik, MD 

• Systemic Therapy for Hepatocellular Carcinoma in 2025 – Where Are We Now? 
  • Hyman J. Zimmerman Hepatotoxicity State of the Art Lecture 
  • November 9, 2025 | 11:00 AM – 11:30 AM | Hall A, Concourse Level 

Daniel Ganger, MD  

• Pro: Arguing the Case for Combined Heart-Liver Transplant in Children and Young Adults (8:45 – 8:57AM) 
  • American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases and North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (AASLD/NASPGHAN) Course, Part 1 - Getting to the Heart of the Matter: Navigating Fontan-Associated Liver Disease.   
  • November 10, 2025 | 8:00 AM – 9:30 AM | Room 146C, Level 1  
• MTE #39: Fontan-Associated Liver Disease: When to Consider Combined Heart and Liver Transplant 
  • November 10, 2025 | 12:45 – 1:30PM | Room 149, Level 1 

Riccardo Superina, MD 

• Restoration of Portal Circulation in Children with Congenital Portosystemic Shunts Results in Spontaneous Involution of Hepatic Masses (9:53 – 9:58AM) 
  • Pediatric Liver Disorders (PLD) SIG Poster Highlights 
  • November 10, 2025 | 9:45 AM – 10:15 AM | Science in the Park, Level 3 

Rabab O. Ali, MD 

• Session: Cardiac and Liver Crosstalk in Fibrosis: Who is the “Brains” of the Operation?  
  • November 8, 2025 | 8:00 AM – 9:30 AM | Room 146C, Level 1 
• Session: Liver Fibrosis SIG Poster Highlights 
  • November 10, 2025 | 12:45 – 1:15PM | Science in the Park, Level 3 

Hazel Domingo, PA-C, MS 

• Session: Bridging Hepatology and Transplant: Key Insights for Nontransplant Clinicians on Indications, Evaluation, and Donor Strategies. 
  • November 9, 2025 | 2:00 PM – 3:30 PM | Room 146C, Level 1 

Riccardo Superina, MD 

• Session: Integrated Perspectives on Vascular Liver Disorders 
  • November 10, 2025 | 2:00 PM – 3:30 PM | Room 146A, Level 1 

Justin Boike, MD, MPH 

• Session: Portal Hypertension and Other Complications of Cirrhosis: Experimental and Translational. 
  • November 10, 2025 | 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM | Room 202, Level 2 

Alyssa Kriegermeier, MD  

• Session: Novel Approaches and Discoveries in Pediatric Hepatology (Combined with Pediatric Debrief) 
  • November 10, 2025 | 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM | Room 146C, Level 1  

Leveraging Immunotherapy for Transplantation in Hepatocellular Carcinoma (LIFT HCC): Analysis of 375 Patients Receiving Pre-Transplant Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors. M.S. Rezaee-Zavareh, T. Wang, P. Tabrizian, F. Ji, H. Adetyan, M. Luu, R. Marino, S. Ward, S. Li, L. Xiaojing, J. Shi, B. Wang, M. Abdelrahim, A. Esmail, Y. Hou, L. Zhu, R. Tang, M. Yang, N. Simonotti, S. Bhoori, J. W. Jang, U. Gul, F. Barakat, T. Hassanein, C.L. Chiang, A. Chan, W.K. Leung, L. Kulik, et al. 
Liver Transplant Plenary Session 
Sunday, November 9 | 9:00 – 9:15AM ET 

Integrating Proteomics and Transcriptomics to Study Liver Transplant Acute Rejection. X. Liu, C. Lantz, R. Green. 
Immunobiology, Immunosuppression, and Complications in Liver Transplantation Abstract Parallel Session Sunday, November 9 | 6:00 – 6:15PM ET 

Stent Diameter and Medications are not Associated with Reduced Odds of Hepatic Encephalopathy after TIPS: A Contemporary Multicenter Cohort Study from the ALTA Study Group. Y. Nobel, B. Thornburg, L. VanWagner, J. Boike, M. Fallon, P. Kolli, A. Said, C. Frenette, A. Goel, J. Lai, S. Asrani, G.J. Morelli, N. Lim, A. Jesudian, A. Deising, S. Paul, D. Simonetto, E. Spengler, M. Hameie, C. Padilla, D. Gregory, E. Verna. 
Clinical Management of Portal Hypertensive Complications: Hepatic Encephalopathy and Renal Failure Abstract Parallel Session
Monday, November 10 | 8:15 – 8:30AM ET

Patient-reported symptom burden as a predictor of hospitalizations in a multisite cohort of patients with advanced liver disease: Results from the PACE-LT Consortium. N. Ufere, E. Aby, C. Zeng, G. Bizup, E. Zhu, M. Kriss, J. Rice, T. Leventhal, D. Devuni, A. Krishnarao, B. Fortune, C. Tow, P. Mejia, L. King, J. Henson, S. Lieber, A. Noriega Ramirez, L. Nephew, P. Jones, N. Cortez Bazan, M. Hundt, K. Zhou, H. Han, H. Shroff, K. Hunt, S. Rogal, A. Noll, S. Celaj, A. Mazhar, D. Hughes, A. Dalvi, M. Armstrong, L. Li, M. Edelen, A. El-Jwahri.
Emerging Determinants and Outcomes in Liver Disease: From Population Trends to Patient-Centered Insights Abstract Parallel Session
Monday, November 10 | 8:45AM – 9:00AM ET

Real-World Practice Patterns and Outcomes of Terlipressin Use for Hepatorenal Syndrome–Acute Kidney Injury (HRS-AKI): Results from the HRS-HARMONY Consortium. J. Robinson, E. Orman, G. Cullaro, J. P. Teixeira, J. Neyra, A. Kapoor, D. Simonetto, S. Gonzalez, S. Asrani, H. Vargas, A. Rajan, Z. Fricker, E. Weinberg, J. C. Velez, J. Belcher, H. Wadei, B. Fortune, R. T. Frederick, O. Mehkri, B. Dolan, C. Pickett, J. Skvarce, S. Sachar, C. Lindenmeyer, T. Ouyang, N. Ufere, L. Lopes, S. St. Hillien, V. Kusztos, N. Vellutini, A. Vissa, O. Walker, C. Fischbach, J. Boike, et al.
Clinical Management of Portal Hypertensive Complications: Hepatic Encephalopathy and Renal Failure Abstract Parallel Session
Monday, November 10 | 9:15 – 9:30AM ET

Outcomes After Pediatric First Variceal Hemorrhage – Results from 44 Centers Participating in the International Multicenter Pediatric Portal Hypertension Registry (IMPPHR). B. Shneider, X. Gao, K. Guo, C. Jaramillo, J. Molleston, J. Pimenta, O. Ackermann, R. Superina, et al.
Application of Precision Immunophenotyping and Consortia Analytics in Pediatric Hepatology Abstract Parallel Session
Monday, November 10 | 12:15 – 12:30PM ET 

Ten-year Post-Transplant Survival Outcomes after Early Liver Transplant for Severe Alcohol-Associated Hepatitis: An ACCELERATE-AH Study. M. Dukewich, C. Hsu, N. Jakhete, G. Therapondos, S. Eswaran, et al.
High Stakes, New Strategies: Tackling Severe Alcohol-Associated Hepatitis Abstract Parallel Session
Monday, November 10 | 3:00 – 3:15PM ET

Volixibat Leads to Improvements in Fatigue and Sleep for Adults with Primary Biliary Cholangitis: Data from Vantage. K. Kowdley, M. Shiffman, D. Weinstein, Ankoma-Sey, N. Assy, D. Chiang, M. Brunetto, J. Trebicka. C. Freedland, L. Forman, A. Sanchez, A. Bonder, Q. Cai, H. Samant, N. Von Roenn, J. Eaton, N. Kemmer, J. Kothadia, C. Patel, S. Venkatachalapathy, E. Zigmond, E. Zuckerman, R. Firpi, T.T Wissniowski, B. Borg, H. Elgouhari, M. Thapar, N. Agrawal, J. Boike et al.                                                                Novel Therapies and Monitoring in Cholestatic Disease Abstract Parallel Session                                       Monday, November 10 | 3:00 – 3:15PM ET   

Outcomes and Patency of TIPS for Portal Vein Thrombosis from the ALTA Study Group. J. Boike, K.P. Kolli, L. VanWagner, E. Verna, M. Fallon, A. Said, C. Frenette, A. Goel, J. Lai, S. Ansari, C. Soldevila-Pico, M. Thomson, B. Fortune, A. Deising, S. Paul, D. Simonetto, M. German, M. Hameie, C. Padilla, D. Gregory, B. Thornburg.
Integrated Perspectives on Vascular Liver Disorders Abstract Parallel Session
Monday, November 10 | 3:00 – 3:15PM ET

Frailty is Associated with the Development of Acute-On-Chronic Liver Failure in Patients with End-Stage Liver Disease. A. Thuluvath, F. Barry, B. Blackburn, R. Gulati, A. Wilson, G. Johnson, A. Longdon, C. Yu, A. Rajan, Y. Zhang, R. Rahimi, A. Duarte-Rojo, M. Kappus, J. Lai, E. Verna. Oral Presentation.
Acute on Chronic Liver Failure Abstract Parallel Session
Monday, November 10 | 5:15 – 5:30PM ET

Poster Session I | Friday November 7 |1:00 - 2:00PM ET

Natural History of Histologic Alcohol-Related Hepatitis: A Multi-Center Analysis of 128 Explants from Early Liver Transplantation. B. Lee, D. Balitzer, D. Kleiner, J. Dodge, J. Rice, G. Therapondos, N. Jakhete, H. Han, R.M. Ghobrial, C. Hsu, S. Eswaran, et al. 

Institutional Approaches to Alcohol Monitoring and Treatment After Liver Transplantation (LT) for Alcohol-Associated Liver Disease (ALD): A Multicenter Protocol-Based Comparison. S. Eswaran, E. Alagoz, M. Saucke, B. Fisher, M. Serper, et al. 

Poster Session II | Saturday November 8 |1:00 - 2:00PM ET

Use of Endohepatology to Safely and Effectively Stage Fontan-Associated Liver Disease. M. Dybala, A. Aadam, J. Nguyen, A. Borhani, D. Ganger, J. Boike, D. Hughes. 

Predicting Cardiovascular Outcomes after Transjugular Intrahepatic Portosystemic Shunt (TIPS) Using Machine Learning: An ALTA Group Study. S. Bommena, L. VanWagner, E. Verna, J. Boike, K. Kolli, B. Thornburg, A. Said, C. Frenette, A. Goel, J. Lai, S. Asrani, C. Soldevila-Pico, M. Thomson, A. Jesudian, A. Deising, S. Paul, D. Simonetto, E. Spengler, M. Hameie, C. Padilla, D. Gregory, M. Fallon. 

Elective TIPS and Kidney Function: Prospective Assessment of EGFR Trajectories and Impact on Clinical Outcomes in the Advancing Liver Therapeutic Approaches (ALTA). G. Cullaro, M. Fallon, P. Kolli, B. Thornburg, L.VanWagner, J. Boike, E. Verna.

Comparative Validation of Prognostic Models for Transplant-Free Survival in TIPS: The Advancing Liver Therapeutic Approaches in Portal Hypertension (ALTA) Study. L. Saba, J. Boike, M. Fallon, P. Kolli, B. Thornburg, E. Verna, A. Said, C. Frenette, A. Goel, J. Lai, S. Asrani, G.J. Morelli, N. Lim, A. Jesudian, A. Deising, S. Paul, D. Simonetto, M. German, D. Gregory, M. Hameje, C. Padilla, L. VanWagner. 

TIPS-Attributable Mortality is Predicted by MELD Variants, Not Non-TIPS Deaths: Evidence from the ALTA Study Group. H. Yoo, J. Boike, M. Fallon, K. P. Kolli, B Thornburg, E. Verna, A. Said, C. Frenette, A. Goel, J. Lai, S. Asrani, C. Soldevila-Pico, M. Thomson, A. Jesudian, A. Deising, S. Paul, D. Simonetto, M. German, M. Hameie, D. Gregory, L. VanWagner.

Higher Mortality Among White Patients and Lower Waitlisting Among Black Patients with Cirrhosis: A Retrospective Study Using Real-World Data. S. Hussain, P. Barrios, S. Zhang, D. Vitello, S. Wei, S. Balbale, O. Dentici, A. Furmanchuck, N. Mazumder, L. VanWagner, L. Zhao, A. Duarte-Rojo, S. Mehrotra, D. Ladner. 

Prehabilitation Improves Physical Fitness Metrics Prior to Liver Transplantation and Expands the Pool of Transplant-Eligible Patients. L. Guzman, S. Miranda, J. Sepic, B. Zelikoff, D. Ladner, D. Borja-Cacho, S. Nadig, R. Lieber, J. Sliwa, A. Duarte-Rojo. (Poster of Distinction).

Operationalizing a Walking Exercise Prescription Based on 6-Minute Walk Test Results. J. Sepic, L. Guzman, S. Miranda, F.P. Lin, P. Bloomer, R. Lieber, J. Sliwa, A. Duarte-Rojo.

Hepatic Fibrosis is Associated with Diastolic Dysfunction in the Absence of Overt Heart Failure in Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease. R. Ali, A. Paredes-Marin, V. Sivakumar, K. Le, P. Trivdei, M. C. Novoa, J. Napoli, A. Leviton, X. Zhang, A. Lala, M. Bansal.

Normal liver enzymes in patients with diabetes mellitus and advanced fibrosis by FIB-4. E. Leven, A. Magreas, R. Ali, M. Bansal.

Rate of Increase in Apolipoprotein B (apoB) during Early Adulthood and Prevalent MASLD in Mid-life: The Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) Study. S. Park, H. Ning, D. Hughes, J. Wilkins, S. Bae, A. Bhatt, L. VanWagner.

Cardiometabolic Risk Factors Before and After Early Liver Transplantation for Severe Alcohol-Associated Hepatitis: An ACCELERATE-AH Study. M. Dukewich, N. Jakhete, S. Eswaran, et al. 

Social Deprivation is Associated with an Increased Risk of Decompensation and Decreased Access to Specialty Care. J. Obayemi, M. Paukner, B. Hasjim, D. Vitello, A. Jain, F. Crippa, K. Kershaw, T. Banea, L. VanWagner, L. Zhao, C. Manski, D. Ladner. 

Exploring Interpersonal Bias in Transplantation: A Cross-Sectional Study of Attitudes, Cultural Intelligence, and Implicit Bias Among Abdominal Transplant Center Employees. J. Obayemi, K. Chen, H. Reddy, M. Jones-Carr, S. Alexandria, K. Kershaw, D. Simpson, D. Ladner. 

Poster Session III | Sunday November 9 |1:00 - 2:00PM ET

New Submission: Institutional Approaches to Liver Transplant Evaluation for Alcohol-Associated Liver Disease (ALD): A Protocol-Based Comparison. E. Alagoz, M. Saucke, B. Fisher, M. Serper, S. Eswaran, et al. 

Closing the Gap: The Impact of a Culturally and Linguistically Tailored Liver Transplant Program. L. Lopez, G. Hagerman-Sucar, J. Caicedo-Ramirez. 

Utility of Contrast Enhanced Ultrasound in HCC Surveillance in Fontan-Associated Liver Disease. R. Orbuch, A. Pirola, D. Ganger, A. Borhani, M. Hagshomar, C. Lopes Vendrami, F. Miller, H. Gabriel. 

The National Under-Utilization of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Adherence and its Predictors in the United States. D. Vitello, M. Paukner, L. Kulik, S. Hussain, B. Hasjim, A. Jain, A. Duarte-Rojo, F. Obradovic, J. Obayemi, F. Crippa, M. Gmeiner, T. Banea, O. Dentici, L. Zhao, C. Manski, D. Ladner. 

A Novel Clinical Tool for Decompensation Prediction and Risk Stratification in Cirrhosis. D. Vitello, F. Crippa, S. Hussain, B. Hasjim, F. Obradovic, J. Obayemi, G. Peled, M. Adams, P. Barrios Martinez, A. Jain, K. Bates, M. Gmeiner, A. Duarte-Rojo, L. Kulik, T. Banea, O. Dentici, L. Zhao, L. VanWagner, C. Manski, D. Ladner. 

Hospitalization Patterns and Resource Utilization in Liver Cirrhosis. P. Barrios, G. Peled, A. Jain, S. Hussain, O. Dentici, L. VanWagner, A. Duarte-Rojo, L. Kulik, N. Mazumder, C. Manski, D. Ladner. 

The Prevalence and Impact of Alzheimer's and Related Dementia on Cirrhosis: A Retrospective Study Using Real-World Data. S. Wei, S. Zhang, S. Hussain, S. Balbale, O. Dentici, A. Furmanchuck, N. Mazumder, L. VanWagner, L. Zhao, A. Duarte-Rojo, S. Mehrotra, D. Ladner.

Mortality and Hospitalization Associated with High Neighborhood Deprivation Only Among White Patients with Cirrhosis. S. Hussain, P. Barrios, S. Zhang, D. Vitello, S. Wei, S. Balbale, O. Dentici, A. Furmanchuck, N. Mazumder, L. VanWagner, L. Zhao, A. Duarte-Rojo, S. Mehrotra, D. Ladner. 

Frailty and Decompensated Cirrhosis are Associated with Significantly Higher Mortality Independent of Race and Ethnicity. S. Hussain, P. Barrios, S. Zhang, D. Vitello, S. Wei, S. Balbale, O. Dentici, A. Furmanchuck, N. Mazumder, L. VanWagner, L. Zhao, A. Andres-Duarte-Rojo, S. Mehrotra, D. Ladner. 

Pre-Transplant Frailty is Not Associated with Cardiovascular Events Within 1 Year of Liver Transplantation. A. Thuluvath, F. Barry, B. Blackburn, R. Gulati, A. Wilson, G. Johnson, A. Longdon, A. Rajan, Y. Zhang, R. Rahimi, A. Duarte-Rojo, M. Kappus, J. Lai, E. Verna. 

Poster Session IV | Monday November 10 |1:00 - 2:00PM ET

Liver Cell-Specific Unfolded Protein Response Gene Expression is Lower in Neonatal Compared to Adult Mice. A. Kriegermeier, B. Lecuyer, R. Green. 

Role of age and frailty in mortality among patients with cirrhosis: A 5-year population-based analysis. D. Ladner, S. Balbale, M. Mohammadi, S. Zhang, S. Wei, S. Hussain, O. Dentici, T. Banea, A. Furmachuck, L. VanWagner, A. Duarte-Rojo, N. Mazumder, L. Zhao, S. Mehrotra.

Dual Cholate Shunt Test Identifies Patients at Risk for Portal Hypertension and Worsening Hemodynamics in Two Cohorts with Fontan-Associated Liver Disease. Y. Kim, D. Ganger, M. McRae, J. Rychik, G. Everson. 

Exploring the role of ileal bile acid transporter inhibitors, like volixibat, in the regulation of IL-31 and serum bile acids in patients with primary biliary cholangitis: Preliminary results from the VANTAGE trial. A. Bonder. M. Shiffman, D. Weinstein, V. Ankoma-Sey, N. Assy, D.J. Chiang, M. Brunetto, J. Trebicka, C. Freedland, L. Forman, A. Sanchez, Q. Cai, H. Samant, N. Von Roenn, J. Eaton, N. Kemmer, J. Kothadia, C. Patel, S. Venkatachalapathy, E. Zigmond, E. Zuckerman, R. Firpi-Morelli, T.T. Wissniowski, B. Borg, H. Elgouhari, M. Thapar, N. Agrawal, J. Boike, et al. 

The XBP1 Activator IXA4 Regulates Human Bile Acid and Fatty Acid Synthesis Genes in IPSC-Hepatocytes. M. A. Sooreshjani, X. Liu, E. Minocha, J.G. Purdy, J.A. Wertheim, R. Green. 

Cyp2c70-deficient mice exhibit age-dependent liver injury and unfolded protein response (UPR) activation. R. Shaw, P. Dawson, S. Karpen, B. LeCuyer, R. Green, A. Kriegermeier. 

Identification of Key Proteins in Cirrhosis Progression Via a Biological Network (Rich-Club) Analysis Approach. P. Barrios, I. Pla, P. Polineli, A. Sanchez, M. Caldwell, T. Banea, N. Kelleher, C. Atkinson, D. Ladner. 

Restoration of Portal Circulation in Children with Congenital Portosystemic Shunts Results: In Spontaneous Involution of Hepatic Masses. R. Superina, M. Switalski, E. Ro, I. Gelarden, A. Gupta. 

Surgical Correction of Extrahepatic Portal Vein Obstruction and Congenital Portosystemic Shunts Improves Neurocognitive Outcomes in Children Using the NIH Toolbox Cognition Battery and a Scale of Adaptive Functioning. F. Zelko, M. Switalski, K. Brandt, R. Superina. 

Elevated Bile Acids Decline After Surgical Ligation of Extrahepatic Congenital Portosystemic Shunt. L. Keys, R. Superina. 

Cross-Kingdom Shifts in the Blood Microbiome During HCV-Associated Liver Fibrosis and Post-Viral Clearance. R. Afruza, T. Heller, C. Koh, M. Chakraborty, J. Oringher, N. Minerva, R. Ali, G. Zhang, E. Townsend, E. Levy, O. Etzion, D. Kleiner, J. Lack, N. Redekar, Y. Zhang, K. Akiva, L. Scheuing.