Nezam H. Afdhal, MD
Director, Liver Center, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School
Dr. Afdhal received his specialty training in gastroenterology and hepatology at the Boston University School of Medicine and St. Vincent's Hospital and University College, Dublin. He directs one of the largest hepatology divisions in the U.S., with major NIH-funded basic and clinical research programs and 20+ industry- sponsored trials. The Center has expertise in immunology, fibrosis, biliary diseases, genomics, and proteomics. Dr. Afdhal is widely published in biliary and liver diseases with numerous original articles and several books. He has served on editorial boards for several peer-reviewed journals, including Gastroenterology, and on many AASLD and AGA committees. He has been involved with numerous clinical trials as a local, regional, national, and global PI. A special area of expertise has been in interactions with FDA and industry in development of new devices for the diagnosis and treatment of liver diseases.
Dr. Afdhal's clinical and research interests span all elements of liver disease, with a special focus on Phase I–III studies of HBV and HCV therapeutics.
John G. McHutchison, MD
Director, Gastroenterology and Hepatology Research,
Duke Clinical Research Institute (DCRI)
Professor of Medicine, Duke University Medical Center
Dr. McHutchison is a distinguished GI and liver disease researcher. After leaving his native Australia, he served as assistant professor of medicine at the University of Southern California and as medical director for liver transplantation at the Scripps Clinic before joining Duke in 2002. The DCRI's GI-Hepatology research program, which has conducted over 250 clinical studies, is home to a hepatology database that includes demographic, treatment, and outcomes data for over 1500 patients with chronic HCV treated at one center. Dr. McHutchison has served on many advisory committees and on the editorial boards of the peer-reviewed liver journals Hepatology and Journal of Hepatology. He also has published extensively in the hepatology field.
Dr. McHutchison’s clinical and research interests are broad; the GI-Hepatology research program includes hepatitis B and C viruses in relationship to treatment, disease progression, immunopathogenesis and genetic factors, ascites, noninvasive markers of fibrosis, and steatosis. He is often asked to advise and consult with industry and regulatory authorities.