Welcome to the UCSF Liver Center
The Liver Center is a consortium of more than 60 researchers who share a common interest in liver biology and disease. The goal of the Center is to integrate bench science with clinical investigation, in support of its vision to understand and cure human liver diseases.
The physicians and scientists of the Liver Center are committed to improving understanding of liver biology and alleviating suffering from liver diseases. Read More.
Holger Willenbring, MD, PhD
Program Director, Liver Center
Holger Willenbring named as new Center Director
The Liver Center is proud to announce that Dr. Holger Willenbring, Professor of Surgery in the Division of Transplant Surgery, has been appointed as its new Program Director. His appointment was approved by officials at NIDDK on September 16, 2024. Dr. Willenbring succeeds Dr. Jacquelyn Maher, who stepped down as Director after completing a 16-year term from 2008-2024.
Dr. Willenbring is well known to the Liver Center, having served as its Associate Director since 2012. In addition, Dr. Willenbring oversees the Liver Center's Enrichment Program, which he will continue to do through the current fund year. Dr. Willenbring previously provided oversight to the Liver Center Pilot & Feasibility Program, but with his new responsibilities as Director he will delegate that role to Dr. Maher for the 2025 funding cycle.
With this leaderhsip transition, Dr. Jennifer Lai will also assume a new role as Associate Director of the Center. Please join us in congratulating Drs. Willenbring and Lai as they lead the Center to new heights of excellence!
Congratulations to the 2025 Pilot & Feasibility Grant Awardees!
Chris Hsiung, MD, PhD
CRISPR screens to discover pro-fibrogenic enhancers in hepatic stellate cells
Jillian Jespersen, PhD
Mechanisms of failed hepatic immune memory during chronic hepatitis B
Marisa Medina, PhD
Use of partitioned polygenic risk in iPSC-hepatocytes to study MASLD progression & treatment
Featured Publications
Wong RJ, Loeb R, Seal KH, Barry F, Stark Kent D, Seetharaman S, Sharma A, Lai JC, Rubin JB. The Complex Relationship Between Pain, Mental Health, and Quality- of-Life in Patients With Cirrhosis Undergoing Liver Transplant Evaluation. J Clin Gastroenterol. 2025 May-Jun 01;59(5):464-471. doi:10.1097/MCG.0000000000002028. Epub 2024 Jul 16. PMID: 39008614; PMCID: PMC11735693.
Becker J, Domenger C, Choksi P, Krämer C, Baumgartl C, Maiakovska O, Kim JJ, Weinmann J, Huber G, Schmidt F, Thirion C, Müller OJ, Willenbring H, Grimm D. Identification of a robust promoter in mouse and human hepatocytes by in vivo biopanning of a barcoded AAV library. Mol Ther. 2025 Apr 21:S1525-0016(25)00301-6. doi: 10.1016/j.ymthe.2025.04.027. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 40263935.
Ge J, Fontil V, Ackerman S, Pletcher MJ, Lai JC. Clinical decision support and electronic interventions to improve care quality in chronic liver diseases and cirrhosis. Hepatology. 2025 Apr 1;81(4):1353-1364. doi: 10.1097/HEP.0000000000000583. PMID: 37611253; PMCID: PMC10998693.
Tsusaka T, Najar MA, Schwarz B, Bohrnsen E, Oses-Prieto JA, Neudorf H, Lee C, Little JP, Burlingame AL, Bosio CM, Burslem GM, Goldberg EL. Reversible histone deacetylase activity catalyzes lysine acylation. Nat Chem Biol. 2025 Mar 26. doi: 10.1038/s41589-025-01869-5. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 40140626.
For a complete list of liver-related member publications updated monthly, click here
