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Jennifer C. Lai, M.D., M.B.A.

Jennifer C. Lai, M.D., M.B.A.

  • Associate Professor of Medicine
  • General Hepatology and Liver Transplantation
  • Department of Medicine

Contact Information

Academic Office
 Division of Gastroenterology
513 Parnassus Avenue, Room S-357
San Francisco, CA 94143-0358
(415) 476-6422 - Phone
(415) 476-0659 - Fax
Jennifer.Lai@ucsf.edu
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Education

Stanford University, BS, Biology, 1996-2000

Tufts University School of Medicine, MD, MBA, 2001-2005

Residencies

  • New York Presbyterian Hospital-Columbia, Intern, Internal Medicine, 2005-2006
  • New York Presbyterian Hospital-Columbia, Resident, Internal Medicine, 2006-2008

Fellowships

  • University of California, San Francisco, Fellow, Gastroenterology, 2008-2011
  • University of California, San Francisco, Fellow, Transplant Hepatology, 2011-2012

Postdoctoral Training

  • University of California, San Francisco, Advanced Training in Clinical Research, 2009-2010

Board Certifications

  • American Board of Internal Medicine
  • American Board of Internal Medicine - Gastroenterology

Program Affiliations

  • UCSF Liver Center

Clinical Expertise

Research Interests

  • Hepatitis C virus (HCV)
  • Impact of function status in patients on the liver-transplant waiting list
  • Patterns of donor liver allocation and liver transplant outcomes

Biography

Dr. Jennifer C. Lai is a general and transplant hepatologist, specializing in treating patients with chronic viral hepatitis (both B and C), autoimmune disorders, and those with end-stage liver disease needing liver transplantation. 

After earning her undergraduate degree from Stanford University and combined MD/MBA degrees from Tufts University, she completed residency at the New York Presbyterian Hospital-Columbia and gastroenterology and advanced/transplant hepatology fellowships at UCSF. She is a member of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, American Society of Transplantation, American Gastroenterological Association, and American College of Gastroenterology. She has been recognized as a Fellow of the American College of Physicians (FACP). Dr. Lai is board certified in Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology. 

Awards & Honors

  Award  
  Confired By    
  Date    
  • Endowed Professorship in Liver Health and Transplantation
  • UCSF
  • 2022
  • Long-Term Mentor Award
  • UCSF Medical School
  • 2021
  • Young Investigator Award in Clinical Science
  • American Gastroenterological Association (AGA)
  • 2020
  • Floyd Rector Internal Medicine Research Mentoring Award
  • UCSF
  • 2019
  • Fellow
  • American Society of Transplantation
  • 2017
  • AST/Novartis Faculty Development Award (grant)
  • American Society of Transplantation
  • 2016
  • AST/Novartis Faculty Development Award (grant)
  • American Society of Transplantation
  • 2016 - 2017
  • Clinical Science Career Development Award
  • American Society of Transplantation
  • 2016
  • New Investigator Award
  • American Geriatrics Society
  • 2015
  • Young Investigator Award
  • International Liver Transplantation Society
  • 2015
  • Top 40 under 40
  • San Francisco Business Times
  • 2015
  • Paul B. Beeson Scholar in Aging Research (grant)
  • American Federation for Aging Research
  • 2014
  • Associate Scholar Genius Award (grant)
  • UCSF Pepper Center
  • 2014
  • Paul B. Beeson Scholar in Aging Research (grant)
  • American Federation for Aging Research
  • 2014 - 2019
  • Associate Scholar Genius Award (grant)
  • UCSF Pepper Center
  • 2014 - 2015
  • T. Franklin Williams Scholar (grant)
  • Association of Specialty Professors
  • 2013 - 2015
  • Pilot/Feasibility Award (grant)
  • UCSF Liver Center
  • 2013 - 2014
  • Pilot Award in Aging Research (grant)
  • UCSF Pepper Center
  • 2013 - 2014
  • Pilot for Junior Investigator Award (grant)
  • UCSF Resource Allocation Program
  • 2013 - 2014
  • T. Franklin Williams Scholar (grant)
  • Association of Specialty Professors
  • 2013
  • Junior Faculty Career Development Award (grant)
  • American College of Gastroenterology
  • 2012
  • Fellow
  • American College of Physicians
  • 2012 - curr
  • Junior Faculty Career Development Award (grant)
  • American College of Gastroenterology
  • 2012 - 2015
  • Transplant Hepatology Fellowship (grant)
  • American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases
  • 2011 - 2012
  • Clinical Research Award (grant)
  • American College of Gastrenterology
  • 2011 - 2012
  • Vanguard Award
  • International Liver Transplantation Society
  • 2011
  • Transplant Hepatology Fellowship (grant)
  • American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases
  • 2011
  • Clinical Research Award (grant)
  • American College of Gastrenterology
  • 2011
  • Sylvia Allison Kaplan Clinical Research Award
  • Northern California Kaiser Permanente
  • 2009
  • Sylvia Allison Kaplan Clinical Research Award (grant)
  • Northern California Kaiser Permanente
  • 2009 - 2010
  • Alpha Omega Alpha
  • Tufts University School of Medicine
  • 2005

    • Research Overview

    Dr. Lai has engaged in research investigating clinical outcomes in patients with chronic liver disease. Her research focuses on three main areas:

    1) Understanding the impact of functional status and physiologic reserve (i.e., frailty) in patients with cirrhosis awaiting liver transplantation (actively enrolling)

    2) Evaluating the association between chronic hepatitis C and systemic inflammation with Vitamin D status and bone mineral density (actively enrolling)

    3) Characterizing patterns of liver allocation and distribution and their association with liver transplant outcomes (both pre- and post-transplant) on a national level

    Research & Funding

    Data provided by UCSF Profiles, powered by CTSI
    ORCID iD: 0000-0003-2092-6380 Additional info
    • The Impact of Frailty on Liver Transplant Outcomes in Older Adults with Hepatocellular Carcinoma
      Sponsor:
      Sponsor ID:
      Funding Period:
      Jan 2023
      -
      Dec 2027
      PI
    • Predicting post-transplant mortality and global functional health based on pre-transplant functional status in liver transplantation
      Sponsor:
      Sponsor ID:
      Funding Period:
      Jun 2018
      -
      May 2023
      Principal Investigator
    • Development of a laboratory frailty index to improve prediction of mortality in patients with cirrhosis awaiting liver transplantation
      Sponsor:
      Sponsor ID:
      Funding Period:
      May 2020
      -
      Apr 2022
      Principal Investigator
    • Frailty and Functional Status in Older Liver Transplant Patients
      Sponsor:
      Sponsor ID:
      Funding Period:
      Sep 2014
      -
      Apr 2019
      Principal Investigator
    • Global Functional Status in the Older Liver Transplant Candidate
      Sponsor:
      Sponsor ID:
      Funding Period:
      Aug 2013
      -
      Jul 2015
      Principal Investigator

    Clinical Trials

    Data provided by UCSF Profiles, powered by CTSI

    Publications

    MOST RECENT PUBLICATIONS FROM A TOTAL OF 228
    Data provided by UCSF Profiles, powered by CTSI
    1. Ge J, Digitale JC, Pletcher MJ, Lai JC, N3C Consortium. Breakthrough SARS-CoV-2 infection outcomes in vaccinated patients with chronic liver disease and cirrhosis: A National COVID Cohort Collaborative study. Hepatology. 2023 Mar 01; 77(3):834-850. View in PubMed
    2. Wang M, Huang CY, Cullaro G, Covinsky K, Lai JC. Women with cirrhosis have lower self-rated health than men. Hepatol Commun. 2023 Mar 01; 7(3):e0065. View in PubMed
    3. Ufere NN, El-Jawahri A, Ritchie C, Lai JC, Schwarze ML. Promoting Prognostic Understanding and Health Equity for Patients With Advanced Liver Disease: Using "Best Case/Worst Case". Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2023 Feb; 21(2):250-255. View in PubMed
    4. Ufere NN, El-Jawahri A, Ritchie C, Lai JC, Schwarze ML. Promoting Prognostic Understanding and Health Equity for Patients With Advanced Liver Disease: Using "Best Case/Worst Case". Gastroenterology. 2023 Feb; 164(2):171-176. View in PubMed
    5. Bommena S, Mahmud N, Boike JR, Thornburg BG, Kolli KP, Lai JC, German M, Morelli G, Spengler E, Said A, Desai AP, Junna S, Paul S, Frenette C, Verna EC, Goel A, Gregory D, Padilla C, VanWagner LB, Fallon MB, Advancing Liver Therapeutic Approaches (ALTA) Study Group. The impact of right atrial pressure on outcomes in patients undergoing TIPS, An ALTA group study. Hepatology. 2023 Jan 19. View in PubMed
    6. View All Publications

    Videos

    Data provided by UCSF Profiles, powered by CTSI
    1. Nutrition in Patients with Cirrhosis

    In the News

    • Dr. Jennifer Lai Honored for Research in Cirrhotic and Liver Transplant Patients

      UCSF Transplant Surgery - March 20, 2015
      UCSF News reports that Jennifer Lai, MD, MBA, a general and transplant hepatologist and assistant clinical professor in the UCSF Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, has been honored for her "patient-oriented clinical research within the core principles of geriatrics (i.e., frailty, disability, lag-time benefit) to cirrhosis patients and liver transplant patients, organ allocation and distribution, and liver donor quality." UC San Francisco's Jennifer Lai, MD, MBA, was recently [...]

    • Most Liver Transplant Candidates Receive Donation Offers

      UCSF Transplant Surgery - October 22, 2014
      UCSF News reports on a study that found that the vast majoirty of liver transplant candidates who died or were delisted from the transplant list had previously received one or more liver donation offers:  Most liver transplant candidates who died or were removed from the transplant list actually received one or more liver donation offers, according to a recent UCSF study. "What we found challenges the simplistic view that transplant dynamics are driven simply by organ availability," said [...]

     

     
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