Brian P. Lee, MD

Dr. Lee is a transplant hepatologist who treats patients before and after liver transplant. His NIH-funded research program focuses on improving health for patients with alcohol use, metabolic dysfunction, and liver disease, through: 1) early transplant with alcohol; 2) intersection of alcohol and obesity in the liver; 3) public policy and advocacy; 4) novel therapies and translational science. His research has led to lead-author studies in The Lancet, JAMA Internal Medicine, Annals of Internal Medicine, Lancet Public Health, Gastroenterology, Journal of Hepatology, among others. His research has featured in New York Times, Washington Post, NPR, CNN, Forbes, Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal, and on-screen interviews with NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt, Today Show, among others. He has led advocacy initiatives that successfully changed national- and state-wide transplant and insurance policies to improve healthcare access for patients. His research has incorporated into practice guidelines across North America, Europe, Latin America, and Asia. He has interest in clinical trial design, and is first-author of international expert task force consensus guidelines to design clinical trials in alcohol use and liver disease. He serves as a standing Voting Member of the U.S. FDA Gastrointestinal Drugs Advisory Committee, and served as a Voting Member of the FDA Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee.

• European Association for the Study of the Liver: Young Investigator Bursary Award, 2019
• American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases: Clinical/Translational Early Career Investigator Award, 2018
• American Society of Transplantation: Young Investigator Award, 2018
• International Liver Transplantation Society: Young Investigator Award, 2017
• Johns Hopkins Hospital: Resident Teaching Award, 2016
• Summa Cum Laude, 2013
• Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA), 2013
• Phi Beta Kappa, 2010

• Medical Treatments and Outcomes in Acute Alcohol-Related Hepatitis. Clin Liver Dis. 2026 Feb; 30(1):55-69.. View in PubMed
• Discordant FIB-4 and Liver Stiffness in MASLD as related to Histology and Liver-Related Events in a Global Cohort. Clin Mol Hepatol. 2026 Jan 09.. View in PubMed
• Reply to ‘Bridging Association to Action: Reframing Environmental Exposure Assessment in PCE-Linked Liver Fibrosis’. Liver Int. 2026 Jan; 46(1):e70462.. View in PubMed
• Cardiometabolic risk factors and alcohol use among adults aged 20-25: A nationally representative US study. J Hepatol. 2026 Jan; 84(1):e16-e18.. View in PubMed
• Clinical trial design, biomarkers and end points in metabolic and alcohol-related liver disease. Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2025 Dec; 22(12):866-884.. View in PubMed
• Reducing alcohol-associated liver disease burden in the general population. Lancet Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2025 Dec; 10(12):1117-1131.. View in PubMed
• Association of Alcohol and Incremental Cardiometabolic Risk Factors With Liver Disease: A National Cross-sectional Study. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2025 Nov; 23(12):2205-2213.. View in PubMed
• Tetrachloroethylene Is Associated With Presence of Significant Liver Fibrosis: A National Cross-Sectional Study in US Adults. Liver Int. 2025 Nov; 45(11):e70398.. View in PubMed
• Phosphatidylethanol Is Cost-effective to Accurately Detect Periodic Alcohol Use in Patients With Alcohol-associated Liver Disease. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2025 Jul 24.. View in PubMed
• Significant Liver Disease Among Increased Alcohol Consumers More Than Doubled From 1999 to 2020 Alongside Evolving U.S. Population Demographics. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2025 Jul 23.. View in PubMed
• GLP-1 Receptor Agonist Outcomes, Safety, and Body Mass Index Change in a National Cohort of Patients on Dialysis. Clin J Am Soc Nephrol. 2025 06 17; 20(8):1100-1110.. View in PubMed
• A national registry study evaluated the landscape of kidney transplantation among presumed unauthorized immigrants in the United States. Kidney Int. 2025 Jun; 107(6):1064-1075.. View in PubMed
• Medicaid cuts, mortality, and health-care expenditure in the USA. Lancet. 2025 May 17; 405(10491):1736.. View in PubMed
• Acamprosate for the Treatment of Alcohol Dependence With Liver Disease. Mayo Clin Proc. 2025 May 07.. View in PubMed
• Reply to ‘Incorporating genetic variations in alcohol-associated liver disease trials for East Asian populations’. Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2025 May; 22(5):358.. View in PubMed
• An Expert Consensus Delphi Panel in Metabolic Dysfunction- and Alcohol-associated Liver Disease: Opportunities and Challenges in Clinical Practice. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2025 Apr 30.. View in PubMed
• The Survival Benefit of Reabstinence After Harmful Alcohol Use Following Early Liver Transplant for Severe Alcohol-Associated Hepatitis: A Multicenter ACCELERATE Study. Am J Gastroenterol. 2025 Apr 01; 120(4):827-836.. View in PubMed
• Healthcare Contact Days Before and After Liver Transplant in Patients With Cirrhosis: A National Cohort Study. Clin Transl Gastroenterol. 2025 Apr 01; 16(4):e00819.. View in PubMed
• Outcomes for Early Liver Transplantation for Alcohol-associated Liver Disease in High-acuity Liver Transplant Recipients With Alcohol Use Disorder. Transplant Direct. 2025 Apr; 11(4):e1776.. View in PubMed
• Metabolic dysfunction and alcohol-related liver disease (MetALD): Position statement by an expert panel on alcohol-related liver disease. J Hepatol. 2025 Apr; 82(4):744-756.. View in PubMed
• Safety of acamprosate for alcohol use disorder after liver transplant: A pilot randomized controlled trial. Liver Transpl. 2025 Apr 01; 31(4):498-507.. View in PubMed
• Emergency Department Utilization and Outcomes Among Adults With Cirrhosis From 2008 to 2022 in the United States. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2025 Mar; 23(4):564-573.e27.. View in PubMed
• The University of Southern California psychosocial checklist: A novel tool to remotely screen transplant candidates with alcohol-associated liver disease prior to hospital transfer. Liver Transpl. 2025 Feb 01; 31(2):250-253.. View in PubMed
• Trends in Alcohol Use After the COVID-19 Pandemic: A National Cross-Sectional Study. Ann Intern Med. 2025 Jan; 178(1):139-142.. View in PubMed
• Kidney Transplantation Among Presumed Undocumented Immigrants After Changes in US State Policies. JAMA Intern Med. 2025 Jan 01; 185(1):116-118.. View in PubMed
• Reply to ‘An expert panel Consensus Statement on ALD without experts by experience’. Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2024 Dec; 21(12):886.. View in PubMed
• Characteristics and Outcomes Among US Commercially Insured Transgender Adults With Cirrhosis: A National Cohort Study. Am J Gastroenterol. 2024 Dec 01; 119(12):2455-2461.. View in PubMed
• Reply. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2024 Oct; 22(10):2160.. View in PubMed
• The Global Burden of Alcohol-associated Cirrhosis and Cancer in Young and Middle-aged Adults. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2024 Sep; 22(9):1947-1949.e3.. View in PubMed
• Designing clinical trials to address alcohol use and alcohol-associated liver disease: an expert panel Consensus Statement. Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2024 Sep; 21(9):626-645.. View in PubMed
• Socio-economic association of alcohol use disorder and cardiovascular and alcohol-associated liver disease from 2010 to 2019. Aliment Pharmacol Ther. 2024 08; 60(3):340-349.. View in PubMed
• Current Management of Patients With Alcohol-Associated Hepatitis. Gastroenterol Hepatol (N Y). 2024 Jul; 20(7):401-403.. View in PubMed
• Longitudinal Change of Alcohol Use is a Dynamic Contributor to Steatotic Liver Disease Progression. Gastroenterology. 2024 06; 166(6):965-967.. View in PubMed
• Reply: Recognizing the new nomenclature requires a comprehensive analysis of the prevalence, severity, and long-term outlook for SLD and subclassifications. Hepatology. 2024 Apr 01; 79(4):E117-E118.. View in PubMed
• Meta-analysis: Prevalence and impact of alcohol abstinence in alcohol-associated cirrhosis. Aliment Pharmacol Ther. 2024 03; 59(6):730-741.. View in PubMed
• National prevalence estimates for steatotic liver disease and subclassifications using consensus nomenclature. Hepatology. 2024 03 01; 79(3):666-673.. View in PubMed
• Association of Renin-Angiotensin System Inhibition With Liver-Related Events and Mortality in Compensated Cirrhosis. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2024 02; 22(2):315-323.e17.. View in PubMed
• Association between neighborhood-based material deprivation and liver transplant waitlist registrants demographics and mortality. Clin Transplant. 2024 01; 38(1):e15189.. View in PubMed
• Liver transplantation for alcohol-associated liver disease: A call for national standards of best practices to monitor and bridge disparities in access and outcomes. Am J Transplant. 2023 08; 23(8):1097-1101.. View in PubMed
• Quantifying days at home in patients with cirrhosis: A national cohort study. Hepatology. 2023 08 01; 78(2):518-529.. View in PubMed
• Healthcare affordability and effects on mortality among adults with liver disease from 2004 to 2018 in the United States. J Hepatol. 2023 08; 79(2):329-339.. View in PubMed
• National Trends in Alcohol Use, Metabolic Syndrome, and Liver Disease From 1999 to 2018. Ann Intern Med. 2023 06; 176(6):879-882.. View in PubMed
• Geographic Density of Gastroenterologists Is Associated With Decreased Mortality From Alcohol-Associated Liver Disease. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2023 06; 21(6):1542-1551.e6.. View in PubMed
• Multicentered study of patient outcomes after declined for early liver transplantation in severe alcohol-associated hepatitis. Hepatology. 2023 04 01; 77(4):1253-1262.. View in PubMed
• Liver transplant for alcohol-associated liver disease continues to rise 2 years into the COVID-19 pandemic especially among young adults. J Hepatol. 2023 04; 78(4):e139-e141.. View in PubMed
• Early Liver Transplantation for Severe Alcohol-Associated Hepatitis and a History of Prior Liver Decompensation. Am J Gastroenterol. 2022 12 01; 117(12):1990-1998.. View in PubMed
• Advocacy for Equity in Transplantation Access for Alcohol-Associated Liver Disease: How Research Changed Medi-Cal Policy. Gastroenterology. 2022 09; 163(3):539-542.. View in PubMed
• Artificial intelligence to identify harmful alcohol use after early liver transplant for alcohol-associated hepatitis. Am J Transplant. 2022 07; 22(7):1834-1841.. View in PubMed
• Duration and cost-effectiveness of hepatocellular carcinoma surveillance in hepatitis C patients after viral eradication. J Hepatol. 2022 07; 77(1):55-62.. View in PubMed
• Subclinical hepatic fibrosis is associated with coronary microvascular dysfunction by myocardial perfusion reserve index: a retrospective cohort study. Int J Cardiovasc Imaging. 2022 Jul; 38(7):1579-1586.. View in PubMed
• Alcohol use trajectories among U.S. adults during the first 42 weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic. Alcohol Clin Exp Res. 2022 06; 46(6):1062-1072.. View in PubMed
• Discordance in categorization of acute-on-chronic liver failure in the United Network for Organ Sharing database. J Hepatol. 2022 05; 76(5):1122-1126.. View in PubMed
• Patterns of Alcohol Use After Early Liver Transplantation for Alcoholic Hepatitis. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2022 02; 20(2):409-418.e5.. View in PubMed
• Medicaid expansion and variability in mortality in the USA: a national, observational cohort study. Lancet Public Health. 2022 01; 7(1):e48-e55.. View in PubMed
• Changes and mediators of survival disparity among Black liver transplant recipients in the United States. Am J Transplant. 2021 12; 21(12):3883-3893.. View in PubMed
• Retail Alcohol and Tobacco Sales During COVID-19. Ann Intern Med. 2021 07; 174(7):1027-1029.. View in PubMed
• Ultrasonic Percutaneous Tenotomy for Recalcitrant Lateral Elbow Tendinopathy: Clinical and Sonographic Results at 90 Months. Am J Sports Med. 2021 06; 49(7):1854-1860.. View in PubMed
• Bariatric surgery and the risk of alcohol-related cirrhosis and alcohol misuse. Liver Int. 2021 05; 41(5):1012-1019.. View in PubMed
• Excess Mortality After Liver Transplantation in Young Women With Alcohol-Associated Liver Disease. Am J Gastroenterol. 2021 03 01; 116(3):551-559.. View in PubMed
• Medicaid Policy and Liver Transplant for Alcohol-Associated Liver Disease. Hepatology. 2020 07; 72(1):130-139.. View in PubMed
• Liver Transplantation in Unauthorized Immigrants in the United States. Hepatology. 2020 05; 71(5):1802-1812.. View in PubMed
• Chronic Kidney Disease in Liver Transplant Candidates: A Rising Burden Impacting Post-Liver Transplant Outcomes. Liver Transpl. 2020 04; 26(4):498-506.. View in PubMed
• Early Liver Transplantation for Alcohol-Associated Liver Disease: Need for Engagement and Education of All Stakeholders. Hepatol Commun. 2019 Aug; 3(8):1019-1021.. View in PubMed
• Model to Calculate Harms and Benefits of Early vs Delayed Liver Transplantation for Patients With Alcohol-Associated Hepatitis. Gastroenterology. 2019 08; 157(2):472-480.e5.. View in PubMed
• Underestimation of Liver Transplantation for Alcoholic Hepatitis in the National Transplant Database. Liver Transpl. 2019 05; 25(5):706-711.. View in PubMed
• Predicting Low Risk for Sustained Alcohol Use After Early Liver Transplant for Acute Alcoholic Hepatitis: The Sustained Alcohol Use Post-Liver Transplant Score. Hepatology. 2019 04; 69(4):1477-1487.. View in PubMed
• National Trends and Long-term Outcomes of Liver Transplant for Alcohol-Associated Liver Disease in the United States. JAMA Intern Med. 2019 03 01; 179(3):340-348.. View in PubMed
• Liver-related mortality in the United States: hepatitis C declines, non-alcoholic fatty liver and alcohol rise. Transl Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2019; 4:19.. View in PubMed
• Reply. Gastroenterology. 2019 01; 156(1):286-287.. View in PubMed
• Return to Alcohol Use After Liver Transplant: Patterns and Surveillance. Clin Liver Dis (Hoboken). 2018 Dec; 12(6):160-164.. View in PubMed
• Outcomes of Early Liver Transplantation for Patients With Severe Alcoholic Hepatitis. Gastroenterology. 2018 08; 155(2):422-430.e1.. View in PubMed
• Early liver transplantation for severe alcoholic hepatitis: moving from controversy to consensus. Curr Opin Organ Transplant. 2018 04; 23(2):229-236.. View in PubMed
• Alcohol Abuse and Liver Disease. Gastroenterology. 2018; 154(1):254-255.
• Reduction of covalently closed circular DNA with long-term nucleos(t)ide analogue treatment in chronic hepatitis B. J Hepatol. 2017 02; 66(2):275-281.. View in PubMed
• Three-year Results of a Pilot Program in Early Liver Transplantation for Severe Alcoholic Hepatitis. Ann Surg. 2017 01; 265(1):20-29.. View in PubMed
• Ultrasonic Percutaneous Tenotomy for Recalcitrant Lateral Elbow Tendinopathy: Sustainability and Sonographic Progression at 3 Years. Am J Sports Med. 2016 Feb; 44(2):504-10.. View in PubMed
• Recessive NPHS2 (Podocin) mutations are rare in adult-onset idiopathic focal segmental glomerulosclerosis. Clin J Am Soc Nephrol. 2007 Jan; 2(1):31-7.. View in PubMed
• Bullous “cellulitis” with eosinophilia: case report and review of Wells’ syndrome in childhood. Pediatrics. 2005 Jul; 116(1):e149-55.. View in PubMed

• Terrault, Norah
• Tsukamoto, Hidekazu
• Emamaullee, Juliet
• Genyk, Yuri
• Dodge, Jennifer