Brian P. Lee, MD

Dr. Lee is a transplant hepatologist and Associate Professor at Keck School of Medicine of USC with joint appointment in the USC Institute for Addiction Science. He cares for patients with advanced liver disease, including alcohol and metabolic liver disease, and those being evaluated for or living after liver transplantation.

His research examines how alcohol, metabolic disease, and health policy shape liver disease and access to liver transplantation. He led the first multicenter US study of early liver transplantation for severe alcohol-associated hepatitis, which helped establish the practice as standard of care, and he founded and leads ACCELERATE, the NIH-funded national consortium committed to further improve outcomes in this practice. His research on insurance barriers to transplant led to changes in Medicaid policy.

He is lead author of studies in The Lancet, JAMA Internal Medicine, Annals of Internal Medicine, Journal of Hepatology, and Gastroenterology. His work has been cited in clinical practice guidelines in North America, Europe, Latin America, and Asia, and covered by the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, NPR, CNN, the New Yorker, and NBC Nightly News. He has served on national and international guideline and consensus panels in alcohol-associated liver disease, including as first author of the NIAAA-commissioned guidelines for clinical trial design.

Dr. Lee mentors residents, fellows, and junior faculty, with published work in Annals of Internal Medicine, Journal of Hepatology, and Gastroenterology. He serves as Associate Editor of Hepatology and as a voting member of the FDA Gastrointestinal Drugs Advisory Committee and 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

• Johns Hopkins Osler Program — 2016 — Internal Medicine
• UCSF — 2019 — Gastroenterology
• UCSF — 2020 — Transplant Hepatology

• American Consortium of Early Liver Transplantation-Prospective Alcohol-associated liver disease Cohort Evaluation (ACCELERATE-PACE)
  NIH · R01AA030960 · Aug 1, 2023 – Jul 31, 2030
• Estimating the Contribution of Alcohol and Metabolic Risk to Liver Disease Progression to Inform Personalized Interventions
  NIH · K23AA029752 · Jul 15, 2022 – Jun 30, 2026 · Role: Principal Investigator
• Estimating the Contribution of Alcohol and Metabolic Risk to Liver Disease Progression to Inform Personalized Interventions
  NIH · K23AA029752 · Jul 1, 2022 – Jun 30, 2026

• Gen Z drinks less as Gen X alcohol consumption rises, study reveals
• Heavy drinking surges among Americans in one age group as other generations cut back
• Americans are drinking less since the pandemic began, but one group bucks the trend
• Drinking finally slows after pandemic spike, but not for every age group
• Alcohol use has declined for the first time since Covid-19, with Gen Zers and millennials leading the charge
• Why Older Americans Are Drinking More Alcohol–Not Less
• F.D.A. Panel Supports Lifting Restrictions on Four Peptides, Despite Scientists' Objections
• Obesity May Be More Prevalent Than Previously Thought
• The Dry January Hangover
• A Common Chemical is 'Raising Some Alarms' for Liver Doctors. And It's Already in Your House.
• Common cleaning chemical tied to spike in liver disease across US, researchers say
• 5 alternatives to toxic dry cleaning
• 3 out of 5 liver cancer cases are preventable, study finds
• Serious liver disease is up among heavy drinkers, even without more drinking
• Alcohol use is up among women — and health consequences have followed
• Alcohol-related liver disease on the rise, new research finds
• Michelle Trachtenberg received a liver transplant before she died. Here's what to know about the surgery.
• 3 health conditions increase risk of liver damage if you drink, study says
• Not Drunk, Not Dry: What It Means to Be ‘Soberish’
• Alcohol Carries New Risks in Middle Age
• US surgeon general sounds alarm about link between alcohol and cancer
• Alcohol use increased during the Covid-19 pandemic. A new study shows that it’s still high
• At the Pandemic’s Start, Americans Began Drinking More. They Still Are.
• $12 million grant funds foundational research on early liver transplantation
• Georgia is taking Medicaid in the wrong direction
• Ozempic Might Help You Drink and Smoke Less
• Why Undocumented Immigrants Struggle to Receive Organ Transplants
• Is any amount of alcohol safe? It depends on your taste for risk
• What to know about alcohol use disorder and how to get treatment
• Psychedelics Show Promise For Treating Alcohol Addiction (8/29/2022)
• Psilocybin, Psychedelic Compound in Magic Mushrooms, Shown Effective for Alcohol Addiction (8/24/2022)
• Medicaid Expansion Saved Lives in Affected States (12/7/2021)
• Rate of Liver Transplants Surge as Alcohol Sales Boom During Pandemic (08/05/2021)
• The Negative Effects of Increased Alcohol Consumption During Pandemic (03/21/2021)
• Soaring Pandemic Alcohol Sales Cause Concern For Doctors (03/17/2021)
• New AI technology used to determine the risks of a liver transplant
• During COVID: More alcohol consumption, more hospital patients with liver disease (03/07/2021)
• As alcohol abuse rises amid pandemic, hospitals see a wave of deadly liver disease (02/08/2021)
• In the quest for a liver transplant, patients are segregated by prior alcohol use
• Alcohol Is Growing as a Prime-Time Killer (02/25/2020)
• Alcohol overtakes hepatitis C as the top reason for liver transplants (01/23/2019)
• Alcohol-related disease overtakes hepatitis C as top reason for liver transplant (01/23/2019)
• Alcohol destroyed their livers. Now, they're increasingly getting new ones (01/22/2019)
• Wine Didn't Make Me a Better Mom
• El consumo de alcohol para combatir el estrés dispara las enfermedades hepáticas durante la pandemia
• Alcohol-linked disease overtakes hep C as top reason for liver transplant
• Bar Owners Are Furious About the Forced End of To-Go Drinks
• Need a New Liver? Your Survival Odds May Depend on Race
• Transplants increase 50% for alcohol-related liver disease, study finds
• Medical experts warn of pandemic-related rise in liver disease
• The Addiction Crisis That No One Is Talking About
• During pandemic, hospitals see rise in alcohol-related liver disease
• Pandemic-fueled drinking causes wave of alcohol-related liver disease and hospitalizations
• As COVID-19 cases have dropped, so have Quebecers' use of tobacco and alcohol
• 'This may be an ongoing epidemic after COVID-19 is gone." Doctors voice concern over rise in alcohol-related liver disease amid pandemic
• Meet the Women Having a 'Hot Girl Summer'—and Staying Sober

• Terrault, Norah
• Tsukamoto, Hidekazu
• Dodge, Jennifer
• Hendershot, Christian
• Pedersen, Eric
• Han, Hyosun