Brian P. Lee, MD

Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine

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Overview

Dr. Lee is a transplant hepatologist who cares for patients with advanced liver disease and those undergoing liver transplantation. He leads ACCELERATE, an NIH-funded national research consortium, and his research program focuses on improving health for patients with alcohol use, metabolic dysfunction, and liver disease through: 1) early transplant with alcohol; 2) the overlap of alcohol and metabolic liver disease; 3) public policy and advocacy; and 4) novel therapies and translational science. He is lead author of studies in The Lancet, JAMA Internal Medicine, Annals of Internal Medicine, Gastroenterology, Journal of Hepatology, and his work has featured in New York Times, Wall Street Journal, NPR, CNN, the New Yorker, and NBC Nightly News. He has led advocacy initiatives that changed national and statewide transplant and insurance policies to improve healthcare access, and his research has been incorporated into practice guidelines across North America, Europe, Latin America, and Asia. He is first author of international expert task force consensus guidelines for clinical trial design in alcohol use and liver disease. He has served as an Associate Editor for Journal of Hepatology Reports, and currently as Associate Editor for Hepatology. He serves as a standing Voting Member of the FDA Gastrointestinal Drugs Advisory Committee and as a Voting Member of the FDA Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee.

Awards

  • 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

Education and Training

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

Research Funding

  • 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

Media

Publications

  • Detection of Potential MetALD and ALD Using Phosphatidylethanol in a Large Multicenter MASH Trial Screening Cohort. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2026 Aug 25.. View in PubMed
  • Machine learning-derived clinical phenotypes of ascites in cirrhosis: A multi-center latent class analysis with external validation. Liver Transpl. 2026 Aug 06.. View in PubMed
  • Alcohol-Related Liver Disease: A Review. JAMA. 2026 Aug 04; 336(5):413-425.. View in PubMed
  • High Prevalence of Abnormal Anthropometrics in Lean Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease: A National Cross-Sectional Study. Gastroenterology. 2026 Jul 17.. View in PubMed
  • Phosphatidylethanol improves diagnostic accuracy of MASLD, MetALD, and ALD: Results from a prospective cohort study. JHEP Rep. 2026 Jun 17; 101894.. View in PubMed
  • National Prevalence of Clinical Obesity by BMI Class: A National Cross-Sectional Study. Ann Intern Med. 2026 Jun 02.. View in PubMed
  • Episodic Heavy Drinking and Implications for Steatotic Liver Disease Nomenclature: A National Cross-Sectional Study. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2026 Apr 02.. View in PubMed
  • National trends in resmetirom prescriptions for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis in the USA. Clin Mol Hepatol. 2026 Apr; 32(2):e185-e188.. View in PubMed
  • Differential gastrointestinal mortality in Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander and Asian subgroups in the U.S.: a cross-sectional analysis of national mortality surveillance data 2018-2023. Lancet Reg Health Am. 2026 Mar; 55:101372.. View in PubMed
  • Discordant FIB-4 and liver stiffness in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease as related to histology and liver-related events in a global cohort: Editorial on “Histological severity and hepatic outcomes in patients with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease and discrepant FIB-4 and liver stiffness measurement”. Clin Mol Hepatol. 2026 Jul; 32(3):1409-1412.. View in PubMed