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
[email protected]
Division of Gastroenterology
513 Parnassus Avenue, Room S-357
San Francisco, CA 94143-0358
(415) 476-6422 - Phone
(415) 476-0659 - Fax
[email protected]
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
Clinical Expertise
- Alcoholic Liver Disease
- Autoimmune Hepatitis
- Cirrhosis
- Drug-Induced Hepatitis
- Fulminant Hepatic Failure
- Hemochromatosis
- Hepatitis B
- Hepatitis C
- Hepatocellular Carcinoma (Liver Cancer)
- Liver Transplantation
- Living Donor Liver Transplantation
- Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease
- Polycystic Liver Disease
- Primary Biliary Cirrhosis
- Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis
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
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 
- The spectrum of cognitive impairment including Alzheimer’s Disease and related dementias after liver transplantationSponsor: NIH/NIASponsor ID: R01AG059183-6Funding Period:Sep 2023-Aug 2028PI
- Investigating the role of frailty on outcomes in acutely ill patients with cirrhosis undergoing liver transplantation in the acute care settingSponsor: NIH/NIDDKSponsor ID: R01DK133527Funding Period:Jul 2023-Jun 2028PI
- The Impact of Frailty on Liver Transplant Outcomes in Older Adults with Hepatocellular CarcinomaSponsor: NIH/NIASponsor ID: K24AG080021Funding Period:Jan 2023-Dec 2027PI
- UCSF Liver CenterSponsor: NIHSponsor ID: P30DK026743Funding Period:Jul 1985-May 2023Co-Investigator
- Predicting post-transplant mortality and global functional health based on pre-transplant functional status in liver transplantationSponsor: NIH/NIASponsor ID: R01AG059183Funding Period:Jun 2018-May 2023Principal Investigator
- Development of a laboratory frailty index to improve prediction of mortality in patients with cirrhosis awaiting liver transplantationSponsor: NIH/NIASponsor ID: R21AG067554Funding Period:May 2020-Apr 2022Principal Investigator
- Frailty and Functional Status in Older Liver Transplant PatientsSponsor: NIH/NIASponsor ID: K23AG048337Funding Period:Sep 2014-Apr 2019Principal Investigator
- Global Functional Status in the Older Liver Transplant CandidateSponsor: NIH/NIASponsor ID: R03AG045072Funding Period:Aug 2013-Jul 2015Principal Investigator
Clinical Trials
Data provided by UCSF Profiles, powered by CTSI
- Study ID: NCT04874350Start Date: Dec 2021Estimated Completion Date: Dec 2023Condition(s): Cirrhosis, Sarcopenia
- Study ID: NCT03973372Start Date: Jun 2019Estimated Completion Date: Jul 2024Condition(s): Cirrhosis
- Study ID: NCT02367092Start Date: Jul 2016Estimated Completion Date: Dec 2019Condition(s): Liver Disease, Sarcopenia, Liver Cirrhoses, Liver Transplant
- Study ID: NCT03228290Start Date: Oct 2011Estimated Completion Date: Dec 2023Condition(s): Liver Disease, Liver Transplant
Publications
MOST RECENT PUBLICATIONS FROM A TOTAL OF 258
Data provided by UCSF Profiles, powered by CTSI
- Cullaro G, Ge J, Lee BP, Lai JC, Wadhwani SI. Association between neighborhood-based material deprivation and liver transplant waitlist registrants demographics and mortality. Clin Transplant. 2023 Nov 08; e15189. View in PubMed
- Gutierrez SA, Pathak S, Raghu V, Shui A, Huang CY, Rhee S, McKenzie-Sampson S, Lai JC, Wadhwani SI. Neighborhood Income is Associated with Healthcare Utilization in Pediatric Short Bowel Syndrome. J Pediatr. 2023 Nov 06; 113819. View in PubMed
- Yalung JE, Shifman HP, Rasnick Manning E, Beck A, Bucuvalas J, Lai JC, Wadhwani SI. Ambient air pollution is associated with graft failure/death in pediatric liver transplant recipients. Am J Transplant. 2023 Oct 26. View in PubMed
- Wadhwani SI, Kruse G, Squires J, Ebel N, Gupta N, Campbell K, Hsu E, Zielsdorf S, Vittorio J, Desai DM, Bucuvalas JC, Gottlieb LM, Lai JC. Caregiver Perceptions of Social Risk Screening in Pediatric Liver Transplantation: From the Multicenter SOCIAL-Tx Study. Transplantation. 2023 Oct 13. View in PubMed
- Shifman HP, Huang CY, Beck AF, Bucuvalas J, Perito ER, Hsu EK, Ebel NH, Lai JC, Wadhwani SI. Association of State Medicaid Expansion Policies with Pediatric Liver Transplant Outcomes. Am J Transplant. 2023 Sep 28. View in PubMed
- View All Publications
In the News
- UCSF Transplant Surgery - March 20, 2015UCSF 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 [...]
- UCSF Transplant Surgery - October 22, 2014UCSF 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 [...]
