Dr. Elizabeth Verna is the Frank Cardile Associate Professor of Medicine at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, where she has developed an extensive track record of clinical research in patients with liver diseases.  She is an NIH-funded clinical investigator, who due to her expertise and experience, currently serves as the Director of Clinical Research for the Columbia University Transplant Clinical Research Center as well as the Director of the Hepatology Section for the Division of Digestive and Liver Diseases at Columbia.   Dr. Verna’s areas of most significant focus include the diagnosis and treatment of hepatitis C virus in high-risk populations, the impact of infection and the intestinal microbiome in patients with cirrhosis and liver transplantation, diagnosis and treatment of complications of end-stage liver disease including kidney failure and physical frailty, alcohol associated liver disease, and the prevention of disease progression among patients with cirrhosis. Dr. Verna has been recognized internationally for her contributions by giving multiple invited lectures throughout the world. In addition, she has been recognized by our leading medical societies through leadership positions including serving on the Governing Board of the American Society of Transplantation and as the Chair of the Practice Guidelines Committee for the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases.