AASLD Conference Day 3

by | Nov 10, 2025 | Uncategorized | 0 comments

Here’s what transpired at the annual AASLD The Liver Meeting® 2025 (Washington DC) for Day #3, 11/09/2025 —

Key Sessions & Focus Areas

  • The “Hepatology Associates Course, Part 1: Hepatology Associates as Leaders in Multidisciplinary Care” ran from 8:00 AM–9:30 AM and tackled topics such as novel treatment models for chronic hepatitis C and MASLD/MASH, pharmacist-driven liver disease management, resource-limited chronic liver disease approaches, and palliative care in hepatology.
  • Part 2 of that same Associates Course followed at 11:00 AM–12:30 PM, continuing similar themes (behavioural, nutritional, pharmacologic interventions) for chronic liver disease.
  • Additional programming in the afternoon included:
    • 3:45 PM–4:45 PM: SIG Meet-Ups (Special Interest Groups) and Community Conversations — e.g., “Patient Engagement in Pediatric Liver Disease” and “Taking Hepatology Associates to the Next Level”.
    • 5:00 PM–6:30 PM: Workshops and Symposiums such as the “AASLD Practice Guidelines Workshop: What’s new in 2025,” “ACLF: Advancing Care for Critically Ill Liver Patients,” and “AASLD/Japanese Joint Symposium: Emerging Strategies for Alcohol‐associated Liver Disease Care.”
    • Evening receptions: 5:45–6:45 PM Associates Reception; 7:00–8:00 PM Fellows’ Reception; 7:30–11:30 PM Members’ Reception (ticketed) for networking and socializing among attendees.

Themes & Takeaways

  • A strong theme was multidisciplinary care: recognizing that hepatology is increasingly intertwined with behavioral health, nutrition, pharmacology, palliative care, and health systems.
  • Emerging treatments and non-invasive diagnostics received attention — for example, programming previewed for upcoming abstracts and trials in MASLD/MASH.
  • The importance of advocacy and policy was also raised: a commentary noted that federal research funding pressures and the broader political environment are increasingly relevant to hepatology.

Key Sessions on November 9, 2025

  • Session: General Update: Latest Advances in Hepatology
    • Time: 2:00 PM – 3:30 PM
    • Location: Ballroom B, Level 3
    • Presenters: Vincent Chen MD, Michele M. Tana MD, MHS; Suthat Liangpunsakul MD, MPH, AGAF, FAASLD.
    • Topics:
      • Optimizing patient selection for metabolic dysfunction–associated steatohepatitis (MASH) therapies.
      • Advances in management of alcohol-associated liver disease.
      • Diagnosis/treatment strategies for primary biliary cholangitis (PBC).
  • Session: Late Breaking Abstract Parallel Session 1
    • Time: 2:00 PM – 3:30 PM
    • Location: Hall A (General Session), Concourse Level
    • This session is listed for November 10, but may relate to late-breaking content around that timeframe.

Here’s a curated, time-ordered rundown of what was on the official program for The Liver Meeting® Day 3 — Sunday, November 9, 2025 (Washington, DC) including session titles, times, locations, and (when listed) speakers or highlighted abstracts.

Morning

  • Career Development Workshop — Salon GH, Level 1 — 8:00–9:30 AM
    Speakers included Oren K. Fix, Joseph Ahn, Brian T. Lee, and Danielle Brandman; focus on training paths, practice models, and leadership.
  • CALD SIG Poster Highlights — Science in the Park – Site A, Level 3 — 7:45–8:15 AM
    Featured highlight abstracts such as:
    • Functional Differences of the Gut Microbiome in PSC and PBC (Marios Nikolaidis, PhD)
    • Identification of anti-DOK2 antibodies in Autoimmune Hepatitis (Kazumichi Abe, MD, PhD)
    • Single-Cell Spatial Transcriptomics… in Pediatric Autoimmune Liver Disease (Yunguan Wang, PhD).
  • Distinct Pathways, Shared Progress: Metabolic/Genetic Disorders & Biliary Physiology — Room 145, Level 1 — 8:00–9:30 AM
    Basic-to-clinical updates spanning cholangiocyte biology, A1AT deficiency, Wilson disease, and hemochromatosis.
  • Hyman J. Zimmerman State-of-the-Art Lecture: Systemic Therapy for HCC in 2025 — Where Are We Now? — Hall A (General Session), Concourse Level — 11:00–11:30 AM
    Lecturer: Laura M. Kulik, MD; moderator Tamar H. Taddei, MD, FAASLD.
  • Innovative Translational Studies in Cholestatic Disorders — Room 202, Level 2 — 11:00 AM–12:30 PM
    Moderators: Monika Sarkar, MD, MAS, FAASLD; David N. Assis, MD. Focus: new human/pre-clinical discoveries in AIH, PBC, PSC using modern analytic tools.
  • From Mice to Medicine: Decoding Alcohol-Associated Liver Disease Pathways and Therapies — Ballroom B, Level 3 — 11:00 AM–12:30 PM
    Moderators: Michele Pritchard, PhD; Gene Im, MD, FAASLD. Topics include oxidative stress, gut–liver axis, GLP-1 as a target.

Mid-day

  • Satellite Symposium (CME by external provider): Advancing the Management of Cholestatic Liver Disease (PBC, PFIC) — Room 152, Level 1 — 12:30–2:00 PM
    Organized by PeerVoice; supported by Ipsen; faculty included Kris V. Kowdley, MD, et al. (Note: satellite symposia are accredited by the organizer, not AASLD.)
  • MTE #25 — Advancement in Noninvasive Tests for Diagnosing MASH — Room 149, Level 1 — 12:45–1:30 PM (ticketed)
    Discussion leaders: Alina M. Allen, MD; Raj Vuppalanchi, MD, FAASLD.
  • PHHD (Public Health/Health Care Delivery) SIG Poster Highlights — Science in the Park – Site A, Level 3 — 12:45–1:15 PM
    Highlight abstracts included environmental impact of transplant clinic travel; value-based model for MASH-related compensated cirrhosis; and a patient-reported experience survey for liver disease outpatients.

Afternoon

  • Metabolic Modifiers and Surveillance Strategies in HBV — Ballroom A, Level 3 — 2:00–3:30 PM
    Themes: statins and HCC risk, MASLD’s impact on HBV fibrosis, GLP-1 in HBV outcomes, and using HBsAg to refine HCC surveillance thresholds.
  • Advancing Liver Care Through Innovative Associate & APP-Led Strategies — Room 146C, Level 1 — 3:45–4:45 PM
    Real-world, APP-led interventions, rare cholestatic disease management, transplant risk stratification, and behavioral support.
  • HBV SIG Poster Highlights — Science in the Park – Site A, Level 3 — 3:45–4:15 PM
    Highlight abstracts included:
    • CRMA-1001 epigenetic editor (preclinical; HBsAg loss via HBV DNA methylation)
    • Novel mRNA immunotherapy eliminating HBV in mouse models
    • HBsAg level identifies inactive CHB patients below HCC surveillance threshold.

Early Evening

  • AASLD Practice Guidelines Workshop: What’s New in 2025 — Hall A (General Session), Concourse Level — 5:00–6:30 PM
    Speakers include Marc G. Ghany, MD, MHSc, FAASLD; Lorna Dove, MD, MPH; Pratima Sharma, MD, MS; Helen Te, MD, FAASLD; Thomas Schiano, MD, FAASLD.
  • Advancing Care for Critically Ill Patients With Liver Disease: ACLF and Beyond — Ballroom B, Level 3 — 5:00–6:30 PM
    Presenters from Cleveland Clinic, University of Alberta, Mayo Clinic, King’s College Hospital, and University of Miami; topics include transplant role, renal optimization, hemodynamics, and sepsis management.
  • Next-Generation HBV Therapeutics: Emerging Therapies and the Functional Cure Quest — Room 207, Level 2 — 5:00–6:30 PM
    Early-phase studies on capsid modulators, immune restoration, therapeutic vaccines, antisense oligos, and an epigenetic editor approach.