The BSG Travelling Fellowship for AASLD and a visit to the MASLD Research centre in San Diego offered the opportunity for a trainee with a strong interest in Hepatology to attend AASLD in San Diego in November 2024 to see the latest research and clinical updates in Hepatology.

Congratulations to Dr Wenhao Li on being awarded last year's fellowship and we are delighted to share his report on the experience.

'I am writing to thank the BSG for providing financial support in order for me to attend MetALD meeting, AASLD meeting followed by a short stay with Prof Rohit Loomba’s team at UCSD.

It was a wonderfully enriching experience in several ways.

Clinically, I was able to shadow several Hepatologist as they did ward rounds and attended various clinical meetings such as transplant MDT, histopathology MDT, HCC MDT. I learnt key differences between UK and United States in terms of training, liver transplant allocation process and research.

Academically, as a person with research interest in MASLD, the opportunity to spend some time with Prof Loomba and his team was incredible. I was able to receive great career advice and form new clinical and academic collaborations that will be vital for my next steps in my academic journey. I was also able to spend time with Dr Cristina Llorente’s group, a world leading research group investigating gut microbiome in liver disease, which aligns with my own research interests and we were able to formulate a research grant proposal to NIH as well as a research fellowship application for myself to the Branco Weiss fellowship.'

Dr Wenhao Li MBBS PhD MRCP (UK)

NIHR Academic Clinical Lecturer & Specialist Registrar in Gastroenterology and Hepatology

Barts Liver Centre

Centre for Immunobiology

Barts & The London School of Medicine & Dentistry

Queen Mary University of London