The EASL Mentorship Programme was created to guide young scientists and clinicians through a crucial stage in their career path by encouraging scientific exchange and fostering personal developmental relationships with a more experienced and knowledgeable hepatologist or senior scientist.
About EASL Mentorships
This Mentorship Programme offers three young scientists or clinicians the opportunity to receive support from an international and independent experienced senior colleague. By matching mentees with a senior hepatologist or senior basic scientist as mentor, the Mentorship Programme aims at enhancing scientific exchange and personal developmental relationships. This is achieved by supporting and advising junior scientific researchers and junior clinicians in their career choices and scientific growth.
Benefits for Mentees
- Personal development
- Monthly virtual meetings between Mentor and Mentee
- Complimentary registration to EASL Congress
- EUR 800 bursary to support travel and accommodation to attend EASL Congress
- Up to EUR 1,700 EUR financial support to visit Mentor’s institute or support other beneficial educational activity as agreed with Mentor.
Discover the Mentors for 2024
Dr Ahmed Elsharkawy
Consultant Transplant Hepatologist
Honorary Senior Clinical Lecturer – University of Birmingham
Dr Ahmed Elsharkawy has been a consultant transplant hepatologist at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham since 2012. He is also honorary senior lecturer at the University of Birmingham and a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of London.
His clinical interests include viral hepatitis, liver transplantation, polycystic liver disease, drug induced liver injury, primary biliary cirrhosis, acute liver failure, acute on chronic liver failure, NAFLD (especially in the context of hepatitis B) and cirrhotic sarcopaenia. He has pioneered novel approaches to the management of hepatitis C in the community.
He was awarded his PhD from Newcastle University on the role of NF-kB in the hepatic inflammation-fibrosis-cancer axis. He is a research active NHS clinician and is principle investigator on a number of clinical trials; as well as a member of trial steering committees.
He is the BASL Treasurer and lead of the BASL HBV specialist interest group. He has more than 60 peer reviewed publications. He is a regular peer reviewer for both publications and grants. He is keen on promoting the role of social media, in particular Twitter, and serves as an EASL Social Media Advisor.
Reasons why you should select Ahmed Elsharkawy as your mentor:
- Expertise on how to build a research portfolio outside an academic career track
- Transplantation expertise and opportunity to visit a large transplant centre
- Knowledge of all aspects of viral hepatitis
- Awareness of the important of patient advocacy and public health in the working life of any hepatologist
- Advice on how to balance clinical, research and committee work
Núria Fabrellas i Padrés
University of Barcelona
Núria Fabrellas i Padrés, born in Girona, Catalonia, in 1959, is a distinguished healthcare professional and academic leader. With a career rooted in nursing, she earned her degrees from the University of Barcelona and expanded her expertise internationally. Núria’s extensive academic journey includes degrees in Pediatrics, Nutrition, Dietetics, and Cultural Anthropology.
Currently a Professor of Nursing at the University of Barcelona, Núria is a key investigator at the Institut d’investigacions biomèdiques August Pi Sunyer (IDIBAP) and the Network Biomedical Research Center: Liver and Digestive Diseases (CIBEREHD). Her leadership extends to directing the Nursing doctoral (PhD) program and past roles as Director of Nursing in Primary Care.
Recognized for her impactful contributions, Núria has received prestigious awards, such as the COIB Professional Recognition Career Award and the Carolina Melendez Award. Actively engaged in professional organizations, she plays a vital role in the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL). Núria Fabrellas i Padrés epitomizes a lifelong dedication to advancing nursing, healthcare, and research.
Dr Kathryn Jack, PhD RN
Clinical Lead Nurse for Research and Innovation
Nottingham University Hospital NHS Trust
Nottingham, United Kingdom
I am employed as a Clinical Lead Nurse for Research and Innovation at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust in England. I have worked as a specialist nurse and researcher in the field of viral hepatitis and liver disease since 1999, in both hospital and community locations, and am a non-medical prescriber. I am the current chair of the EASL nurse and allied health professional’s taskforce.
In 2019 I was awarded a PhD following a mixed-methods research study into the impact of opt-out hepatitis C testing in prisons. I have expertise in Realist Evaluation methodologies and qualitative research methods, including longitudinal research and interpretative phenomenology. My clinical research focus is viral hepatitis but the methodological approaches can be applied to all domains of liver disease. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8596-4073.
I can support mentees from all healthcare professional disciplines who are interested in using mixed methods or a solely qualitative approach to answering their research questions.
Prof. Dr. Verena Keitel
Director of the Clinic for Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Infectious Diseases
Magdeburg University Hospital, Germany
Verena Keitel is Professor of hepatobiliary transport physiology and is the Director of the Clinic for Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Infectious Diseases, Medical School, University Hospital of Magdeburg in Germany.
Her clinical and research focus are in cholestatic and hereditary liver diseases and the improvement of patient care. She is also a part of the steering committee of the Collaborative Research Center (CRC).
Prof. Jeffrey V. Lazarus, PhD, MIH, MA
Professor of Public Health and Health Policy
Head of Health Systems Research Group
CUNY Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy
Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal)
Prof Jeffrey V. Lazarus (PhD, MIH, MA) is the Professor at the CUNY Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy and the head of the Health Systems Research Group at the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal). He is currently a member of the EASL Public Health and Policy Committee and on the leadership committee of the Global NASH Council. He is chair of the Wilton Park NAFLD (now MASLD) meetings and co-chairs the annual Innovations in SLD Care (INCBCN) meeting and as well as in 2023 the EASL SLD Summit and the Liver Connect NAFLD Summit.
He is the Principal Investigator (PI) of 10 active projects and trials and is the author of more than 400 publications including led the NAFLD public health consensus statement (Nature Reviews GastroHep 2021), the new fatty liver disease nomenclature, published in 3 society journals (2023), the global research (J Hep 2023) and action priorities (Hepatology 2023), the expert recommendation on NAFLD models of care (NRGH 2021), the fatty liver disease-Sustainable Development Goals score (Hepatology 2023), and the Global COVID-19 Consensus Statement (Nature 2022), and he is a co-author of the EASL NAFLD patient guideline (JHEP Reports 2021). He is on the editorial board of the Journal of Hepatology and Liver International.
I can provide mentoring in manuscript development, editing and peer-reviewing, public health and policy research, global health, the Delphi method, people-centred care including testing in the community and career development.
Prof. Raj Mookerjee
Professor of Translational Hepatology
University College London
Raj Mookerjee is a Professor of Translational Hepatology at University College London, UK and Honorary Skou Professor in Hepatology in Aarhus University, Denmark.
His research interests centre around experimental portal hypertension, biomarkers and novel targets for decompensated cirrhosis. Professor Mookerjee is a steering committee member of EF-CLIF (European Foundation for the Study of Chronic Liver Failure) and sits on the UK national committee for hepatology training.
Prof. Krista Rombouts
Professor at the Institute for Liver and Digestive Health, Regenerative Medicine and Fibrosis Group, Head of Centre for Tissue Repair and Regeneration,
University College London (UCL),
United Kingdom
Krista Rombouts, PhD, Professor of Experimental Liver and Digestive Sciences and Interim Head of Department – Institute for Liver and Digestive Health – University College London, UK. Current research interests are fibrogenesis: Hepatic Stellate Cell behaviour; liver cancer cell – fibrotic stroma cell interaction; fibrosis in SI-NET and liver metastasis; NAFLD-NASH; innovative 3D cell culture – human biomaterial systems for improvement of new target identification and drug development, with over 80 publications in international peer reviewed scientific Journals (citations 6236, h-index of 41, i10-index of 72).
Prof Rombouts has given invited presentations at universities, pharmaceutical companies, and national/international congresses. Prof Rombouts was Editorial Board Member of American Journal of Pathology and Journal of Hepatology and is Guest Editor -Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology – and Associate Editor: Frontiers in Medicine – Hepatobiliary Diseases. Prof Rombouts is EASL Educational Committee member. She has international academic collaborators and industrial partners and is shareholder and consultant of UCL Spin-out Engitix Therapeutics Ltd since 2016.
I can help discussing your project and help in writing of manuscripts and grant applications, we could write a review paper together, we could start a collaboration, career wise I can give you guidance.
Jörn M. Schattenberg, MD
Professor of Medicine
Director, Metabolic Liver Research Program
University Medical Center
Mainz, Germany
Jörn M. Schattenberg is a Professor of Medicine and Director of the Department of Medicine II at the University Medical Center Homburg and University of the Saarland in Germany. He received his medical degree in 2002 after studying at the University of Mainz (Germany) and at the Tulane University in New Orleans (US). He completed his post-doctoral training at the Albert-Einstein College of Medicine, New York, where he focused on delineating signalling pathways involved in the pathophysiology of acute and chronic liver injury with a special focus on metabolic liver disease and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH).
He is board-certified in Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology & Hepatology and Infectious Disease. He leads the translational Liver Research Program at the University of the Saarland. His research focuses on translational sciences and clinical trials in Hepatology. He is involved in multinational, EU-funded research consortia exploring new technologies and approaches for the prevention and screening of metabolic liver disease and the development of novel biomarkers.
Professor Schattenberg is member of the Policy, Public Health and Advocacy Committee of the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL), a member of the Editorial Board of Hepatology and the Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics and an Associate Editor of JHEP Reports.
Reasons why you should choose Jörn M. Schattenberg as your mentor:
- Clinical Hepatology and translation research focusing on mechanisms of liver injury
- Referral pathways in MASLD and other chronic liver disease
- In- and out-patient care with metabolic disease
- Interventional Hepatology including endoscopy
- Mentoring on scientific publications
Prof. Shira Zelber-Sagi
Head of School of Public Health, Faculty of Social Welfare and
Health Sciences, University of Haifa
The Tel-Aviv Medical Center, Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology
Prof. Zelber-Sagi is a clinical dietitian, Epidemiologist, and researcher in nutritional and lifestyle epidemiology, chronic diseases related to lifestyle, and public health aspects. Graduated BSc in nutrition sciences at the Hebrew University. Graduated with a Ph.D. in Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine at the Sackler School of Medicine at Tel Aviv University.
Currently, she is a full Professor and Head of the School of Public Health, Faculty of Social Welfare and Health Sciences, University of Haifa. She is a member of the “National Committee for Nutrition, Gastroenterology, and Liver Disease”. Since June 2023, she has been an EASL Governing Board member and Public Health Councillor-elect. She is a United European Gastroenterology (UEG) Policy and Public Health Committee member, and the founder of the Gastroenterology and Hepatology Dietitians’ forum within the Israeli Dietitians Association.
She has published over 150 scientific publications, mostly dealing with lifestyle and liver disease and other chronic diseases, including nutrition, physical activity, smoking, alcohol, and policy recommendations.
Reasons why you should choose Shira Zelber-Sagi as your mentor:
- Mentoring in epidemiological research, nutritional epidemiology and MASLD
- Education and guidance in research methods
- Construction of research proposals and manuscripts
- Career counseling
Application Process
To apply, you will need to provide the following:
- A complete CV: Demonstrate your strong interest in hepatology and/or liver research.
- An abstract: Accepted at a scientific congress/medical congress/conference.
- Or a publication: Published.
- A cover letter: Detail your interest in the Mentorship Programme, explaining which mentor you would like to choose and why, and stating the objective(s) which you, the mentee, would like to achieve.
- A letter of recommendation: From a former or current supervisor or Head of Institute/Head of Department.
All applications will be reviewed by the Educational Committee and are to be submitted in English.
EASL will process the applicant’s personal data as provided in the application dossier. The applicant gives his/her consent to such control and processing of his/her personal data. EASL will handle the applicant’s personal data in accordance with all applicable legislation for the purpose of reviewing the candidate’s suitability for the Mentorship.
Applications for the EASL Mentorships Programme are are now closed.
Conditions for Mentees
Mentorships are to begin, latest, January of the year following application and should last for one year. Extended programmes cannot be requested or accepted.
- Must be a registered EASL member.
- Should be under the age of 35 at the time of application and/or still in training. The age limit does not apply to Nurses or AHPs.
- Must not hold a permanent position.
- Home institution must be European and located in a different European country from the mentor’s institution.
- No restriction on the applicant’s nationality.
- The Mentors and Mentees are invited to attend the EASL Congress.
Questions regarding EASL Mentorship should be sent to mentorship@easloffice.eu.
Previous Mentors and Mentees
Bastian Engel
Ahmed Elsharkawy
Ferya Çelik
Nuria Fabrellas
Joost Boeckmans
Jörn Schattenberg
Marta Alonso
Verena Keitel
Pavitra Kumar
Krista Rombouts
Eleni-Myrto Trifylli
Dr. Jesus M. Banales
Hasan Eruzun
