A tribute to Dr Ahmed Elsharkawy

The EASL community is deeply saddened by the loss of Dr Ahmed Elsharkawy, consultant transplant hepatologist, researcher, educator, and valued member of the EASL Governing Board.

Ahmed served on the EASL Governing Board as EASL Internal Affairs Councillor from November 2022 until his passing. Throughout his time with EASL, Ahmed worked to strengthen the community he cared so deeply about. He supported the leadership and EASL office with both honesty and generosity, never hesitating to challenge us when needed, always with the aim of making our organisation stronger and better.

Always transparent, and with only one agenda, the EASL one, he brought clarity of purpose and a fearless commitment to doing the right thing. He was never afraid to stand up and say what needed to be said, becoming the conscience of the Governing Board whenever difficult decisions had to be made. His fellow Board members describe him as someone who “adhered to high ethical standards and always defended them, even when it wasn’t popular”, and who “courageously continued to serve the community despite his illness.”

In this role, he made lasting structural contributions to the organisation and to the wider liver community. Among his proudest achievements in this role were the establishment of the EASL Community Award, the development of the EASL Mobility/Research Fellowships programme, and leading the creation of the EASL Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Working Group and its policy statement. He also spearheaded a comprehensive review of the EASL Code of Conduct, an initiative that spoke directly to his unwavering commitment to ethical standards in the field. He was also an instrumental member of the EASL Business Analysis Task Force whose input was key in enabling EASL to put in place measures during a period of financial hardship for EASL following the covid-19 pandemic.

Each of these initiatives bears Ahmed’s hallmark: a commitment to fairness and inclusion, a desire to support the next generation of researchers, and a deep belief in the power of community to advance patient outcomes. His diligence, his eye for detail, even the uncomfortable details others might overlook, and his insistence on leading by example made every one of these efforts more meaningful.

“I care deeply about the work EASL does. Being on the Governing Board has helped me give back and really make a difference in what we are able to offer the Liver Community. It’s hard work, but great fun.”

Dr Ahmed Elsharkawy

Professionally, Ahmed was a consultant transplant hepatologist at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, one of Europe’s largest liver transplant centres. Over more than two decades he cared for patients with a wide range of liver diseases, including viral hepatitis, metabolic dysfunction- associated liver disease, autoimmune liver disease, and acute and chronic liver failure. He was particularly recognised for his expertise in complex viral hepatitis and for pioneering new approaches to hepatitis C management in the community.

Ahmed qualified from the University of Southampton in 1999 with distinction in Biomedical Sciences and Clinical Medicine, after completing a Bachelor of Science in 1998 that included research into liver fibrosis. He later undertook doctoral research at Southampton and Newcastle Universities, earning his PhD from Newcastle University for his work on the role of NF-κB in the hepatic inflammation fibrosis cancer axis.

Alongside his clinical work, Ahmed remained deeply committed to research, mentorship and education. He authored various peer reviewed publications and served as principal investigator on several clinical trials, including projects within the NIHR Liver Research Partnership focused on patient engagement in hepatitis B care. He was also an honorary senior lecturer at the University of Birmingham and a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of London.

Ahmed contributed widely to the hepatology community in the United Kingdom and internationally. He served as Treasurer of the British Association for the Study of the Liver, a Trustee of the British Liver Trust and previously chaired the British Viral Hepatitis Group, helping shape national policy and practice in the field. He was also passionate about medical education and actively promoted the use of social media to share knowledge and connect the hepatology community.

Beyond medicine, Ahmed was dedicated to his local community, serving for eight years on the Governing Board of Greswold Primary School and acting as its Chair for the past years. His family meant everything to him and he would always prioritise picking his children up from school every day which was one of the things he looked forward to most.

Ahmed was a unique person, able to say the right things at the right time, and to do so with warmth, honesty, and humour. He embodied the integrity that EASL strives for, and those who served alongside him describe a man of genuine and honourable character: courageous, fair, diligent, and possessed of an uncanny eye for the uncomfortable detail that others might prefer to ignore. He was not simply a colleague; he was a very dear friend to many, and someone who left fond memories with everyone he encountered.

Our thoughts are with his wife Sarah, his children, his family, and all those who knew and worked with him.