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 1,200 EUR financial support to visit Mentor’s institute or support other beneficial educational activity as agreed with Mentor.
Discover the Mentors for 2025
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
Prof. Sven Francque
Chairman of the Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology of the University Hospital Antwerp and Full Professor of Medicine at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences of the University of Antwerp
Prof. Dr. Sven Francque is currently Chairman of the Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology of the University Hospital Antwerp and Full Professor of Medicine at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences of the University of Antwerp in Belgium. He has a longstanding interest and expertise in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and conducted basic research focusing on the vascular changes in steatosis and their contribution to disease progression.
His research unit continues to study pathophysiological mechanisms of NASH. He also conducts clinical research, and his unit is a partner in several research consortia supported by the European Commission. He and his unit participate in most of the clinical trials in the field, and he is a scientific committee member involved in the design of several phase 2 and one of the current phase 3 trials in NAFLD. He is a senior clinical researcher for the Research Fund of the Flemish government. He is board member of several scientific societies and currently also scientific coordinator of the Belgian week of Gastroenterology. Prof. Dr. Francque obtained his MD at the University of Antwerp, Belgium, in 1994 and was subsequently trained in internal medicine and in gastroenterology and hepatology at the Antwerp University Hospital, Belgium and at the Department of Hepatology of the Beaujon hospital, Clichy, France.
Choosing Prof. Sven Francque as a mentor offers the chance to learn from a globally recognized leader in MASLD and NASH research, with expertise spanning basic science, clinical trials, and multidisciplinary collaboration. His roles in academic medicine, international consortia, and scientific societies provide unparalleled opportunities for professional growth and networking.
Dr Loreta Kondili
Professor at UniCamillus International Medical University of Rome
Senior Researcher at the National Center for Global Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome
Dr Loreta Kondili is specialist in Gastroenetrology and Hepatology since 2005. She has been trained in the Tirana University Hospital, Sapienza University and Policlinico Umberto 1- Rome and in the Liver Unit of Queen Elisabeth Hospital/ University of Birmingham (UK).
She is a Professor at UniCamillus International Medical University of Rome and at Western Balkans University of Tirana. She is Senior Researcher at the National Center for Global Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome. Her main research areas are epidemiological, clinical and virological studies on different populations with viral hepatitis infections, as well as on the diagnosis and effectiveness of antiviral treatments. She has been involved in the scientific coordination of several Italian Networks in the field of acute and chronic viral hepatitis and is currently the principal investigator of Italian Platform for the study of Viral hepatitis Therapies (PITER). She is a key opinion leader for the National Hepatitis Plan for the Italian Ministry of Health and a member of the Policy, Public Health, and Advocacy Committee of the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL). She is member of the Italian Association for the Study of the Liver, European Association for the Study of the Liver and several other scientific organizations. She has co-authored over 100 publications on hepatitis and is a frequent speaker on the subject.
If you choose Loreta Kondili as your mentor you will learn:
- What is the research in the public health
- Why Public Health matters to Clinicians and researcher
- What are the critical points in liver health by public health perspective
- What is helpful evidence for policy
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 now open. Deadline: 31 January 2025.
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
