Aijaz Ahmed

Aijaz Ahmed, MD, Professor, Department of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology & Hepatology, Stanford University School of Medicine

Research Description: Obesity-related nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)/ nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is the hepatic manifestation of metabolic syndrome – insulin resistance. NAFLD is the most common liver disease in the United States (US). NASH (the progressive subset of NAFLD) is the second leading cause of liver disease among adults awaiting liver transplantation in the US. NASH is also the most rapidly growing indication for liver transplantation in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma in the US. Complications of NASH-related end-stage liver disease and its post-transplant outcomes have been the focus of Dr. Ahmed’s clinical research. Despite the rise in NAFLD-related end-stage liver disease and liver transplantation in the US, cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of mortality in patients with NASH. Therefore, Dr. Ahmed hopes to establish inter-departmental collaboration essential in improving understanding of NAFLD and shift the focus on primary prevention. Dr. Ahmed collaborates with experts in insulin resistance, like Joshua Knowles with a focus on genetic counseling/testing. Together, they hope to improve the clinical and translational research efforts focusing on the role of insulin resistance in patients with NAFLD.

Selected relevant publications (Stanford DRC Members in BOLD):

  1. Yoo ER, Kim D, Vazquez-Montesino LM, Escober JA, Li AA, Tighe SP, Fernandes CT, Cholankeril G, Ahmed A. Diet quality and its association with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and all-cause and cause-specific mortality. Liver Int. 2020 Apr;40(4):815-824. doi: 10.1111/liv.14374. PMID: 31910319.

  2. Kim D, Kim W, Joo SK, Han J, Kim JH, Harrison SA, Younossi ZM, Ahmed A. Association between body size-metabolic phenotype and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis and significant fibrosis. J Gastroenterol. 2020 Mar;55(3):330-341. doi: 10.1007/s00535-019-01628-z. PMID: 31535207.

  3. Kim D, Cholankeril G, Kim SH, Abbasi F, Knowles JW, Ahmed A. Increasing Mortality Among Patients With Diabetes and Chronic Liver Disease From 2007 to 2017. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2020 Apr;18(4):992-994. doi: 10.1016/j.cgh.2019.06.011. PMID: 31220638; PMCID: PMC7064319.

  4. Kim D, Li AA, Cholankeril G, Kim SH, Ingelsson E, Knowles JW, Harrington RA, Ahmed A. Trends in overall, cardiovascular and cancer-related mortality among individuals with diabetes reported on death certificates in the United States between 2007 and 2017. Diabetologia. 2019 Jul;62(7):1185-1194. doi:10.1007/s00125-019-4870-9. PMID: 31011776; PMCID: PMC7063897.

  5. Stepanova M, Clement S, Wong R, Saab S, Ahmed A, Younossi ZM. Patients with Diabetes and Chronic Liver Disease Are at Increased Risk for Overall Mortality: A Population Study from the United States. Clin Diabetes 2017; 35(2):79-83.