June 24, 2022 The EASL-CLIF Consortium Steering Committee meets to review and discuss progress of research activities in the previous year The annual meeting of the EASL-CLIF Consortium Steering Committee took place on 23 June 2022 in London, UK

LONDON—Within the European Foundation for the Study of Chronic Liver Failure (EF Clif), the EAS-CLIF Consortium Steering Committee oversees the research activities of the EASL-CLIF Consortium, a network of more than 100 tertiary care and university hospitals in 28 European countries.

The EASL-CLIF Consortium Steering Committee is constituted by 15 leading experts in the field of hepatology and gastroenterology across European countries. Members of the EASL-CLIF Consortium Steering Committee met in London during the International Liver Congress (ILC 2022) organized by the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) to review and discuss progress of core clinical studies conducted by EF Clif.

The meeting was hosted by Paolo Angeli, Chair of the EASL-CLIF Consortium Steering Committee.

Vicente Arroyo, Director of EF Clif, presented indicators and put strategic growth and consolidation of the Foundation into perspective. He recognized the great collaborative effort of researchers and professionals that have contributed to the success of the ACLARA study. Finally, Arroyo presented a novel paradigm for chronic liver disease based on recent findings.

Richard Moreau, Research Associate at EF Clif and principal investigator of the ACLARA study, presented and discussed final results of this large prospective study promoted by EF Clif that counted with the collaboration of 44 centers in 7 Latin American countries. Moreau pointed out the relevance of this study that has contributed to furthering the understanding of the epidemiology and pathophysiology of acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF). Importantly, this study provides evidence of race and genetic ancestry in the severity and high mortality associated with this syndrome.

Thierry Gustot, Vice Chair of the EASL-CLIF Consortium Steering Committee and principal investigator of the CHANCE study, discussed progress of this global, observational study that aims to assess the benefits of liver transplantation in patients with cirrhosis and ACLF grades 2 and 3. Gustot also presented some preliminary data and promising results.

Gautam Mehta, consultant at Royal Free Hospital, clinical researcher at Roger Williams Institute of Hepatology and Associate Professor at University College London, UK, presented the latest results from the ongoing COBALT study. The primary objective of the study is to gain a better understanding of the immune response on cirrhosis and post-transplantation patients after receiving a first, second and third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Mehta presented an ongoing sub-study in a pediatric cohort of patients and introduced prospective ancillary studies.

Gustot presented the newly establishment Inspiring and Writing Group constituted by junior clinicians and researchers as a task force within the Foundation that will contribute to the exchange of ideas on the use and analysis of data collected through original studies promoted by EF Clif with the aim to discover predictors for prognosis of cirrhosis and ACLF, and disseminate these findings.

The meeting ended with the evaluation of candidacies of new members of the EASL-CLIF Consortium. Angeli presented some concluding remarks and shared his insights on the future direction the Foundation.

Members of the EASL-CLIF Steering Committee

Paolo Angeli

Chairperson

University of Padua, Italy

Thierry Gustot

Vice-Chairperson

CUB Hôpital Erasme, Belgium

Agustin Albillos

Hospital Universitario Ramon y Cajal, Spain

Carlo Alessandria

Città della Salute e della Scienza di Torino–Presidio Molinette, Italy

William Bernal

King’s College Hospital, UK

Paolo Caraceni

University of Bologna, Italy

Christophe Duvoux

Hôpital Henri-Mondor, France

Javier Fernandez

Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, Spain

Wim Laleman

UZ Leuven, Belgium

Lise Lotte Gluud

Copenhagen University Hospital Hvidovre, Denmark

Raj Mookerjee

Royal Free Hospital, UK

Mária Papp

University of Debrecen, Hungary

Pierre-Emmanuel Rautou

Hôpital Beaujon, France

Thomas Reiberger

Medical University of Vienna, Austria

Christian Trautwein

University Hospital Aachen, Germany

Jonel Trebicka

Goethe University Frankfurt, Germany

About the EASL-CLIF Consortium

The EASL-CLIF Consortium supports targeted research and collaborative research initiatives with the aim to advance knowledge of liver disease and improve the quality of life of patients with cirrhosis.

Since its foundation in 2009, the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) Chair supports research activities through the EASL-CLIF Consortium, a network of 117 centers and more than 170 clinical researchers in 28 countries across Europe. Every year, the EASL-CLIF Consortium Steering Committee evaluates applications by university hospitals and tertiary hospitals with an interest to join our network. Membership is granted to centers based on clinical and research excellence.

About EF Clif

The European Foundation for the Study of Chronic Liver Failure (EF CLIF) is a private non-profit organization connecting biomedical researchers and healthcare professionals with each other, with patients and patient associations, and with society. The fundamental purpose of EF CLIF, reflected in its founding Statements of 2015, is to advance knowledge and promote research and education in liver disease to improve the prognosis of patients living with chronic liver failure.

The Foundation has made pioneering efforts in conducting a series of large, international prospective studies that have been instrumental in reclassifying the trajectory of patients with chronic liver failure and led to the clinical, prognostic and pathophysiological definition of the syndrome referred to as “acute-on-chronic liver failure” characterized by acute decompensation of cirrhosis, severe systemic inflammation, organ failures, and high short-term mortality. We are inspiring best clinical practices for the management of patients with chronic liver failure and promoting a more sustainable and equitable healthcare system.

The European Foundation for the Study of Chronic Liver Failure (EF CLIF) is a private non-profit organization connecting biomedical researchers and healthcare professionals with each other, with patients and patient associations, and with society. The fundamental purpose of EF CLIF, reflected in its founding Statements of 2015, is to advance knowledge and promote research and education in liver disease to improve the prognosis of patients living with chronic liver failure.

The Foundation has made pioneering efforts in conducting a series of large, international prospective studies that have been instrumental in reclassifying the trajectory of patients with chronic liver failure and led to the clinical, prognostic and pathophysiological definition of the syndrome referred to as “acute-on-chronic liver failure” characterized by acute decompensation of cirrhosis, severe systemic inflammation, organ failures, and high short-term mortality. We are inspiring best clinical practices for the management of patients with chronic liver failure and promoting a more sustainable and equitable healthcare system.

Within the Foundation, the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) Chair supports research activities through the EASL-CLIF Consortium, a network of 117 tertiary care and university hospitals in 28 European countries. The Grifols Chair promotes translational studies in centers across Europe and North America within the framework of the European Network for Translational Research (ENTR) with 25 centers in 8 countries. Over the last five years, the Foundation has successfully expanded its geographical scope providing the context to support transcontinental collaborative research projects. The Global Projects chapter provides the framework to promote research in cirrhosis across the world with the aim to help to build consensus and ensure health equity worldwide.