A blood test to predict risk after a liver transplant
Multi-Center Validation and Biologic Assessment of a Novel Pre-Transplant Biomarker Panel to Predict Liver Transplant Recipient Mortality
This project will find out whether a short blood panel called the Liver Immune Frailty Index can identify people waiting for liver transplant who are at high risk of dying within a year after surgery.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Newark, UNITED STATES) |
| Project ID | NIH-11195036 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
If you are listed for a liver transplant, researchers will measure a small set of blood markers (including HCV IgG, fractalkine, and MMP3) to calculate a Liver Immune Frailty Index (LIFI). The team will collect samples and clinical data across multiple transplant centers to see if the LIFI predicts early death after transplant as well as it did in their earlier study. They will also study immune cell energy use and signs of immune exhaustion to understand why a high LIFI score is linked to poor outcomes. In addition, investigators will look at how immune frailty changes over time while people are on the transplant waiting list.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Adults who are listed for or being evaluated for liver transplant at participating transplant centers would be the main candidates for this work.
Not a fit: People without liver disease or those not being considered for liver transplant would not be expected to benefit from this project.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could help doctors spot patients unlikely to benefit from transplant and guide better use of donor livers and pre-transplant care.
How similar studies have performed: Early single-center work showed promising results (LIFI distinguished low vs high one-year mortality with a c-statistic ~0.84), but broader multicenter validation is still needed.
Where this research is happening
Newark, UNITED STATES
- Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences — Newark, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Lunsford, Keri Elizabeth — Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences
- Study coordinator: Lunsford, Keri Elizabeth
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.