Early liver transplant options for severe alcohol-related liver disease
Official title: 2/4-American Consortium of Early Liver Transplantation-Prospective Alcohol-associated liver disease Cohort Evaluation (ACCELERATE-PACE)
Funded at University of Pennsylvania · NIH-11141790 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project follows adults with severe alcohol-related liver disease who are being considered for early liver transplant to find which selection and care approaches help patients do best.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Pennsylvania NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Philadelphia, United States) |
| Project start | August 17, 2023 |
| Project end | July 31, 2030 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $397,049 |
| NIH project number | 5R01AA030963-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11141790 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults (age 21+) with severe alcohol-associated liver disease who are being evaluated for or referred for early liver transplantation are the ideal candidates.
✕Less likely to help
People without alcohol-associated liver disease, children and teens, or patients not under consideration for transplant are unlikely to benefit directly from this project.
What this research studies
If you have severe alcohol-related liver disease and are being considered for an early liver transplant (before six months of sobriety), this project will follow you over time across multiple transplant centers. Researchers will collect medical, psychosocial, and treatment information, track outcomes like liver recovery with abstinence and post-transplant success, and study how alcohol use disorder treatments work in this group. The consortium pools data from many regions to compare different selection practices, refine risk scores, and identify best care practices to reduce disparities.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could make transplant decisions fairer and safer by identifying who truly benefits from early liver transplant and improving care before and after transplant.
How similar studies have gone: Previous single-center and smaller studies have shown promising results for carefully selected early transplants, but large multicenter cohort data like this are limited.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Serper, Marina — University of Pennsylvania
- Study coordinator: Serper, Marina
Related research
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HOPE liver transplant: reducing infections and cancer risk for HIV-positive recipients
This grant aims to better understand why HIV-positive liver transplant recipients face higher infection and cancer risks and to improve safety and outcomes for these patients.
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Early liver transplant decisions for severe alcohol-related liver disease
A large study follows adults with severe alcohol-related liver disease to understand how to best select and manage patients for early liver transplantation.
-
Early Liver Transplant for Severe Alcoholic Hepatitis
A hospital-based program is studying whether offering an early liver transplant to patients with severe alcoholic hepatitis can save lives when standard medical treatment fails.
-
Early liver transplant for severe alcoholic hepatitis (SAH) to save lives
A Johns Hopkins program is testing whether giving an early liver transplant to patients with severe alcoholic hepatitis who can’t be helped by standard treatments can save lives and reduce relapse risk.
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.