Improving community access to liver transplant referrals
Official title: Liver Transplant-Community Access and Referral Engagement (LT-CARE) Pilot Study
Funded at Indiana University Indianapolis · NIH-11194010 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project will try new ways to help people with advanced liver disease—especially Black and underinsured patients—get referred from local clinics to a liver transplant center.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R21 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Indiana University Indianapolis NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Indianapolis, United States) |
| Project start | September 22, 2024 |
| Project end | June 30, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $154,695 |
| NIH project number | 5R21MD020222-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11194010 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are adults with decompensated cirrhosis or advanced liver disease who receive care in community GI clinics, particularly Black, uninsured, or underserved patients in Indiana.
✕Less likely to help
People without advanced liver disease, those already connected to a transplant center, or those in regions outside the participating community clinics are unlikely to benefit directly.
What this research studies
If you have advanced or decompensated liver disease, this project will work with community doctors to help you reach a transplant center. The team will partner with local gastroenterology clinics to improve referral steps through clearer protocols, staff training, and navigation support. They will pilot outreach and tracking across community sites to increase timely evaluations for Black and underserved patients. Your clinic visits and medical records may be used to follow whether referrals and evaluations happen more quickly.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this could increase timely referrals and evaluations for liver transplant, especially for patients from Black and underserved communities.
How similar studies have gone: Prior navigation and outreach programs have improved access in some settings and disparities in transplant referrals are well documented, but applying these approaches specifically to community liver transplant referrals is relatively new.
Where this research is happening
-
Indiana University Indianapolis
Indianapolis, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Nephew, Lauren — Indiana University Indianapolis
- Study coordinator: Nephew, Lauren
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
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Innate and Adaptive Immunoregulation in Liver Transplant Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury
A liver transplant-focused project investigates how the body’s early and later immune responses affect transplant failure or success after reperfusion.
-
Biomarker-guided reduction of immunosuppression after liver transplant
A multicenter trial tests whether using blood biomarkers to guide tapering of immunosuppression in adults with liver transplants can keep people healthy while lowering drug exposure.
-
Understanding how liver disease progresses in people waiting for a liver transplant
A study will build a knowledge base that maps how liver disease worsens over time in patients on the transplant waitlist to improve care and planning.
-
Biomarkers to tailor liver transplant immunosuppression
A multi-center study using blood biomarkers to guide how immunosuppressive drugs are given to liver transplant patients.
-
Pre-Transplant Immune Health Marker Panel to Predict Liver Transplant Outcomes
A patient-facing biomarker test used before liver transplant to help doctors estimate the risk of early death after the transplant.
-
Thinking skills and self-care after a liver transplant
This project follows people who received liver transplants to learn how changes in thinking and memory affect managing medicines, clinic visits, and overall health.
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.