Improving liver transplant listing with data-powered team planning
Official title: Improving the liver transplant evaluation process: a data science-focused and team-based approach
Funded at Johns Hopkins University · NIH-11394437 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A data-driven, team-based approach to help doctors decide which patients should be listed for a liver transplant.
Quick facts
| Grant type | Career grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Johns Hopkins University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Baltimore, United States) |
| Project start | August 15, 2022 |
| Project end | May 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $172,548 |
| NIH project number | 5K08DK133638-05 |
| Project ID | NIH-11394437 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults with cirrhosis undergoing evaluation for liver transplantation.
✕Less likely to help
Patients not undergoing listing decisions or those not evaluated for transplantation may not benefit.
What this research studies
This project uses supervised machine learning and streamlined data gathering to support liver transplant listing decisions at major centers. It focuses on upstream factors that influence whether a patient is listed, not just post-listing outcomes. By providing timely, objective data summaries to the care team, it aims to reduce subjectivity and improve consistency in listing decisions for adults with cirrhosis. The work is conducted at Johns Hopkins under a dedicated clinician-scientist and aligns with real-world clinical workflows.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, it could make listing decisions fairer and faster, potentially improving access to life-saving transplants.
How similar studies have gone: Prior work has explored post-listing outcomes, but upstream data-driven listing support is a novel direction with promising early signals.
Where this research is happening
-
Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Strauss, Alexandra Teresa — Johns Hopkins University
- Study coordinator: Strauss, Alexandra Teresa
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
-
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.