Integrated care to improve outcomes after early liver transplant for alcohol-associated liver disease
Official title: 4/4: The INTEGRATE Study: Evaluating INTEGRATEd care to Improve Biopsychosocial Outcomes of Early Liver Transplant for Alcohol-Associated Liver Disease
Funded at Henry Ford Health + Michigan State University Health Sciences · NIH-11190812 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Combining liver-transplant care with addiction and mental-health support to help people with alcohol-related liver disease who get early transplants.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Henry Ford Health + Michigan State University Health Sciences NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (East Lansing, United States) |
| Project start | August 16, 2023 |
| Project end | July 31, 2030 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $376,820 |
| NIH project number | 5R01AA030969-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11190812 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults with advanced alcohol-associated liver disease (including alcohol-associated hepatitis or cirrhosis) who are being evaluated for or receiving an early liver transplant, often with less than six months of abstinence.
✕Less likely to help
People who are not candidates for liver transplant or whose liver disease is unrelated to alcohol are unlikely to benefit directly from this project.
What this research studies
My care team will gather medical, alcohol-use, and mental-health information before and after an early liver transplant at several transplant centers. The researchers will use standard questionnaires and clinical data to build models that predict outcomes like survival and return to drinking. The project tests how closely transplant and addiction services are coordinated and follows patients over time to see what kinds of support help recovery. Patients and other stakeholders help choose what outcomes matter most so results fit real-world needs.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could improve survival, reduce return-to-drinking, and guide better integrated support for people receiving early liver transplants for alcohol-related disease.
How similar studies have gone: Prior retrospective studies have shown acceptable outcomes for early transplant in alcohol-associated hepatitis, but prospective, multi-center work with standardized biopsychosocial measures is new.
Where this research is happening
-
Henry Ford Health + Michigan State University Health Sciences
East Lansing, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Mellinger, Jessica Leigh — Henry Ford Health + Michigan State University Health Sciences
- Study coordinator: Mellinger, Jessica Leigh
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.