Elliot B Tapper, MD, FAASLD

Elliot B. Tapper MD is a Professor in the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology. He is Academic Chief of Hepatology. His primary goal is to empower patients to enjoy a high quality of life. He is an expert in the management of chronic liver disease, performance of clinical trials, and big data for the study of liver disease. He has developed strategies that reduce symptoms and improve quality of life and invented tools that have helped keep patients with cirrhosis at home and away from the hospital. He is the Editor-in-Chief of Hepatology Communications.

1. Patient reported outcomes (PROs) and symptoms of cirrhosis: We seek to characterize the burden, determinants, and impact of poor health related quality of life and symptoms in cirrhosis. We conduct clinical trials that aim to alleviate these symptoms.
2. Frailty and sarcopenia: Prior work has focused on defining the burden and impact of frailty and sarcopenia, the relationship between hepatic encephalopathy and frailty, and the development of risk-assessment tools. Current research is focused on nutritional, behavioral, and pharmacological interventions to improve and prevent frailty.
3. Hepatic encephalopathy (HE): We aim to optimize risk stratification for overt HE and its complications with a focus on hospitalization and falls and to develop interventions to prevent HE.
4. Quality improvement: We utilize electronic interventions to standardize care, improve quality indicators, integrate patient reported outcomes in care delivery, and reduce patient harms.