Creating Action Steps for Linking Underserved Populations with HVC Care

Dr. Younossi earned his medical degree from the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry (Alpha Omega Alpha 1989) in Rochester, NY, USA. He completed his residency in internal medicine with a fellowship in gastroenterology and hepatology at Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation in La Jolla, California, USA, while earning his Master of Public Health degree from San Diego State University School of Public Health, San Diego, California, USA. He served as Staff Hepatologist and Senior Researcher at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, Ohio, USA, before establishing the Center for Liver Diseases at Inova Fairfax Hospital, which is now renowned for research related to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and outcomes research in liver disease. He has served as Vice President of Research for Inova Health System and currently serves as the President and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Chronic Liver Disease Foundation (2018-Present) and the Board of Inova Health System Foundation (2011-Present). Dr. Younossi was appointed by Governors T. Kaine and B. McDonnell of Virginia to the Board of Directors of Virginia Biotechnology Research Partnership Authority (2008-2014). He also served on the Virginia Tobacco & Health Research Repository (VTHRR), Board of Directors, America Heart Association, Mid-Atlantic Affiliate (2010-2012) and Board of the American College of Gastroenterology Institute for Clinical Research & Education (2013-Present). He has served on multiple committees for American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, American College of Gastroenterology, American Gastrointestinal Association, and George Mason University as well as on numerous committees at Inova Fairfax Hospital and Inova Health System.

Dr. Younossi pioneered research in NAFLD and has been a leader in the field of patient-reported outcomes (PROs), economic assessment and other areas of outcomes research in liver disease. He leads a number of international efforts related to NAFLD and PROs in liver disease though global collaborations, including the Chair of Global NASH Council and the Global Liver and NASH Registries. In addition to research and administrative duties, Dr. Younossi has been actively involved in teaching students, residents, and fellows. He has also served as Chair, Director or faculty of a number of international scientific, and CME-related courses.

Dr. Younossi specializes in hepatology and gastroenterology and has authored over 510 articles, 3 books, 6 journal supplements, over 25 book chapters, and over 800 abstracts at the international scientific meetings. He is a highly sought-after speaker providing over 420 faculty lectures in national and international meetings. His academic productivity has led to an H-index of 82. Dr. Younossi also serves as the co-editor of Liver International, Associate Editor of Journal of Hepatology, and on the editorial board of a number of important medical journals. He has represented the American Association of Liver Disease and American Gastroenterological Association at different congressional meetings.

Dr. Cave is a board-certified family nurse practitioner and an assistant professor in the Christina Lee Brown Envirome Institute at the University of Louisville School of Medicine. She serves as the Hep C Program Lead for the UofL Hospital Hep C Center. She is the principal investigator on multiple industry-sponsored grants and is working toward gaining NIH funding. Much of her work focuses on patients with viral hepatitis infections and improving access to care and treatment, with special attention to pregnant women and people who use drugs.

Dr. Cave earned her bachelor’s degrees in biology (2003) and nursing (2005) from Bellarmine University in Louisville, KY. She worked nearly 5 years in the Transplant ICU at Jewish Hospital before graduating with her Masters of Science in Nursing, Family Nurse Practitioner at Bellarmine University in 2010. In 2019, she graduated from the University of Louisville with her PhD in Nursing. She received training specific to her roles in gastroenterology and hepatology through her work with medical faculty at the University of Louisville Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition.

Dr. Cave has co-authored several publications and delivered numerous podium presentations at local, state, and national conferences. She serves as a faculty presenter for the Chronic Liver Disease Foundation (CLDF), Kentucky Hepatitis Academic Mentorship Program (KHAMP), Gastroenterology/Hepatology Advanced Practice Providers (GHAPP), and the Scripps Clinic Liver Research Consortium. She is a member of the American Association for the Study of Liver Disease (AASLD) and serves on the Hepatology Associates Committee. As of January 2021, Dr. Cave is chair of the inaugural Research Committee for GHAPP. She is a member of Sigma Theta Tau; the American Association of Nurse Practitioners; the Kentucky Coalition of Nurse Practitioners and Nurse Midwives; and a former member of the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses. She is a board member for the Kentucky Harm Reduction Coalition.

Dr. Martinez cares for patients with liver disease and addiction disorders, including opiate dependency, viral hepatitis, alcoholic and fatty liver disease, at Erie County Medical Center where he is the Medical Director of Hepatology. His clinic “La Bodega” has been recognized both nationally and internationally as a novel co- localized model for the management of viral hepatitis and addiction disorders, and has been awarded a New York State World AIDS Day Commissioner’s Special Recognition Award. The clinic has also been designated as a center for drug user health in New York State. Dr. Martinez has lectured around the world on hepatitis C management among people with substance use disorders, most recently at the International Hepatology Exchange in Amsterdam. His team’s work has been presented at the annual liver meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD); the annual conference of the International Network On Viral Hepatitis in Substance Users, and at the International Liver Congress.

His research involves improving hepatitis C treatment in populations disproportionately affected by HCV, particularly people who inject drugs. He has been a primary and co-investigator on numerous clinical trials related to new therapeutic agents for hepatitis C and fatty liver disease.

A fierce advocate, he has worked to eliminate hepatitis C treatment restrictions throughout the United States and in Europe.

Dr. Martinez is a member of the AASLD where he was recently elected to the HCV special interest group steering committee, the European Association for the Study of the Liver, and the American Society of Addiction Medicine.

Dr. Ramers is the Chief of Population Health and Director of Graduate Medical Education at the Family Health Centers of San Diego (FHCSD), a large Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) system serving nearly 200,000 medically underserved individuals throughout San Diego county. He is board certified in Internal Medicine, Infectious Diseases, and Addiction Medicine, and is particularly interested in HIV, HBV, HCV, and service of medically underserved, immigrant, and refugee populations. He co-chairs the California Chapter of the American Academy of HIV Medicine and has advocated for HIV/HCV care at the state legislative level. Dr. Ramers has served as a consultant for CDC- sponsored HIV/HBV/HCV educational projects in Asia and Africa. Since 2018 he has served as the Senior Clinical Advisor for the Clinton Health Access Initiative’s Global Hepatitis Program, working to eliminate HBV and HCV in seven partner countries in Asia and Africa.

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Ramers has taken on a leadership role in policy, laboratory, public health, research, and clinical response. He is a core member of FHCSD’s COVID-19 Response Efforts team, delivering biweekly updates to > 200 clinicians and staff. At the regional level he serves on the county Clinical Vaccine Advisory Committee and Equity task forces. He is a member of the national IDSA-CDC clinical call escalation volunteer group. He has facilitated several telemedicine forums including one on HIV care at the International AIDS Conference, a 10-week intensive telemedicine series (Telemedicine Hack) supported by HHS, and a COVID-19 outpatient therapeutics series supported by HHS and Project ECHO. Internationally, Dr. Ramers facilitates a twice-weekly Spanish-language COVID-19 virtual community of practice for Latin America and has presented at an international WHO AFRO region webinar on SARS-CoV-2 transmission.