Strategic Roundtable on MASLD & MASH Care
The American Association of Clinical Endocrinology (AACE) convened national leaders for an in-person strategic roundtable focused on advancing multidisciplinary approaches to the early identification, risk stratification, management, and treatment of MASLD and MASH.
Experts from endocrinology, primary care, hepatology, gastroenterology, patient advocacy, industry, and health policy discussed practical strategies to improve timely diagnosis, equitable access to care, and real-world implementation across diverse clinical settings.
The facilitated discussions, informed by pre-meeting survey data, explored opportunities to strengthen care pathways, align education across specialties, improve use of non-invasive testing, reduce stigma, and support broader adoption of evidence-based care.
Insights from the roundtable will inform future AACE initiatives and a peer-reviewed proceedings manuscript planned for submission to Endocrine Practice, AACE’s official journal.
Participants
Organizations in Attendance
Nancy Reau, MD
Johnnie White, CEO, CMP Fellow
Cecilia Low Wang, MD, FACE
Natasha Travis, MD
Mindy Millard-Stafford, PhD
Joshua Neumiller, PharmD
Fasiha Kanwal, MD
Carissa Hickok, MA
Royce Li, PharmD
Monica Agarwal, MD, FACE
Tiffanie L. Marksbury, DNP
Henry E. Chang, PhD
Priyathama Vellanki, MD
Shonta Chambers, MSW
Carolynn Francavilla Brown, MD
Leonardo Mancillas-Adame, MD
Individuals in Attendance
Endocrinology
- Saira Adeel, MD, FACE
- Anastasia Alexopoulos, MBBS
- Mandeep Bajaj, MD
- Diana Barb, MD, FACE
- Ivette Cruz Bautista, MD, DMsc, PhD
- Fernando Bril, MD
- Eliot Brinton, MD, FACE
- Monisha Chadha, MD, FACE
- Dimpi Desai, MD
- Ghada Elshimy, MD
- Priya Jaisinghani, MD
- Thomas Jensen, MD
- Daniel Elias Lopez, PhD
- Jeffrey Mechanick, MD, ECNU, MACE
- Alexandra Migdal, MD
- Joanna Miragaya, MD, PhD, FACE
- Sarah Nadeem, MD, FACE
- Natalia Fretes Oviedo, MD
- Silvana Pannain, MD
- Aman Rajpal, MD, FACE
- Susan Samson, MD, PhD, FACE
- Rifka Schulman-Rosenbaum, MD, FACE
- Michael Shanik, MD, FACE (industry Liaison Madrigal)
- Vin Tangpricha, MD, PhD, MACE
- Dace Trence, MD, MACE
Dietician
- Shira Zelber Sagi, PhD
Hepatology
- Meena Bansal, MD
- Kathleen Corey, MD
- Michael Fuchs, MD
- Fasiha Kanwal, MD
- Sonal Kumar, MD
- Mazen Noureddin, MD
- Nancy Reau, MD
- Niharika Samala, MBBS
- Antonio Sanchez, MD
- Arun Sanyal, MD, MBBS
- Lance Stein, MD
- Wing-Kin Syn, MD PhD
Industry
- Krishan Bountra (Perspectum)
- Karlijn Burridge, PA (Boehringer Ingelheim)
- Carlos Duncker, PhD (Perspectum)
- Christopher Frates (Madrigal Pharma)
- Suneil Hosmane, PhD (Madrigal Pharma)
- Keith Miller, PhD (Madrigal Pharma)
- Sarah Noel (Lilly)
- Charlene Prazma, PhD (GSK)
- Jonathan Respress, PhD (GSK)
- Jill Rizer, BSN, RN (Perspectum)
- Emily Sassaman (Boehringer Ingelheim)
- April Taylor, APN (Lilly)
Nurse Practitioner
- Jackie De La Vega, LPN
Patient Advocate
- Michael Betel, DMsc
- Henry Chang, PhD
- Gina Madison, MA
Primary Care
- Llewellyn Mensah, MD
- Brian Pearlman, MD
- Caroline Richardson, MD
Professor/Researcher
- Jeffrey Lazarus, MA, PhD
AGENDA OVERVIEW
Thursday, May 7
Click on the presentation to read speaker bios and view slides.Jeffrey V. Lazarus, PhD, MIH, MA: Jeffrey Lazarus is a full professor at the CUNY Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy and the head of the Public Health Liver Group at the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal). He serves as the director of the Global Think-tank on Steatotic Liver Disease and head of MASH Cities. He is the author of more than 500 publications and is principal investigator of multiple global studies and clinical trials.
Sonal Kumar, MD, MPH, FAASLD: Dr. Kumar is currently an Assistant Professor of Medicine and the Director of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at Weill Cornell Medical College. Her clinical and research interests focus on the diagnosis and management of patients with cholestatic liver disease and metabolic dysfunction associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD). She also founded and is director of ICHANGE, a multidisciplinary clinic for patients with MASLD and other GI conditions related to obesity.
Kenneth Cusi, MD, FACP, FACE: Dr. Cusi is a Professor of Medicine at the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism at The University of Florida at Gainesville. He completed his early medical training in Buenos Aires, Argentina. His early career was at the University of San Antonio Health Science Center, Texas on mechanisms for the development of type 2 diabetes to later focus on nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD; today MASLD) as a common complication of diabetes. Dr. Cusi has published more than 270 peer-reviewed original manuscripts and reviews centering in obesity, diabetes and MASLD, and has contributed to several MASLD guidelines. His research program includes funding from the National Institute of Health and from industry on the underlying mechanisms and new treatments for MASLD. He has received several awards. Among them The University of Florida (UF) Exemplary Teacher Award; the UF Clinical Research Award for Outstanding Achievement, Research Discovery, and Productivity (2015); the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) Jack Baskin, MD, Endocrine Teaching Award (2020); and the 2025 Outstanding Researcher Award by the UF College of Medicine.
Cecilia C. Low Wang, MD, FACE, FACP: Dr. Cecilia C. Low Wang is Professor of Medicine in the University of Colorado (CU) Anschutz Medical Campus (AMC) School of Medicine (SOM). Dr. Low Wang earned her MD degree at the University of Rochester, trained in Internal Medicine and served as Chief Resident at the University of Utah, and completed her Endocrinology Fellowship at the University of Colorado. She then joined the CU faculty at the VA. She is part of the Glucose Management Team at the University of Colorado Hospital which she led for 11 years, contributing to a variety of diabetes and glucose management efforts across the system, and sees patients in the Endocrinology and Transplant Metabolic Clinics. She co-founded and is the Program Director for the CU Diabetes Fellowship Program, Associate Director for the SOM longitudinal Mentored Scholarly Activity, and Senior Fellow of the Academy of Medical Educators. Her research interests include hospital glycemic management and use of diabetes technology, diabetes-related complications, and digital health for underserved populations. She is experienced in regulatory aspects of clinical research and clinical trials, endpoint adjudication, data safety and monitoring, served as Chair of the FDA Advisory Committee for Endocrinologic and Metabolic Drugs, and is the Medical Director of the CU AMC IND/IDE Office. She holds leadership roles at the American Association of Clinical Endocrinology and the Endocrine Society, serves on a clinical guidelines committee for the American Heart Association, and co-founded and serves on the Executive Board of the American College of Diabetology. She has published numerous original manuscripts, reviews and chapters, co-edited 2 books and is editor of a 3rd book published by the American Diabetes Association. She is dedicated to advancing the care of individuals affected by diabetes and diabetes-related complications through training, research, and enhancing care delivery.
Fasiha Kanwal, MD, MSHS: Fasiha Kanwal, MD, MSHS is the Nancy Chang Endowed Professor of Medicine, Director of the Institute for Clinical and Translational Research, and associate dean for clinical and translational research at Baylor College of Medicine. She also serves as the contact principal investigator for Baylor College of Medicine and University of Houston new CTSA grant. Dr. Kanwal has been recognized with numerous awards for her research on risk and risk factors for hepatocellular cancer and quality of care delivered to patients with liver disease. With over 350 published manuscripts to her credit and a robust track record of federal funding, she is among the top 2% of most frequently cited scientists. She served as the Chief for the Section of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at Baylor College of Medicine (2007-2025) and as the first women editor-in-chief of a major clinical journal in gastroenterology and hepatology (2007-2022). She is an elected member of the American Society for Clinical Investigators (ASCI) and the American Association of Physicians (AAP).
Sonal Kumar, MD, MPH, FAASLD: Dr. Kumar is currently an Assistant Professor of Medicine and the Director of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at Weill Cornell Medical College. Her clinical and research interests focus on the diagnosis and management of patients with cholestatic liver disease and metabolic dysfunction associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD). She also founded and is director of ICHANGE, a multidisciplinary clinic for patients with MASLD and other GI conditions related to obesity.
Priya Jaisinghani, MD, DABOM: Dr. Priya Jaisinghani is a board-certified endocrinologist and obesity medicine specialist, currently serving as a Clinical Assistant Professor at NYU Langone Health. She completed her medical training and internal medicine residency at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, where she was inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society and received distinction in service to the community. She went on to complete her endocrinology fellowship at New York-Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center. Dr. Jaisinghani is actively involved in leadership and education nationally through the Obesity Action Coalition, the Tristate Obesity Society, and the Endocrine Society’s Obesity Special Interest Group Steering Committee and internationally serves as faculty for IDF School of Diabetes and as a board member for Global Metabolic Health Alliance. Her expertise has been featured across major media outlets including ABC News, NBC News, the Today Show, Fox 5 News, Medscape, Wall Street Journal, Times of India, and New York Times.
Mazen Noureddin, MD, MHSc, FAASLD: Mazen Noureddin, MD, MHSc, is a Professor of Medicine and an internationally recognized leader in steatotic liver disease (SLD) and SLD-related cirrhosis. Trained at USC, the NIH, and UC San Diego, he has built a distinguished career advancing translational and clinical research, with a focus on disease mechanisms, non-invasive diagnostics, biomarkers, and therapeutic development. Dr. Noureddin has led or contributed to more than 80 clinical trials and is widely regarded for his pioneering work in MRI-based and serum-based testing for liver disease. He has authored over 320 peer-reviewed publications in leading journals, including The New England Journal of Medicine, The Lancet, and Nature Medicine, and is a frequent invited speaker and advisor to major global liver societies. Currently based in Houston at Houston Methodist Hospital, he also founded the Houston Research Institute and serves as Chief Scientific Officer and Co-Chairman of the Board for Summit Clinical Research and Pinnacle Clinical Research."
Friday, May 8
Click on the presentation to read speaker bios and view slides.Fernando Bril, MD: Dr. Bril is an Assistant Professor of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and Associate Scientist of the UAB Comprehensive Diabetes Center. He is originally from Argentina, where he completed Med School and internal medicine residency, before redoing training in the US. He has over 100 publications in the field of MASLD and type 2 diabetes.
Meena Bansal, MD, FAASLD: Dr. Bansal has been on faculty at Mount Sinai since 2001. In addition to maintaining an NIH funded research program focused on molecular mechanism of liver fibrosis with seminal contributions to our understanding of liver fibrosis in people living with HIV, Dr. Bansal held many different leadership roles at Mount Sinai, including Transplant Hepatology Fellowship Director, Chief Medical Officer of Mount Sinai Care, LLC, Deputy Chief Medical Officer for Mount Sinai Health Partners, and Vice President of Population Health for Quality and Efficiency. She has also served as the principal investigator for numerous clinical trials for MASH/NASH. At the international/national levels, she held the position of Secretary for the American Association for the Study of Liver and currently serves as the Director of the newly formed MASLD/MASH Center of Excellence at Mount Sinai. In January 2024, Dr. Bansal was named System Chief, Division of Liver Diseases for the Mount Sinai Health System.
Prof. Carlos Duncker, MD, PhD, FACNM: Carlos is a physician–scientist and medical imaging expert with a track record of pioneering work in bone marrow metastasis, myocardial inflammation, and thyroid nodule diagnostics. He currently serves as Senior Director of Medical Affairs at Perspectum, following leadership roles in hepatology research and clinical trials, including work with Dr. Stephen Harrison at Pinnacle Clinical Research. With postdoctoral work at Johns Hopkins, he has authored 180+ publications and held multiple international leadership positions across nuclear medicine.
Michael Shanik, MD, FACP, FACE: Michael H. Shanik, MD, FACP, FACE, is managing partner at Endocrine Associates of Long Island, P.C., Smithtown, New York. He is a clinical associate professor at Stony Brook University Hospital, Stony Brook, New York. Dr. Shanik earned his medical degree from New York Medical College. He completed residency training in internal medicine at Long Island Jewish Medical Center followed by a fellowship in endocrinology, diabetes and metabolism at North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System. He is board certified in internal medicine and in endocrinology, diabetes and metabolism. Dr. Shanik has been an invited speaker at regional, national, and international meetings. He serves as principal investigator for many studies in diabetes, chronic kidney disease, cardiovascular disease, thyroid, pituitary and metabolism. Dr. Shanik has a special interest in MASH and its association with diabetes, having been at the forefront of evaluation and management for years. He has had a fibroscan for over 7 years and was one of the first to utilize it in clinical practice in his area.
Jeffrey Lazarus, PhD, MIH, MA: Jeffrey Lazarus is a full professor at the CUNY Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy and the head of the Public Health Liver Group at the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal). He serves as the director of the Global Think-tank on Steatotic Liver Disease and head of MASH Cities. He is the author of more than 500 publications and is principal investigator of multiple global studies and clinical trials.
Steering Committee
Scott D. Isaacs, MD, FACE, FACP (Chair)
Adjunct Assistant Professor, Emory University School of Medicine
Medical Director, Atlanta Endocrine Associates
Past President, American Association of Clinical Endocrinology
Cecilia C. Low Wang, MD, FACE, FACP
Assistant Vice Chancellor for Clinical Research Operations | Medical Director, IND/IDE Office
Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research
Associate Director, Mentored Scholarly Activity
Professor of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism
Program Director, CU Diabetes Fellowship
CU Anschutz School of Medicine
Jeffrey Lazarus, PhD, MIH, MA
Research Professor, Barcelona Institute for Global Health
Professor, CUNY Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy, USA
Director, Global Think-tank on Steatotic Liver Disease
Kenneth Cusi, MD, FACP, FACE
Professor of Medicine, University of Florida
Sonal Kumar, MD, MPH, FAASLD
Director, General Gastroenterology and Hepatology
Director, Innovative Center for Health and Nutrition in Gastroenterology (ICHANGE)
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Weill Cornell Medicine
Sponsors
Thank you to our sponsors for supporting this program:
