General Hepatology Update

Cynthia Levy, MD, FAASLD is a Professor of Medicine in the Division of Digestive Health and Liver Diseases and is the Associate Director of the Schiff Center for Liver Diseases at the University of Miami. She was awarded the Arthur Hertz Endowed Chair in Liver Diseases. Dr. Levy received her M.D. from Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ). She completed house staff training both at her home University and subsequently at University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Hospital, in Miami, FL. Dr. Levy completed her three-year Gastroenterology Fellowship at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and a one-year Transplant Hepatology Fellowship at University of Florida in Gainesville, FL.

Dr. Levy’s clinical research program focuses on clinical trial development and conduct for autoimmune and cholestatic liver diseases, and in the study of porphyrias. Dr. Levy is a member of the steering committee for the International Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis Study group (IPSCSG) and serves as the Chair for the TARGET-Primary Biliary Cholangitis (PBC) national registry. She is a steering committee member for the Cholestatic and Autoimmune Liver Diseases SIG in AASLD, where she also serves as the vice-chair for the Practice Guidelines Committee. In addition, she advises several patient support groups and Foundations. Dr Levy’s expertise is recognized internationally.

Mina Rakoski is a Transplant Hepatologist at Loma Linda University Health. She completed her medical education at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, her residency at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles and her Gastroenterology and Transplant Hepatology Fellowships at University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. During her time at University of Michigan, she attained her Master of Science in Health and Health Care Research through the Rackham Graduate School.

Dr. Rakoski has a clinical and research interest in palliative care for patients with cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. She has a dual appointment in both Gastroenterology as well as Palliative Care at Loma Linda. She has started a hepatology palliative care clinic where she is able to provide integrated hepatology and palliative care services including in-office therapeutic paracentesis for patients with advanced liver disease. She is a co-investigator on a multicenter study funded by Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), which is investigating a novel approach of integrating palliative care into subspecialty clinics. She has written several review articles on palliative care in liver disease as well as presented on this topic at national conferences.