ASCI / Young Physician-Scientist Awards, 2021
The Young Physician-Scientist Awards (YPSA) recognize physician-scientists who are early in their first faculty appointment and have made notable achievements in their research.
About the awardee
Lisa VanWagner, MD, MSc, FAST, FAHA, is an Assistant Professor of Gastroenterology & Hepatology and Preventive Medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, IL. Dr. VanWagner received her medical degree from the University of Virginia School of Medicine in 2007. She then completed her Internal Medicine, Gastroenterology and Transplant Hepatology training at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, IL in 2015 while concurrently obtaining her master’s degree in Clinical Investigation from the Northwestern University Graduate School.
Dr. VanWagner utilizes human population-based approaches, large electronic health record data analysis and health services research methods to define and characterize cardiovascular disease risk prediction, prevention and treatment approaches in patients with chronic liver disease. Her scientific work has been recognized by leading professional organizations, with awards from the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD), European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL), American Society of Transplantation (AST) and American Heart Association (AHA). She has published over 90 peer-reviewed manuscripts. Her publications have been the first to describe findings such as the increased risk of adverse cardiac events after liver transplant for NASH and her team developed the first liver transplant-specific cardiovascular disease risk assessment tool for clinical use (available at: www.carolt.us). Other publications have been used to develop strategies for policymakers, such as the AHA (annual statistics update), and for clinical practice guidance (AST and AHA guidance on cardiovascular disease evaluation and management in liver transplantation). Clinically, she works in the multidisciplinary Northwestern Fatty Liver Program in the Northwestern Medicine Digestive Health Center and the combined heart-liver transplant program at the Northwestern Medicine Comprehensive Transplant Center. Dr. VanWagner is a fellow of the AHA and AST and currently serves as chair of the Liver and Intestine Community of Practice (LICOP).