Our Team

Eugene Schiff, M.D., MACP, FRCP, MACG, AGAF, FAASLDs

Dr. Schiff earned his BA at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, and his MD at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City. After graduating, he completed his internship at Cincinnati General Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio, and his residencies in internal medicine at Cincinnati General Hospital and Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas, Texas. His fellowship in Gastroenterology was conducted at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas.

Dr. Schiff is the Director of the Schiff Center for Liver Diseases and a Professor of Medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.

Dr. Schiff is the co-editor of the Twelfth Edition of Schiff’s Diseases of the Liver and has authored and co-authored more than 450 articles, books, and book chapters concerning liver diseases and related topics. His articles have been published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, Journal of Clinical Investigation, Hepatology, Journal of Hepatology, Liver Transplantation, New England Journal of Medicine, and Annals of Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology. He is a past President of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, and a past Chairman of the Biliary Section of the American Gastroenterological Association. Dr. Schiff is a Master of the American College of Gastroenterology, a Master of the American College of Physicians, a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, a Fellow of the American Gastroenterology Association, and a Fellow of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases. He was the Governor of the American College of Physicians for the State of Florida for four years. He was a member of the Gastroenterology Subspecialty Board of the American Board of Internal Medicine and former Chair of the FDA Advisory Committee on gastrointestinal drugs.

 Dr. Schiff is the recipient of numerous honors and awards, including the Florida Laureate Award presented by the American College of Physicians, the Distinguished Service Award of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, the Society of the Professors of Medicine Lifetime Achievement Award, and was recently honored as the first recipient of the Emmet B Keeffe Mentorship Award.

Research Interests

• Viral Hepatitis
• Fatty Liver Diseases
• Autoimmune Hepatitis
• Alcoholic Hepatitis
• Metabolic Storage Diseases
• Complications of Cirrhosis
• COVID-19

Cynthia Levy, M.D.

Dr. Cynthia Levy is a native of Brazil, where she graduated from medical school at Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro. She completed residency in Internal Medicine first at her home institution and then at University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Hospital. Dr. Levy undertook training in Gastroenterology at Mayo Clinic Rochester, MN, and subsequently went to University of Florida, Gainesville, for a Transplant Hepatology Fellowship, later joining their staff. In 2010 she returned to the University of Miami as an Associate Professor of Medicine.

Dr. Levy currently serves as the Associate Director for the Schiff Center for Liver Diseases and is the Program Director for the Transplant Hepatology Fellowship. She has a strong research interest in autoimmune and cholestatic liver diseases and runs both investigator-initiated and industry-sponsored studies. Dr. Levy is also the UM principal investigator for the NIH Porphyria Consortium. She is an American Gastroenterology Association Fellow and a Fellow of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases. She has over 60 peer-reviewed publications, including original papers, editorials, reviews, and book chapters.

Research Interests

• Biliary Tract Disorders
• Autoimmune Hepatitis
• COVID-19

Christopher O’Brien, MD, AGAF, FRCMI

Christopher B. O’Brien, MD is a Professor of Clinical Medicine at the University of Miami School of Medicine, Chief of Clinical Hepatology at the Center for Liver Diseases, and Medical Director of Liver Transplant at the Miami Transplant Institute.

Dr. O’Brien received his medical degree from The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland. He completed a Fellowship in Hepatology at the University of Miami, and a National Institutes of Health Fellowship in Clinical Nutrition and a Fellowship in Gastroenterology, both at the University of Pennsylvania.

Dr. O’Brien was Medical Director of Liver Transplant at both the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. He served as Director of Clinical Activities of the Gastrointestinal Section and was Clinical Director of the Liver Center. He was the Director of the Hepatitis Laboratory and ultimately the Acting Chief of the Gastrointestinal Section at the University of Pennsylvania.

He has published extensively and is the author of more than 180 abstracts, papers, and book chapters. Finally, Dr. O’Brien’s research credentials are extensive and he has served as the Principal Investigator of more than 80 Phase 1 to Phase 4 clinical trials investigating new treatments for chronic liver disease. As the Science Reviewer for the Center for Liver Diseases, he has been responsible for the overview of more than 200 clinical research trials at the University of Miami’s Miller School of Medicine.

Recently, he was the Principal Investigator of the innovative study “Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Single Ascending Dose Trial of Synthetic Preimplantation Factor in Autoimmune Hepatitis.”

Research Interests

• Liver Disease
  
• Hepatology
  
• Acute Liver Failure
  
• Liver Transplant Evaluation
  
• Small Bowel Transplantation
  
• Small Bowel Disease
  
• Chronic Liver Diseases
  
• Alcoholic Liver Disease
  
• Transplant Hepatology
  
• End-Stage Liver Disease
  
• Fatty Liver Diseases
  
• Liver Failure/Liver Transplantation

Emmanuel Thomas, M.D., Ph.D.

The mission of Dr. Thomas’s program is to develop integrated, multidisciplinary approaches to the study of liver cancer/liver diseases and to bridge clinical medicine and basic science with translation of fundamental knowledge to prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of liver diseases. Dr. Thomas is a Fellow of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (FAASLD). He serves on the National Advisory Board of the American Liver Foundation and he is on the editorial board of Hepatology, Journal of Infectious Diseases, and Journal of Translational Medicine. Dr. Thomas currently has over $4 million dollars in program support through the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Florida Department of Health (FL-DOH).

Since completing a Doris Duke Clinical Fellowship and graduating from the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine in May 2007 while simultaneously obtaining both the MD and PhD degrees, Dr. Thomas has made steady progress toward creating and implementing a translational research program focused on preventing liver disease and hepatocellular carcinoma. His program leverages resources and clinical/scientific expertise available through the Miami CTSI, the Schiff Center for Liver Diseases, the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, and the Miami Center for AIDS Research to address the rapid development of liver disease and Hepatocellular Carcinoma which occurs in patients with viral hepatitis. Infection by the Hepatitis B and C viruses and HIV impacts our South Florida community significantly and our efforts will help minimize their detrimental effects in our catchment area.

Having been raised in Miami-Dade County, Dr. Thomas has a strong commitment to improving the health of our local community. Through community screening programs, we are identifying HCV-infected individuals and linking them to care so that they can be cured of this deadly virus. In addition, we are also facilitating the ability of uninsured patients to receive these costly medications through patient assistance programs. In addition, we are studying the mechanisms underlying how viral hepatitis (HBV and HCV) cause hepatocellular carcinoma. Lastly, we are developing prediction models to identify patients that are most at risk for developing hepatocellular carcinoma.

Research Interests

• Viral Hepatitis
  
• Human Immunodeficiency Virus
  
• Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC)
  
• Hepatocarcinogenesis

Leopoldo Arosemena, M.D.

Dr. Leopoldo Arosemena, originally from Panama, graduated from medical school at Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon, in Monterrey, Mexico. He was selected by the William J. Harrington Programs to train in Internal Medicine at the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Hospital. He subsequently completed training in Hepatology, Transplant Hepatology, and Gastroenterology at the same academic institution. 

Dr. Arosemena is currently a faculty member of the University of Miami, working at the Miami Transplant Institute as a transplant hepatologist and conducts clinical research at the Schiff Center for Liver Diseases. His publications are mainly on cirrhosis and liver transplantation. 

Research Interests

• Ascites
  
• Fatty Liver Diseases
  
• Cirrhosis
  
• Liver Transplantation

Kalyan Ram Bhamidimarri, MD, MPH

Dr. Kalyan Ram Bhamidimarri earned his medical degree from Andhra Medical College in India. He completed his residency in Internal Medicine, Gastroenterology, and Transplant Hepatology fellowship training in New York. He obtained MPH in Biostatistics from University of North Texas Health Science Center (UNTHSC). In his 10 years of experience as a full-time academic faculty member at the University of Miami, he offers specialty care for patients with chronic liver disease, cirrhosis, liver failure and liver cancer. He is the adult hepatology counterpart and works with Dr. Miloh at UM's Wilson Disease Center of Excellence. He is skilled in performing various procedures including liver biopsies, and luminal and biliary endoscopy. 

He is currently an Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine and Chief of Hepatology at the University of Miami. He formerly served as the medical director of small bowel and multi-visceral transplantation at Miami Transplant Institute. He has authored several articles related to gastroenterology, hepatology, and transplantation. He is a member of AASLD, EASL, AGA, ACG and was recently awarded FACG and FAASLD. He has spoken at several national and international conferences as a guest speaker and chaired sessions at various meetings. He likes beach volleyball, ping pong, and skiing.

Research Interests

• Fatty Liver Diseases
  
• Alcohol Related Liver Disease
  
• Viral Hepatitis
  
• Drug-Induced Liver Injury
  
• Metabolic Liver Diseases
  
• Liver Transplantation
  
• Wilson Disease

Eric Martin, M.D.

Dr. Martin is an established Transplant Hepatologist at the Miami Transplant Institute (MTI), a unique affiliation between Jackson Health System and University of Miami Health System, where he holds the position of Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine at the UM Miller School of Medicine. As a transplant hepatologist, Dr. Martin cares for patients with acute and chronic liver disease and is actively involved in the evaluation process for liver transplantation for patients with end-stage liver disease. He also provides ongoing medical management for post-liver transplant patients. In addition, he serves as the Medical Director of the living donor liver transplant program. Dr. Martin has authored multiple articles in the field of Hepatology, Transplantation, and Gastroenterology with research interests that include transplantation outcomes in alcoholic liver disease, simultaneous liver-kidney transplant, and transplantation of HCV-viremic organs into HCV-negative recipients. He is an active member of AASLD, EASL, AST, AGA, and ACG and serves on the National Liver Review Board as part of the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) for liver transplantation. Dr. Martin remains dedicated to the ideals of community outreach and policy development. 

Dr. Martin earned his medical degree in 2007 from St. George’s University in Grenada, West Indies. He went on to complete both his residency in Internal Medicine and fellowship in Gastroenterology and Hepatology at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. After concluding his training with a Fellowship in Transplant Hepatology in 2014 at the University of Miami, he remained on staff as a Transplant Hepatologist. Dr. Eric Martin is board-certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine in Internal Medicine, Gastroenterology, and Transplant Hepatology.

Research Interests

• Liver Transplantation
  
• Alcohol Related Liver Disease
  
• Viral Hepatitis
  
• Cirrhosis
  
• Fatty Liver Diseases

Dushyantha Jayaweera, M.D., FACP, MRCOG, CIP

Prof. Dushyantha Jayaweera MD, FACP, MRCOG (UK), CIP is the Executive Dean for Research and Research Education and a Professor in Clinical Medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. He graduated from the University of Colombo, Sri Lanka and has been working on HIV for the last 25 years.

Dr. Jayaweera has received grant support from the National Institutes of Drug Abuse, National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, and the National Science Foundation. Dr. Jayaweera has led and continues to lead numerous industry-funded trials in HIV and HIV/HCV coinfection and has published extensively.

He was formerly the Associate vice Provost for Human Subject Research overseeing the activities of the ethics committees. He received his M.D. degree in Sri Lanka, and trained in medicine in Sri Lanka, Great Britain, and Loyola University of Chicago. In conjunction with other esteemed faculty members at UM, he has been instrumental in initiating minority HIV and HIV/HCV care clinics in the U.S. Prof. Jayaweera is a frequent speaker and an organizer of international workshops, meetings and conferences.

Research Interests

• Human Immunodeficiency Virus
  
• HIV/HCV Co-infection
  
• COVID-19