Transplant Hepatology Fellowship
Applications for the 2026–2027 transplant hepatology fellowship are currently being accepted.
Please submit your application materials by Monday, December 8, 2025. Application instructions are listed below.
Overview
The hepatology faculty at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center is committed to providing a comprehensive advanced education in transplant hepatology to motivated applicants who have completed an ACGME accredited gastroenterology fellowship. There will be one fellow per academic year. This one-year, ACGME accredited program will qualify the fellow to sit for the ABIM Transplant Hepatology Certification Examination.
Clinical experience
The transplant hepatology fellowship offers advanced training in general hepatology, the management of end stage liver disease in both the inpatient and outpatient setting, and the evaluation and management of the pre and post transplant liver patient at one of the largest transplant centers in the country.
Didactic lectures, journal clubs, and multidisciplinary conferences are scheduled weekly. Inpatient training will include rotations on the inpatient hepatology consult service and the inpatient liver transplant surgery service. Outpatient hepatology clinic will occur throughout the year.
Research experience
The fellow will be provided with research mentoring and will be expected to conduct an original research project during the year culminating in an abstract, presentation, or publication. Ample opportunity exists for collaboration with departments outside of the hepatology service.
Requirements
Applicants should have completed an ACGME accredited gastroenterology fellowship. Applicants will need to have a current California medical license by the start of training. Those candidates with an interest in the management of advanced liver disease and clinical research are encouraged to apply.
Application
- Complete the application
- Curriculum vitae
- One-page personal statement on why you are interested in transplant hepatology
- Three (3) letters of recommendation sent directly by the author or their assistant
How to apply
Applicants should submit the documents to Ann Toggenberger at [email protected]
Current Fellow
Phillip Chen, MD
Transplant Heptology Fellow
Pfleger Liver Institute
Department of Surgery
Vatche & Tamar Manoukian Division of Digestive Diseases
David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
Dr. Chen began his path in medicine at UC Berkeley, where he majored in nutritional science with a minor in education. He went on to complete his medical school and internal medicine residency training at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, and is currently a GI fellow at UCLA. His passion for hepatology was sparked early while working at a free clinic during college, where he led community outreach efforts for hepatitis B in Asian Pacific Islander communities and hepatitis C screening in homeless shelters, methadone clinics and needle exchanges.
During his gap years before starting medical school, Dr. Chen worked at the San Mateo County Public Health Department, an experience that later informed his efforts during medical school to partner with FQHCs to launch a hepatitis B and C linkage-to-care initiative. Throughout his time at UCLA, he collaborated with leading experts and published multiple research projects focused on viral hepatitis and HIV coinfection. His dedication to liver health equity earned him the AASLD Emerging Liver Scholars Award.
Now entering his 10th year at UCLA, Dr. Chen is honored to be selected as the institution’s first 2+1 gastroenterology and transplant hepatology fellow. He remains committed to advancing research and care delivery for medically marginalized populations, with a focus on using quality improvement approaches to close gaps in chronic liver disease care—particularly within API immigrant and LGBTQIA+ communities.
Past fellows
