Carrie R. Wong, MD, PhD

Key investigator

  • Carrie R. Wong, MD, PhD

Early detection of chronic liver disease

Chronic liver disease is often detected in its advanced stages when treatment options are limited. Early detection of chronic liver disease is critical in order to connect high-risk individuals to treatments and prevent advanced, irreversible liver disease. Efforts to identify and understand factors that influence early detection of chronic liver disease are needed to improve targeted screening efforts.

The goal of our research is to improve risk stratification and early detection of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease among high-risk individuals. We leverage traditional and modern statistical methods to evaluate health, behavioral, and environmental data from medical records, survey, interviews, and registries. Through these evaluations, we develop and test multilevel, pragmatic health interventions to improve early detection of steatotic liver disease.  

Current projects

Affiliated centers

Honors and awards

  • NIH/ National Center for Advancing Translational Science UCLA CTSI Grant UL1TR001881, 2024
  • Advanced/ Transplant Hepatology Award, American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, 2021
  • Emerging Liver Scholar Award, American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, 2016

News

  • Over 4 million US adults with chronic liver disease can be grouped into unique risk groups based on barriers to care
    • People with chronic liver disease can be categorized into four distinct risk groups based on the different barriers they face in obtaining outpatient care, barriers that increase their odds of requiring hospitalization, a new UCLA study finds. The findings, published November 20 in the peer-reviewed PLOS ONE, point to the need for interventions aimed at reducing possibly avoidable hospitalizations among the highest-risk people with chronic liver disease (CLD). Previous research has found that people with CLD on average need more hospital-based care than those with other chronic diseases. About 4 million adults in the US have CLD, said Carrie R. Wong, MD, PhD, assistant professor of medicine in the division of digestive diseases at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA) and the study’s lead author. Read more in Department of Medicine news

Research team members

  • Otilio Castillo
  • Lilian Doan
  • Kaitlyn Ng 

Publications - Complete list in My Bibliography

About Dr. Wong

Dr. Wong is a clinician-investigator who conducts health services research and practices transplant/general hepatology at Ronald Reagan Medical Center and Pfleger Liver Institute. Dr. Wong received her bachelor’s degree in public health from the University of California at Berkeley and medical degree from Stony Brook University School of Medicine, where she was inducted into the Gold Humanism Honor Society. She completed her clinical training in the Yale Traditional Internal Medicine Residency Program and her gastroenterology and advanced transplant hepatology fellowships at UCLA. Dr. Wong also completed advanced research training through the doctoral program in the Department of Health Policy and Management at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health. The UCLA Specialty Training and Advanced Research Program and Ruth L. Kirshstein National Research Service Award T32 Fellowship Program have supported Dr. Wong’s training. She joined the faculty as an assistant professor in the UCLA Vatche and Tamar Manoukian Division of Digestive Diseases in 2023. Dr. Wong is board certified in internal medicine, gastroenterology, and transplant hepatology.

Contact us

For more information, please email Dr. Wong at [email protected]

If you are interested in joining our research group, please include a cover letter detailing your relevant accomplishments and your CV.