Jihane N. Benhammou, MD, PhD

Dr. Benhammou completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Texas at Austin, graduating with honors in human biology. She then earned her medical degree from the University of California, San Francisco, where she completed a thesis in molecular medicine. Before beginning her internal medicine residency at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Dr. Benhammou participated in a two-year intramural research program at the National Cancer Institute, where she studied functional genomics and hereditary forms of kidney cancer.

Dr. Benhammou received advanced research training through the UCLA Specialty Training and Advanced Research (STAR) Program and an NIH T32 training grant, which supported her graduate studies in the Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Integrative Physiology. Her doctoral research focused on the clinical risk factors for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD)-related hepatocellular carcinoma and the molecular mechanisms underlying MASLD pathogenesis. Following completion of her PhD, she pursued additional clinical training in transplant hepatology at UCLA.

Dr. Benhammou subsequently joined the faculty of the Vatche & Tamar Manoukian Division of Digestive Diseases and the Greater Los Angeles Veterans Affairs Healthcare System. She provides care for patients with chronic liver disease both before and after liver transplantation. Her research program focuses on elucidating the clinical, genetic, and molecular mechanisms driving MASLD-associated hepatocellular carcinoma through the use of innovative, multidisciplinary research approaches. Based in UCLA's Comprehensive Liver Research Center, she collaborates closely with clinical, translational, and basic scientists to advance the understanding and treatment of liver disease.