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A Conversation with Stevan A. Gonzalez, MD, MS

HCV Next Editorial Board Member Stevan A. Gonzalez, MD, MS, is a graduate of Dartmouth Medical School. He went on to complete his training in internal medicine, gastroenterology and hepatology at the New York-Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York, at which time he received a Master of Science degree in biostatistics at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.

He then completed a transplant hepatology fellowship at Stanford University Medical Center. Since concentrating in transplant hepatology, Gonzalez has been named as an American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases Advanced Hepatology Fellow, published many peer-reviewed papers, authored book chapters and spoken at national conferences on hepatology.

Stevan A. Gonzalez

He is currently medical director of liver transplantation at the Annette C. and Harold C. Simmons Transplant Institute at the Baylor All Saints Medical Center in Fort Worth, Texas. He is also Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine at Texas A&M College of Medicine. His clinical and research interests include antiviral therapy for hepatitis C, hepatitis B and complications of cirrhosis.

Gonzalez also serves on the advisory committee to the Chronic Liver Disease Foundation and has volunteered his expertise to spread awareness of hepatitis C virus to the Egyptian community in Texas.

What was the defining moment that led to your field?

Rather than a single defining moment, it was more like an evolving focus. Throughout medical school, residency, and fellowship, I tended to immerse myself in areas I found an interest in. Along the way, I crossed paths with some great personalities and mentors. At an early point during my internship and residency, I jumped headfirst into translational research involving hepatitis C and I was hooked. It soon became very clear to me that hepatology was the perfect field for me.

What area of research in hepatology most interests you?

In HCV therapy, the primary focus has been placed on eradication of the virus, but now that this outcome can be achieved in the majority of patients, I believe an important emerging question is “then what?” There may be patients who will continue to be at risk of progressive liver disease or complications despite eradication, particularly in an era of increasing prevalence of advanced fibrosis in this population and comorbid metabolic syndrome or nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. It will be important to determine how to identify these patients who require long-term follow up after SVR.

What advice would you offer a medical school student?

Don’t be afraid to immerse yourself in challenging rotations and new experiences. I found that taking this approach at times helped me realize what I didn’t like as much as what inspired me.

Have you ever been fortunate enough to witness or to have been part of medical history in the making? If so, please explain.

I think many hepatologists would tell you that we are living through medical history in the making right now. But looking back to my years at Cornell, I was fortunate to have the opportunity to get to know some of the researchers across the street in the lab of Charles M. Rice, PhD, at Rockefeller University. I recall sitting there during research conferences and thinking to myself, “this is a big deal.” It’s amazing for me to look back and see how those efforts to understand the basic virology of hepatitis C brought us to where we are now.

Who has had the greatest influence on your career?

I actually had three mentors that influenced me greatly at different time points during my training, and they each had a part in developing different aspects of my career. While at Cornell, Ira Jacobson, MD, was my primary clinical mentor, and through my experiences with him, I developed a framework for my approach to thinking about hepatitis C from a clinical standpoint. During that time, I was also working in the lab of Andrew Talal, MD, MPH, investigating the host cell-mediated immunity against HCV in peripheral blood and liver tissue. Andy inspired my interests in research, and from there, I sought formal training in biostatistics. And finally, I was fortunate to spend a year with Emmet B. Keeffe, MD, at Stanford for my transplant hepatology fellowship. Emmet had a lasting influence on me as we maintained a close collaborative relationship for several years while I continued to develop my interests in clinical research and writing.