Digestive Diseases Research

Benhammou Laboratory

Jihane N. Benhammou, MD, PhD

Key investigator

  • Jihane N. Benhammou, MD, PhD

Hepatology and health services research

The Benhammou Laboratory focus is to understand the predictors, pathogenesis and clinical outcomes of non-alcoholic fatty liver (NAFLD) and fatty liver-associated hepatocellular carcinoma in different ethnic populations. To this end, the laboratory conducts multidisciplinary clinical and translational research at UCLA and Veterans Affairs Greater Los Angeles Health Systems. The success of these projects depend on collaboration across fields including transplant hepatology and surgery, human genetics, and human health services.

Current research projects

  • Determining the transcriptional profile of NAFLD associated HCC
  • Study lipidomics profile of patients who have developed the spectrum of NAFLD disease including HCC
  • Understand the role of statins and key lipid genes including stearoyl-CoA desaturase (SCD) enzyme in the pathogenesis of NAFLD-related HCC and their effects on the Hippo pathway
  • Develop NAFLD definition using pre-existing Electronic Health Records and imaging modalities within Veterans Affairs population

Future research projects

  • Developing prediction models for HCC in NAFLD patients with and without cirrhosis
  • Assessing prevalence of NAFLD in the hepatitis C-DAA treated patient population who has reached sustained virologic responses to help risk stratify patients post treatment in hepatology clinics

Current funding and support

  • NIH/NIDDK CURE: Digestive Diseases Research Center Pilot and Feasibility Studies (P03 DK41301), 2019-2022

Previous funding and support

  • American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) Advanced Transplant Hepatology Award, 2020-2021
  • Visium 10X Spatial Genomics Grant, 2020-2021
  • Intercept Pharmaceuticals Investigator Initiated Study to determine the prevalence of NAFLD in the post hepatitis C SVR patient population within Veterans 2017-2019

In the news

  • Dr. Benhammou an Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) Early Career Women Faculty Leadership Development Seminar recipient
  • Dr. Benhammou joins the executive committee for the VA Cooperative Study, "Preventing Liver Cancer Mortality through Imaging with Ultrasound vs MRI." As a committee member, she joins other liver cancer experts across the country to oversee one of the largest randomized control trials comparing ultrasound to MRI for the early detection of hepatocellular carcinoma
  • Dr. Benhammou joins the editorial board of Hepatology Communications.
  • Dr. Benhammou was selected as an early career physician-scientist "scholar" for the 2021-2023 AGA FORWARD Program: Fostering Opportunities Resulting in Workforce and Research Diversity supported by NIH.

Current trainees

  • Ram Sundaresh, MD

Past trainees

  • Saroja Bangaru, MD

About Dr. Benhammou

Dr. Benhammou completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Texas at Austin, with a major in human biology. She then completed medical school at University of California, San Francisco with a thesis in molecular medicine. Before starting her internship at the University of California, Los Angeles in internal medicine, Dr. Benhammou participated in a two-year intramural program at the National Cancer Institutes studying functional genomics and hereditary forms of kidney cancer.

Dr. Benhammou went on to complete her internal medicine and gastroenterology training at UCLA. There, she received advanced research training in the UCLA Specialty Training and Advanced Research (STAR) program and NIH T32, which supported her graduate studies in the Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Integrative Physiology. Her doctoral dissertation addressed the clinical risk factors of NAFLD hepatocellular carcinoma and the molecular mechanisms at play in NAFLD pathogenesis. Following her PhD, Dr. Benhammou completed additional clinical training in transplant hepatology at UCLA.

Dr. Benhammou joined the digestive diseases and hepatology faculty at UCLA and Greater Los Angeles VA where she will care for patients with chronic liver disease before and after liver transplantation. She will continue to pursue her research on NAFLD-associated hepatocellular carcinoma using clinical and translational research tools. She is board certified in internal medicine, gastroenterology and transplant hepatology.

Lab Members

Bo Qiano, MD

Bo Qiano, MD

Research Associate

Dr. Qiao earned his medical degree at Zhangjiakou Medical School in China, followed by an MS in biochemistry at Beijing University. He served as a research associate at USC in the Department of Orthopedic Surgery and subsequently joined the Dumont-UCLA Transplant Center. He is now joining the laboratories of Noam Jacob, MD, PhD, and Jihane N. Benhammou, MD, PhD, to continue his work on metabolism and the gut-liver axis.

Nicole Prause, PhD

Nicole Prause, PhD

Senior Statistician

Dr. Prause specializes in time series analysis, including biosignal processing and cognitive models. She will be working with Dr. Jihane N. Benhammou, Dr. Tien S. Dong and Dr. Arpan A. Patel on a number of clinical, translational and health services research projects in hepatology. Her past research has focused on decision making during alcohol intoxication using direct administration in laboratory studies.

Publications (selected) - Full list on PubMed