Sammy Saab, MD, MPH

Key investigator

  • Sammy Saab, MD, MPH

Funding

  • Donors

Current research projects

  • Hepatic encephalopathy as a predictor of patient related outcomes after TIPS
  • Cardiovascular complications after liver transplantation
  • Prevalence of hepatitis C in the pediatric population
  • Telemedicine: Effectiveness and patient satisfaction
  • Strategies for screening for fatty liver in the community

Future research directions

  • Liver transplantation
  • Cirrhosis
  • Chronic hepatitis C

Recent publications - Full list on PubMed(Link is external) (Link opens in new window)

  1. Pak K, Sachar R & Saab S. Projected Mitigation of Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Patients with Chronic Hepatitis B in the Gray Zone and the Immune-Tolerant Phase in the United States(Link is external). Digestive Diseases and Sciences. 20 February 2025
  2. Cumpian NA, Choi G & Saab S. Review of current and upcoming second-line treatments for primary biliary cholangitis(Link is external). Digestive Diseases and Sciences. 02 December 2024
  3. De La Torre Jr SA, Morcos M, Saab S & Shetty A. Alcohol-associated hepatitis: Short- and long-term management(Link is external). Digestive Diseases and Sciences. 22 November 2024
  4. Saab S. Hepatic encephalopathy(Link is external). Clinics in Liver Disease. May 2024
  5. Shetty A, Saab S. Commentary on New Fatty Liver Nomenclature Steatotic Liver Disease.(Link is external) Clinical Gastroenterology. November 24, 2023
  6. John N, Ibrahim B, Ebaid M & Saab S. Outcomes in Patients with Liver Dysfunction Post SARS-CoV-2 Infection: What Should We Measure?(Link is external) Hepatic Medicine: Evidence and Research. Volume 15, 2023 issue
  7. Chow KW, Futela P, Saharan A, Saab S. Comparison on guidelines for the screening, diagnosis, and noninvasive assessment of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease(Link is external). Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hepatology. September-October 2023
  8. Chow KW, Ibrahim B, Rahal K, Hsu RH, Tan T, Meneses K, Saab S. Semaglutide is effective in achieving weight loss in liver transplant recipients(Link is external). Liver Transplantation. August 29, 2023
  9. Zhao M, Saab S, Craw C, Lee EW. The impact of renal function on hepatic encephalopathy following TIPS placement for refractory ascites(Link is external). Biomedicines. 2 August 2023
  10. Kaldas FM, Horwitz JK, Noguchi D, Korayem I, Markovic D, Ebaid S, Agopian VG, Yersiz H, Saab S, Han SB, El Kabany M, Choi G, Shetty A, Singh J, Wray C, Barjaktarvic I, Farmer DG, Busuttil R. The evolution of redo liver transplantation over 35 years(Link is external). Annals of Surgery. June 26, 2023
  11. Kugelman M, Loftus M, Owen EJ, Wadei H, Saab S. Expert perspectives for the pharmacist on facilitating and improving the use of albumin in cirrhosis(Link is external). American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy. July 2023, Pages 8-6-817
  12. Shetty A, Ibrahim B, Eskander B, Saab S. Management of patients after treatment of severe alcohol-associated hepatitis(Link is external). Clinical Gastroenterology. July 10, 2023
  13. Chow KW, Ebaid M, Ibrahim BM, Saab S. Epidemiology and outcomes of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in African Americans(Link is external). Clinical Liver Disease. June 22, 2023
  14. Yanny B, Alkhero M, Alani M, Stenberg D, Saharan A, Saab S. Post-COVID-19 cholangiopathy: A systematic review(Link is external). J Clin Exp Hepatol. 2022 Oct 30. doi: 10.1016/j.jceh.2022.10.009
  15. Saab S, Pham N, Wu W, Dang L, Dang A, Yum J, Shim, Wu S. Spontaneous seroclearance is associated with lower liver fibrosis in treatment-naïve chronic hepatitis B patients(Link is external) (Link opens in new window). Digestive Diseases and Sciences. 2022 Mar 4. doi: 10.1007/s10620-022-07402-1

Past GI research fellows

  • Jihane N. Benhammou, MD, PhD (2019-2020)
  • Akshay Shetty, MD (2018-2019)
  • Ani Kardashian, MD (2018-2019)
  • Beshoy T. Yanny, MD (2017-2018)
  • Kelvin Nguyen, MD (2017-18)
  • Tyralee Goo, MD (2014-15)
  • Victoria Sheen, MD (2014-15)
  • Gina Choi, MD (2013-14)
  • Justin Reynolds, MD (2012-13)
  • Vivian Ng, MD (2012-13)
  • Jennifer Tan, MD (2007-09)
  • Lenna Martyak, MD (2007-08)
  • Carmen Landaverde, MD (2007-09)
  • Andrew Kim, MD (2006-07)
  • Jose Nieto, DO (2004-06)
  • Shiobhan Weston, MD (2002-03)

About Dr. Saab

Dr. Saab received his BS, MD, and MPH degrees from UCLA. He completed his residency in internal medicine at the University of California at San Diego (UCSD) Medical Center and a fellowship in gastroenterology/hepatology at the UCLA Center for Health Sciences. He also served as chief medical resident at USCD. Dr. Saab is board certified in gastroenterology and transplant hepatology.

He has received honorary fellowship from several medical societies including the American Gastroenterology Association (AGAF), the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (FAASLD), and the American College of Gastroenterology (ACG).

Dr. Saab is active in many local, national, and international committees. He served on the Medical Advisory Committee of the Ventura County/ West Valley Chapter of TRIO (2005-2012), Practice Guidelines Committee of the American Society of Transplantation (2006-2008), and the Educational Committee of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (2004-2007). He is currently co-chair on the National Medical Advisory Committee for the American Liver Foundation. He is on the board of directors for the American Liver Foundation and Chronic Liver Disease Foundation and the Chronic Liver Disease Foundation.

Dr. Saab served on the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases Nominating Committee in 2014. He previously served as member of United Network for Organ Sharing Membership and Professional Standards Committee and Performance Analysis and Improvement Subcommittee. Dr. Saab was also a member of the Minority Affairs Committee Member and Cultural Diversity for the American College of Gastroenterology.

Dr. Saab has been an investigator in numerous clinical trials, a frequently invited speaker worldwide, and leads an annual patient education seminar.

He has been named one of the “Best Doctors in America,” has received the Distinguished Achievement Award from his Division of Digestive Diseases. Dr. Saab has published over 300 peer-reviewed manuscripts. He has authored many book chapters, editorials, abstracts, and poster presentations. Dr. Saab is on the editorial board of more than a dozen journal, and is currently the liver section editor for the Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology.