Dr. Julia Wattacheril

Biography

Julia J Wattacheril is an Associate Professor of Medicine at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, where she serves as the director of the Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Liver Disease (MASLD) program. Her clinical and translational research focuses on multidisciplinary care for MASLD patients, specifically investigating rare genetic variants that influence the disease's development and progression. She leads an interdisciplinary research group dedicated to using machine learning to identify at-risk and protected phenotypes within electronic health records through multi-omic analysis. Her work particularly emphasizes clinical outcomes, such as rapid progression of advanced liver disease and transplantation in hepatocellular carcinoma cases. Wattacheril's leadership in clinical trials, including the MASH trial, highlights her commitment to advancing metabolic liver disease research. She is an advocate for community education and works closely with various educational sectors, mentoring students across disciplines such as computational genetics and psychology. Her achievements include several prestigious awards, including the Department of Surgery Innovation Award and an Ignite Award from the Department of Biomedical Engineering. Wattacheril is fluent in Spanish and is deeply involved in her commitment to improving liver disease outcomes.

Research Interests

Experience

Awards