Julia J Wattacheril, MD, MPH
Overview
Dr. Wattacheril's clinical specialties include all aspects of transplant hepatology, general hepatology and gastroenterology with emphasis on metabolic liver disease and obesity. She specializes in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease as well as all forms of hepatitis, chronic liver disease, and liver cancer in addition to liver transplantation. Her research interests include hepatic steatosis, insulin resistance, gut hormones and metabolic liver disease in adults. Her current research concentrates on the relationship between proteins and lipids that differentiate steatosis from steatohepatitis using an integrated omics approach.
Visit The Center for Liver Disease and Transplantation at columbiasurgery.org/liver
Areas of Expertise / Conditions Treated
- Chronic Liver Disease
- Hereditary Liver Disease
- Liver Disease
- Liver Transplant
- Liver Transplantation
- Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease
- Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis
Academic Appointments
- Associate Professor of Medicine at CUMC
Administrative Titles
- Director of the Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease Program
- Attending, New York - Presbyterian Hospital
Hospital Affiliations
- NewYork-Presbyterian / Columbia University Irving Medical Center
- NewYork-Presbyterian / Weill Cornell Medical Center
Languages
- Spanish
Gender
- Female
Schedule an Appointment
Virtual Visits/Telehealth
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Phone Appointments
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Location(s)
Insurance Accepted
Aetna
- Aetna Signature Administrators
- EPO
- HMO
- Medicare Managed Care
- NYP Employee Plan
- NY Signature
- POS
- PPO
- Student Health
Affinity Health Plan
- Essential Plan
- Medicaid Managed Care
AgeWell
- Medicare Managed Care
- Special Needs
Amida Care
- Special Needs
Cigna
- EPO
- Great West (National)
- HMO
- Medicare Managed Care
- POS
- PPO
Emblem/GHI
- Medicare Managed Care
- PPO
Emblem/HIP
- ConnectiCare
- EPO
- Essential Plan
- HMO
- Medicaid Managed Care
- Medicare Managed Care
- POS
- PPO
- Select Care (Exchange)
- Vytra
Empire Blue Cross/Blue Shield
- EPO
- HMO
- Medicare Managed Care
- PPO
Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield HealthPlus
- Child/Family Health Plus
- Essential Plan
- Medicaid Managed Care
Fidelis Care
- Child/Family Health Plus
- Essential Plan
- Medicaid Managed Care
- Medicare Managed Care
Healthfirst
- Child/Family Health Plus
- Leaf (Exchange)
- Medicaid Managed Care
- Medicare Managed Care
Local 1199
- Local 1199
MagnaCare (National)
- MagnaCare
Medicare
- Railroad
- Traditional Medicare
Multiplan
- Multiplan
MVP Health Care
- Child/Family Health Plus
- Essential Plan
- HMO
- Medicaid Managed Care
Quality Health Management
- Quality Health Management
RiverSpring
- Special Needs
UnitedHealthcare
- Compass (Exchange)
- Empire Plan
- HMO
- Medicaid (Community Plan)
- Medicare Managed Care
- Oxford Freedom
- Oxford HMO
- Oxford Liberty
- POS
- PPO
VNSNY CHOICE
- Medicare Managed Care
- SelectHealth
- Special Needs
WellCare
- Medicaid Managed Care
- Medicare Managed Care
World Trade Center Health Plan
- World Trade Center Health Plan
Credentials & Experience
Education & Training
- 2004 Baylor College of Medicine
- Residency: Baylor College of Medicine
- Fellowship: Vanderbilt University Medical Center
- Fellowship: 2011 NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center
Committees, Societies, Councils
- Liver Forum, academic investigator
- Noninvasive Biomarkers of Metabolic Liver Disease (NIMBLE) consortium, academic investigator
- New York Genome Center, affiliate member
- American Liver Foundation, NY chapter, Medical Advisory Committee member
- Institute for Genomic Medicine, member
- New York Academy of Sciences, member
- Texas Medical Association, member
- American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, member
- American Liver Foundation, Medical Advisory Committee,member
- American Board of Internal Medicine, member
- American Gastroenterological Association, member
- American Society of Human Genetics, member
- European Society of Human Genetics, member
- National Valedictorian Society, member
Board Certifications
- Transplant Hepatology
- Gastroenterology
Honors & Awards
- 2003 Alpha Omega Alpha
- 2000 Glasgow-Rubin Achievement Citation recipient, American Medical Women’s Association
Research
Dr. Wattacheril is an Associate Professor of Medicine and Director of the Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) Program in the Center for Liver Disease and Transplantation. Her primary Translational science interests include: 1) investigating the relationship between lipids and proteins within the context of the development and progression of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, 2) optimizing the clinical care of patients with NAFLD pre and post-transplantation, 3) understanding the relationship between NAFLD and hepatocellular carcinoma and 4) enhancing the care of liver disease patients using genomics and electronic health record phenotyping. She mentors several residents and gastroenterology fellows in addition to computational geneticists, nurse practitioners, dietitians, and anyone interested in enhancing the integrated knowledge and care for patients with chronic liver disease.
Research Interests
- Algorithm development and machine learning methods for disease phenotyping
- Body Composition
- Hepatocellular carcinoma
- Insulin Resistance
- Lipid metabolism
- Metabolic liver diseases
- Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (including non-alcoholic steatohepatitis)
- OMICs
- Transplant hepatology
Selected Publications
- *Pomenti S, Gandle C, Abu Sbeih H, Phipps M, Livanos A, Guo A, Yeh J, Burney H, Liu H, Dakhoul L, Kettler C, Gawrieh S, deLemos A, Scanga A, Chalasani N, Miller E, Wattacheril J. Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Hispanic Patients: Trends and Outcomes in a Large United States Cohort. Hep Communications2020: doi.org/10.1002/hep4.1575
- *Phipps M, Livanos A, Guo A, Pomenti S, Yeh J, Dakhoul L, Burney H, Kettler C, Liu H, Miller E, GawriehS, deLemos A, Scanga A, Chalasani N, Wattacheril J. Gender Matters: Characteristics of Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Women from a Large, Multicenter Study in the United States. Am J Gastroenterol2020: doi: 10.14309/ajg.0000000000000643.
- deLemos, A, Patel M, Gawrieh S, Burney H, Dakhoul L, Miller E, Scanga A, Kettler C, Liu H, Roche P, Wattacheril J, Chalasani N. Distinctive Features and Outcomes of Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Patients with Alcohol-Related Liver Disease: A US Multicenter Study. Clin Transl Gastroenterol2020: doi: 10.14309/ctg.0000000000000139.
- Siddiqui MS, Van Natta ML, Connelly MA, Vuppalanchi R, Neuschwander-Tetri BA, Tonascia J, Guy C, Loomba R, Dasarathy S, Wattacheril J, Chalasani N, Sanyal AJ; NASH-CRN. Impact of obeticholic acid on the lipoprotein profile in patients with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis. J Hepatology2020 doi: 10/1016/j.hep.2019.10.006
- *Gawrieh S, Dakhoul L, Miller E, Scanga A, deLemos A, Kettler C, Burney H, Liu H, Abu-Sbeih H, Chalasani N, Wattacheril J. Characteristics, Aetiologies and Trends of Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Patients without Cirrhosis: A United States Multicenter Study. Alimentary Pharmacology and Therapeutics.2019 doi.org/10.1111/apt15464
- Wattacheril J, Shea PR, Mohammad S, Behlin C, Aggarwal V, Wilson LA, Yates KP, Ito J, Fishbein M, Stong N, Lavine JE, Goldstein DB. Exome sequencing of an adolescent with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease identifies a clinically actionable case of Wilson Disease. Cold Spring Harb Mol Case Stud.2018 Oct 1.doi: 0.1101/mcs.a003087
- Wattacheril J, Lavine JE, Chalasani NP, Guo X, Kwon S, Schwimmer J, Molleston JP, Loomba R, Brunt EM, Chen YI, Goodarzi MO, Taylor KD, Yates KP, Tonascia J, Rotter JI. Genome Wide Associations Related to Hepatic Histology in Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in Hispanic Boys. J Pediatr. 2017 Nov. doi:10.1016/j.jpeds.2017.08.004
- Wattacheril J, Rose, K.L., Hill, S., Lanciault, C., Murray, C.R., Washington, K., Williams, B., English, W., Spann, M., Clements, R., Abumrad, N., and Flynn, C.R.(2017) NAFLD Phosphoproteomics: A Functional Piece of the Precision Puzzle. Hepatol Res, doi:10.1111/hepr.12885.
- Corey KE, Gawrieh S, deLemosAS, Zheng H, Scanga AE, Haglund JW, Sanchez J, Danford CJ, Comerford M, BossiK, Munir S, Chalasani N, Wattacheril J. Risk factors for hepatocellular carcinoma in cirrhosis due to nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: A multicenter, case-control study. World J Hepatol 2017; 9(7): 385-390
- Guo Y, Xiong Y, Sheng Q, Zhao S, Wattacheril J, Flynn CR. A micro-RNA expression signature for human NAFLD progression. J Gastroenterol. 2016 Feb 13.
- Garcia A, Kasim N, Gonzalez, R, Antoun J, Eckert E, Marks P, Wattacheril J, Abumrad N, Tamboli R, Walle T, Dunn J, Flynn CR. Lipoprotein Profiles in Class III Obese Caucasian and African American Women with Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease. PLoS One.2015 Nov 23;10(11):e0142676. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0142676
- Sharifnia T, Antoun J, Suarez G, Wattacheril J, Wilson K, Peek RM, Abumrad N, and Flynn CF. Hepatic TLR4 Signaling in Obese NAFLD. Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol. 2015 Aug 15;309(4):G270-8. doi: 10.1152/ajpgi.00304.2014
For a complete list of publications, please visit PubMed.gov