Research

The goal of the Liver Program is to provide state-of-the-art care for patients who have liver disease. Part of this effort includes initiating and participating in research studies. The research we do falls into several categories:

• Clinical trials that evaluate new drug treatments
• Surveys that are designed to learn more about our patients and how they live with liver disease
• Llaboratory-based research using samples collected from patients in our clinic
• Reviews of medical records designed to look at differences in responses to treatment, characteristics of our patients or to generate ideas for new studies

Every research study is different and asks for different things from participants. Some studies involve multiple visits, some only one visit. Some offer treatment, some do not. However, at all times, your decision to participate in research is voluntary. The one thing that is true for all research performed by the Liver Program is that your medical information or samples will never be used for research purposes without a team member reviewing the study with you and obtaining your written permission. The UNC Human Investigations Committee has approved all of our research studies.