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Expert list · Last reviewed April 17, 2026

Top Hepatology GI Doctors in Ohio for 2026

Leading hepatology GI doctors in Ohio for 2026, with clinical focus, institutional affiliations, and research that informs patient care.

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Ohio has a deep bench of hepatology GI doctors whose clinical focus, transplant experience, and published research place them among the country's most respected liver specialists. Here is where to start if you or a loved one needs expert liver care in 2026.

Most of the physicians below practice at Cleveland Clinic or University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, two programs that handle high volumes of fatty liver disease, hepatitis C, cirrhosis, liver cancer, and liver transplantation. Each has published peer-reviewed research on the conditions they treat every day, and several have contributed to the trials that shaped current treatment guidelines for non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and hepatitis C.

Naim Alkhouri

Naim Alkhouri, MD

Director, Steatotic Liver Program, Northshore Gastroenterology; Director of Research, Clinical Research Institute of Ohio; Professor

Cleveland Clinic

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Dr. Alkhouri directs the Steatotic Liver Program at Northshore Gastroenterology in the Cleveland area and leads research at the Clinical Research Institute of Ohio. His clinical focus is fatty liver disease, including NASH with fibrosis, and he runs one of the Midwest's busiest clinical trial programs for patients whose liver disease has progressed beyond diet and lifestyle changes. He contributed to the Phase 3 trial of resmetirom 1, the first drug the FDA approved for NASH with fibrosis, and to earlier Phase 2 work on the same medication 2. He has also helped evaluate other candidate therapies such as lanifibranor 3 and selonsertib 5, and has published on the rising role of NASH as a leading cause of liver transplantation 4.

Melanie Green

Melanie Green, M.D.

Cleveland Clinic

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Dr. Green is a Cleveland Clinic gastroenterologist whose research focuses on how diet and metabolism drive liver disease. She treats adults with fatty liver disease, viral hepatitis, and other chronic liver conditions. Her widely cited review on fructose and sugar as drivers of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease 6 is often used to explain to patients why soda and refined sugar matter as much as alcohol for liver health. She has also published on how aging changes the way fat is stored in muscle and liver 9.

Anthony Post

Anthony Post, MD

Associate Professor of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine; Medical Director, Liver Transplantation, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center

UH Cleveland Medical Center

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Dr. Post is Medical Director of Liver Transplantation at University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center and an Associate Professor of Medicine at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. He cares for patients being evaluated for and recovering from liver transplant, including those with hepatitis C, autoimmune liver disease, and acute liver failure. His publications span the long-term cardiovascular risks faced by transplant recipients 15, hepatitis C in patients on dialysis 14, and even severe mushroom poisoning as a cause of transplant-level liver injury 12. For people navigating transplant workup in northeast Ohio, his program is one of the main referral centers.

Nizar Zein

Nizar Zein, MD

Cleveland Clinic

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Dr. Zein is a hepatologist at Cleveland Clinic who has spent his career studying hepatitis C, NASH, and liver cancer. He cares for patients with viral hepatitis, advanced fibrosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma. A 2010 study he led in the journal Hepatology helped establish how often liver cancer develops in people with NASH 16, which is now a cornerstone of screening practice. He has also published foundational work on hepatitis C genotypes 20 and on noninvasive blood tests that help avoid liver biopsy 17.

Rinjal Brahmbhatt

Rinjal Brahmbhatt, MD

Cleveland Clinic

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Dr. Brahmbhatt practices at Cleveland Clinic's Westlake location and focuses on complex hepatology, including hepatitis C in transplant recipients and endoscopic evaluation of pancreatic and biliary disease. Her clinical research includes a study on the safety and effectiveness of direct-acting antiviral regimens for hepatitis C after liver transplantation 25, a group of patients who once had few good options. She has also contributed to work on endoscopic ultrasound in the workup of pancreatic cysts 23.

Christina Lindenmeyer

Christina Lindenmeyer, M.D.

Associate Professor of Medicine and Staff Physician in the Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition

Hillcrest Hospital

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Dr. Lindenmeyer is an Associate Professor of Medicine and staff physician in Cleveland Clinic's Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, with clinical time at Hillcrest Hospital and the Avon Hospital at Richard E. Jacobs Campus. She cares for patients with advanced cirrhosis and acute-on-chronic liver failure. Her research has helped define the natural history of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease 26 and has pushed the transplant community to rethink how organs are allocated to the sickest patients 28. She has also published on therapeutic plasma exchange as a bridge for patients in liver failure 29.

What to look for in a hepatology GI specialist

  • Board certification in gastroenterology with transplant hepatology training if your condition may require transplant evaluation
  • Affiliation with a teaching hospital or transplant center, especially for NASH with fibrosis, cirrhosis, or liver cancer
  • Subspecialty focus matching your condition (fatty liver disease, viral hepatitis, autoimmune liver disease, transplant follow-up)
  • Clear communication about wait times and whether they are accepting new patients
  • Insurance network match and, for transplant care, coordination with your insurance's transplant benefits team

Questions to ask before your first appointment

  • How many patients with my condition do you treat each year?
  • Do you work closely with a transplant team if my disease progresses?
  • What noninvasive tests (FibroScan, MR elastography, blood panels) do you use before considering a liver biopsy?
  • If I have NASH with fibrosis, are you able to prescribe resmetirom or enroll me in a clinical trial?
  • How will you coordinate care with my primary care doctor and, if needed, my cardiologist or endocrinologist?
  • What lifestyle and medication changes should I make before our next visit?

The bottom line

The hepatologists above practice at Ohio's highest-volume liver centers and have each contributed to research that shapes how liver disease is diagnosed and treated today. If you have early fatty liver disease, starting with a gastroenterologist at one of these programs is a reasonable first step. If you have advanced fibrosis, cirrhosis, liver cancer, or a possible need for transplant, ask your primary care doctor for a direct referral to a transplant hepatologist such as those listed here.

Sources

  1. 1.
    A Phase 3, Randomized, Controlled Trial of Resmetirom in NASH with Liver Fibrosis — New England Journal of Medicine, 2024. DOI
  2. 2.
    Resmetirom (MGL-3196) for the treatment of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis: a multicentre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 2 trial — The Lancet, 2019. DOI
  3. 3.
    A Randomized, Controlled Trial of the Pan-PPAR Agonist Lanifibranor in NASH — New England Journal of Medicine, 2021. DOI
  4. 4.
    NASH Leading Cause of Liver Transplant in Women: Updated Analysis of Indications For Liver Transplant and Ethnic and Gender Variances — The American Journal of Gastroenterology, 2018. DOI
  5. 5.
    Selonsertib for patients with bridging fibrosis or compensated cirrhosis due to NASH: Results from randomized phase III STELLAR trials — Journal of Hepatology, 2020. DOI
  6. 6.
    Fructose and sugar: A major mediator of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease — Journal of Hepatology, 2018. DOI
  7. 7.
    Ingestion of Casein and Whey Proteins Result in Muscle Anabolism after Resistance Exercise — Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 2004. DOI
  8. 8.
    Stimulation of net muscle protein synthesis by whey protein ingestion before and after exercise — American Journal of Physiology-Endocrinology and Metabolism, 2006. DOI
  9. 9.
    Intramuscular and Liver Triglycerides Are Increased in the Elderly — The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 2004. DOI
  10. 10.
    Atrophy and Impaired Muscle Protein Synthesis during Prolonged Inactivity and Stress — The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 2006. DOI
  11. 11.
    Negative regulation of the interferon response by an interferon-induced long non-coding RNA — Nucleic Acids Research, 2014. DOI
  12. 12.
    Mushroom poisoning-from diarrhea to liver transplantation — The American Journal of Gastroenterology, 2001. DOI
  13. 13.
    Selective Impairments in Dendritic Cell-Associated Function Distinguish Hepatitis C Virus and HIV Infection — The Journal of Immunology, 2004. DOI
  14. 14.
    Chronic Hepatitis C Infection in Patients With End Stage Renal Disease: Characterization of Liver Histology and Viral Load in Patients Awaiting Renal Transplantation — The American Journal of Gastroenterology, 1999. DOI
  15. 15.
    Is liver transplantation a risk factor for cardiovascular disease? a meta-analysis of observational studies — Liver Transplantation, 2012. DOI
  16. 16.
    the Incidence and Risk Factors of Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Patients With Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis — Hepatology, 2010. DOI
  17. 17.
    Cytokeratin-18 Fragment Levels as Noninvasive Biomarkers for Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis — Hepatology, 2009. DOI
  18. 18.
    In vivo assessment of liver cell apoptosis as a novel biomarker of disease severity in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease — Hepatology, 2006. DOI
  19. 19.
    Increased Hepatic and Circulating Interleukin-6 Levels in Human Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis — The American Journal of Gastroenterology, 2008. DOI
  20. 20.
    Clinical Significance of Hepatitis C Virus Genotypes — Clinical Microbiology Reviews, 2000. DOI
  21. 21.
    Calcineurin Inhibitor Withdrawal After Renal Transplantation with Alemtuzumab: Clinical Outcomes and Effect on T-Regulatory Cells — American Journal of Transplantation, 2008. DOI
  22. 22.
    Successful Radiofrequency Ablation Therapy for Intractable Ventricular Tachycardia With a Ventricular Assist Device — The Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation, 2008. DOI
  23. 23.
    Sa1567 60 Consecutive Incidental Pancreatic Cysts Referred to Endoscopic Ultrasound: Cost of Evaluation and Outcome — Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, 2012. DOI
  24. 24.
    Article Commentary: Beyond the Direct Costs of Hepatitis C Treatment: The Balance between Costs and Ethics — Antiviral Therapy, 2015. DOI
  25. 25.
    Su1060 DAA-Containing Regimens for the Treatment of Recurrent HCV Infection After Liver Transplantation Are Safe and Effective Regardless of Genotype and Fibrosis Stage — Gastroenterology, 2015. DOI
  26. 26.
    The Natural History of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease—An Evolving View — Clinics in Liver Disease, 2017. DOI
  27. 27.
    Hepatitis C Virus NAT‐Positive Solid Organ Allografts Transplanted Into Hepatitis C Virus–Negative Recipients: A Real‐World Experience — Hepatology, 2019. DOI
  28. 28.
    Patients with severe acute‐on‐chronic liver failure are disadvantaged by model for end‐stage liver disease‐based organ allocation policy — Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics, 2020. DOI
  29. 29.
    Therapeutic plasma exchange in liver failure — World Journal of Hepatology, 2021. DOI
  30. 30.
    Increased rates of pregnancy complications in women with celiac disease. — PubMed, 2015.

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