King's College London

Aims

To advance research, innovation and education in acute liver failure (ALF) , acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) and post-transplant care in children, with focus on the pathophysiology of liver failure and its extra-hepatic complications, and the development and evaluation of novel therapies, including non-transplant bridging strategies and liver transplantation.

Focus areas

• Improving understanding of immune dysregulation and systemic inflammation in pediatric liver failure, and its impact on multi-organ dysfunction.
• Developing and validating pediatric-specific extracorporeal liver support and bridging therapies.
• Leveraging real-world multicenter data and AI-driven predictive analytics to optimise care pathways and early risk stratification.
• Exploring innovative adjunctive therapies to modulate systemic inflammation and immune paralysis.
• Contributing to international guideline development and evidence-based care pathways for children with ALF, ACLF and post-transplant

Leadership

• Prof Akash Deep, Lead for Critical Care Hepatology in Children at King’s; Chair for the Liver Failure Working Group at ESPNIC; Chair- Liver Failure Special Interest Group- PALISI from USA (Pediatric Acute Lung Injury and Sepsis Investigators) , > 50 published in the field

Theme Membership and Internal collaborators

• Dr Pam D’Silva (KCH) – Consultant PICU at KCH, interest in paediatric liver critical care
• Miriam Cortes Cerisuelo (KCH)- Consultant in Paediatric Liver Transplant and Clinical Lead for Transplant Programme at KCH
• Prof William Bernal (KCH)- World renowned liver intensivist (adult) at KCH > 50 papers including Lancet and NEJM on liver failure
• Prof Mark McPhail (KCH)- World renowned liver intensivist (adult) at KCH > 50 papers including Lancet and NEJM on liver failure