• Senior Lecturer
• MB BChir 1996
• MRCP 1999
• PhD 2006

Gideon Hirschfield graduated with the Highest First in his year from Trinity College Oxford in 1994, and subsequently was awarded a double distinction during his clinical training in Cambridge. He undertook junior medical posts at the Hammersmith and Royal Brompton hospitals before moving to a MRC Clinical Research Fellowship at UCL. There he worked within the uniquely translational National Amyloidosis Centre/Centre for Acute Phase Proteins, with Sir Mark Pepys FRS as his supervisor. His PhD was focussed on the development of inhibitors of C-reactive protein. He completed his advanced Gastroenterology and Hepatology training in Cambridge, and was awarded Specialist status in 2007. Until January 2012 he worked in Toronto, Canada, where he was a Staff Physician and Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University Health Network and University of Toronto. During this time he managed one of the largest autoimmune liver disease cohorts in North America, and with his colleague Prof Kathy Siminovitch published the seminal genetic observations underpinning the IL-12 signalling axis as critical to the pathophysiology of primary biliary cirrhosis. He now divides his time between acadaemic translational research in autoimmune liver disease, with a focus towards cholestatic diseases, and his clinical practice at the QE hospital

• Medicine and Surgery MBChB

Gideon is interested in supervising doctoral research students in the following areas:

• The pathophysiology and clinical management of autoimmune liver disease.

If you are interesting in studying any of these subject areas please contact Gideon on the contact details above.

RESEARCH THEMES
Autoimmune liver disease, Genomics, Clinical Trials, Immunology

RESEARCH ACTIVITY
Translational research looking to understand how the pathophysiologic basis of autoimmune liver disease can be better understood to the benefit of patients requiring more rational therapy.

• Medical Advisor PSC and PBC patient support groups
• Consultant QE Hospital (Hepatology/Liver Transplantation)
• Consultancy to Pharma on design and conduct of clinical trials in autoimmune liver disease

Hirschfield GM, Xie G, Lu E, Sun Y, Juran BD, Chellappa V, Coltescu C, Mason AL, Milkiewicz P, Myers RP, Odin JA, Luketic VA, Bacon B, Bodenheimer H, Liakina V, Vincent C, Levy C, Pillai S, Lazaridis KN, Amos CI, Siminovitch KA. Association of primary biliary cirrhosis with variants in the CLEC16A, SOCS1, SPIB and SIAE immunomodulatory genes. Genes Immun. 2012 Jan 19. doi: 10.1038/gene.2011.89.

Alswat K, Al-Harthy N, Mazrani W, Alshumrani G, Jhaveri K, Hirschfield GM. The spectrum of sclerosing cholangitis and the relevance of IgG4 elevations in routine practice. Am J Gastroenterol. 2012 Jan;107(1):56-63.

Boberg KM, Chapman RW, Hirschfield GM, Lohse AW, Manns MP, Schrumpf E; International Autoimmune Hepatitis Group. Overlap syndromes: the International Autoimmune Hepatitis Group (IAIHG) position statement on a controversial issue. J Hepatol. 2011 Feb;54(2):374-85.

Hirschfield GM, Heathcote EJ, Gershwin ME. Pathogenesis of cholestatic liver disease and therapeutic approaches. Gastroenterology. 2010 Nov;139(5):1481-96

Al-Harthy N, Kumagi T, Coltescu C, Hirschfield GM. The specificity of fatigue in primary biliary cirrhosis: evaluation of a large clinic practice. Hepatology. 2010 Aug;52(2):562-70.

Liu X, Invernizzi P, Lu Y, Kosoy R, Lu Y, Bianchi I, Podda M, Xu C, Xie G, Macciardi F, Selmi C, Lupoli S, Shigeta R, Ransom M, Lleo A, Lee AT, Mason AL, Myers RP, Peltekian KM, Ghent CN, Bernuzzi F, Zuin M, Rosina F, Borghesio E, Floreani A, Lazzari R, Niro G, Andriulli A, Muratori L, Muratori P, Almasio PL, Andreone P, Margotti M, Brunetto M, Coco B, Alvaro D, Bragazzi MC, Marra F, Pisano A, Rigamonti C, Colombo M, Marzioni M, Benedetti A, Fabris L, Strazzabosco M, Portincasa P, Palmieri VO, Tiribelli C, Croce L, Bruno S, Rossi S, Vinci M, Prisco C, Mattalia A, Toniutto P, Picciotto A, Galli A, Ferrari C, Colombo S, Casella G, Morini L, Caporaso N, Colli A, Spinzi G, Montanari R, Gregersen PK, Heathcote EJ, Hirschfield GM, Siminovitch KA, Amos CI, Gershwin ME, Seldin MF. Genome-wide meta-analyses identify three loci associated with primary biliary cirrhosis.Nat Genet. 2010 Aug;42(8):658-60.

Hirschfield GM, Liu X, Han Y, Gorlov IP, Lu Y, Xu C, Lu Y, Chen W, Juran BD, Coltescu C, Mason AL, Milkiewicz P, Myers RP, Odin JA, Luketic VA, Speiciene D, Vincent C, Levy C, Gregersen PK, Zhang J, Heathcote EJ, Lazaridis KN, Amos CI, Siminovitch KA. Variants at IRF5-TNPO3, 17q12-21 and MMEL1 are associated with primary biliary cirrhosis. Nat Genet. 2010 Aug;42(8):655-7.

Hirschfield GM, Liu X, Xu C, Lu Y, Xie G, Lu Y, Gu X, Walker EJ, Jing K, Juran BD, Mason AL, Myers RP, Peltekian KM, Ghent CN, Coltescu C, Atkinson EJ, Heathcote EJ, Lazaridis KN, Amos CI, Siminovitch KA. Primary biliary cirrhosis associated with HLA, IL12A, and IL12RB2 variants. N Engl J Med. 2009 Jun 11;360(24):2544-55.