Auxiliary liver grafts from split and living donors for use in acute and chronic liver disease The first large-scale application of partial transplants in chronic liver diseases is being planned. This will open the door for partial transplants in adults from living donors. Detailed studies of liver regeneration will be carried out on both liver biopsies and serum specimens. Pathophysiology of liver failure after massive hepatectomy Experimental protocols in mice and rats evaluating the effects of blood flow, cytokines and therapeutic intervention on regeneration of the liver. Transplantation of isolated liver cells In collaboration with Mark A. Hardy, M.D., Director of Kidney Transplantation, a research program is being developed to investigate use of isolated cells for the development of tolerance and the treatment of metabolic errors. Clinical outcomes in liver transplantation Using the new information management system for liver transplantation, and in collaboration with the Center for Health Outcomes in the Department of Surgery and the School of Public Health, numerous studies of health outcomes in liver disease are in the conceptualization and planning stages. Dr. Brown has received a grant to study the impact of changes in organ allocation policies on the outcome and cost of transplantation. Living Related Transplants Comprehensive clinical and scientific studies of all aspects of living related transplants, including their impact on quality of life, are ongoing. Hepatitis Clinical trials in all aspects of innovative hepatitis treatments are underway, including novel nucleoside analogues for hepatitis B and combination therapy with interferon and nucleoside analogues for hepatitis C. Extracorporeal bioartificial liver support The CLDT will be involved in a Phase II/III multi-center randomized trial of a bioartificial liver system that uses porcine hepatocytes in patients with acute liver failure.