UC San Diego Names Dr. Rohit Loomba To Endowed Chair In Liver Disease

PICTURE CREDIT UCSD.EDU

India-West Staff Reporter

LA JOLLA, CA—The University of California, San Diego has named Dr. Rohit Loomba as the first holder of the John C. Martin Endowed Chair in Liver Disease. The chair was established by a gift from the John C. Martin Foundation and will advance innovative research and treatment focused on understanding and addressing population-based risk factors for liver disease.

Loomba is a Professor of Medicine at UC San Diego School of Medicine, Chief of the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, and a hepatologist at UC San Diego Health. He also serves as the founding director of the university’s metabolic-dysfunction associated steatotic liver disease Research Center.

Loomba pioneered the development of MRI-PDFF, a noninvasive biomarker that measures liver fat without requiring a biopsy. This technique has been adopted in over 100 clinical trials worldwide, significantly transforming clinical practice by providing a more precise way to track patient response to new therapies for conditions like metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) and guiding FDA-approval studies.

“This endowed chair allows us to research and develop new cures and novel treatment options for the management of digestive diseases,” Loomba said. “We work locally to impact globally and strive to be a beacon of excellence in all aspects of our clinical and academic endeavors.”

The endowment honors the legacy of John C. Martin, a scientist and business leader who served as chairman and CEO of Gilead Sciences. During his tenure from 1996 to 2016, Martin led the company in revolutionizing worldwide treatment for HIV, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C.

“It is an honor and privilege to support Rohit Loomba, a decades long colleague of John Martin, as the inaugural holder of the John C. Martin Endowed Chair,” said Lillian Lou, president of the John C. Martin Foundation and Martin’s life partner. “May the transformative research be inspired by the global work John initiated.”

UC San Diego Chancellor Pradeep K. Khosla noted the fitting nature of the appointment. “The appointment of Dr. Rohit Loomba to this chair named in honor of John Martin is fitting, as they shared the same goal of improving the quality of life for patients worldwide.”

Loomba is a graduate of the Armed Forces Medical College, Pune University. He completed an internal medicine residency at St. Luke’s Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri, and an advanced Hepatology clinical and research fellowship at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health. He also completed a master’s degree in clinical research from the combined NIH-Duke University Program before joining UC San Diego.