Anna Suk-Fong Lok, MD
Dame Sheila Sherlock Distinguished University Professor of Hepatology and Internal Medicine
Alice Lohrman Andrews Research Professor of Hepatology
Professor of Internal Medicine
Medical Director, Clinical Hepatology
Assistant Dean for Clinical Research
Internal Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology
1500 East Medical Center Drive
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
[email protected]

Available to mentor

Anna Suk-Fong Lok, MD
Professor
  • About
  • Qualifications
  • Center Memberships
  • Research Overview
  • Recent Publications
  • About

    Anna Suk-Fong Lok, M.D., is director of clinical hepatology and assistant dean for clinical research at the University of Michigan Medical School. She also is the Dame Sheila Sherlock Distinguished University Professor of Hepatology and Internal Medicine and Alice Lohrman Andrews Research Professor of Hepatology in the Department of Internal Medicine.

    In her role as assistant dean, Dr. Lok is responsible for leading, championing, and implementing recommendations from the Research Board of Directors to transform the clinical trials enterprise of the academic medical center. She is responsible for the overall leadership and direction, management, and oversight of the Clinical Trials Support Units and the Clinical Research Unit, training of clinical investigators, and facilitation and support of clinical research.

    Dr. Lok obtained her medical degree from the University of Hong Kong and her hepatology training under the late Dame Sheila Sherlock at the Royal Free Hospital in London, UK. She was on the faculty at the University of Hong Kong until she moved to the United States in 1992.

    Her research focuses on the natural history and treatment of hepatitis B and C, and the prevention of liver cancer. Her research is funded by the National Institutes of Health, federal and private foundations, and various pharmaceutical companies. She has published more than 600 papers on viral hepatitis and liver diseases and is the co-author of five editions of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases Association Guidelines on Hepatitis B. She was one of the top 1% most cited scientists in the world for the decade 2002-12. She has trained more than 60 fellows and junior faculty from all over the world, some of whom have risen to the ranks of full professors and directors of liver programs in their home country. She received a Distinguished Mentor Award from the Michigan Institute of Clinical and Health Research in 2012, an Inspirational Physician Award from the American Medical Association in 2014, and a Distinguished Mentor Award from the American Gastroenterological Association in 2022. She was inducted into the Clinical Excellence Society in the Department of Internal Medicine in 2013.

    Dr. Lok has received many awards throughout her career. She has been included in the list of “Best Doctors” and “Who's Who” for many years. She was inducted into the Association of American Physicians in 2012 and elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2022. Recent awards include the Distinguished Scientist Award from the Hepatitis B Foundation in 2008, the Distinguished Women Scientist Award from the American Gastroenterological Association in 2008, the Distinguished Service Award from the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases in 2011, the Distinguished Scientific Achievement Award from the American Liver Foundation in 2015, the William Beaumont Prize in Gastroenterology from the American Gastroenterological Association in 2016, a Gold Medal Award from the Canadian Association for the Study of the Liver and an honorary Doctor of Science degree from the University of Hong Kong in 2017, the International Recognition Award from the European Association of the Study of the Liver in 2018, and a Distinguished University Professorship from the University of Michigan in 2019.

    She is currently an associate editor of Hepatology Communication. She was an associate editor of HEPATOLOGY from 2001-06, a co-editor of the Journal of Viral Hepatitis from 2007-09, and a senior associate editor of GASTROENTEROLOGY from 2011-12.

    Dr. Lok was the President of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases in 2017.

    Qualifications
    • MD
      University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 1990
    • MB BS
      University of Hong Kong School of Medicine, Hong Kong, 1977
    Center Memberships
    • Center Member
      MM-PKUHSC Joint Institute
    • Center Member
      Rogel Cancer Center
    • Center Member
      Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation
    • Center Member
      Global REACH
    Research Overview

    Epidemiology, natural history, and treatment of hepatitis B and C
    Risk stratification of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease
    Prevention and early detection of hepatocellular carcinoma

    Recent Publications See All Publications
    • Journal Article
      Medically Tailored Meals for Patients With Cirrhosis and Hepatic Encephalopathy: The BRAINFOOD Proof-of-concept Trial.
      Tapper EB, Saleh ZM, Nikirk S, Bajaj J, Chen X, Lok AS-F. J Clin Exp Hepatol, 2024 14 (6): 101439 DOI:10.1016/j.jceh.2024.101439
      PMID: 38882178
    • Journal Article
      FRI-075 The lower, the worse? Impact of PHES results on the risk of overt hepatic encephalopathy in patients with minimal hepatic encephalopathy
      Gairing SJ, Mangini C, Zarantonello L, Nielsen EJ, Danneberg S, Sultanik P, Galle PR, Gioia S, Labenz J, Lok A, Marquardt JU, Lauridsen M, Bloom P, Thabut D, Nardelli S, Montagnese S, Labenz C. Journal of Hepatology, 2024 Jun; 80: s214 DOI:10.1016/s0168-8278(24)00860-2
    • Journal Article
      Minimal hepatic encephalopathy is associated with a higher risk of overt hepatic encephalopathy and poorer survival.
      Gairing SJ, Mangini C, Zarantonello L, Gioia S, Nielsen EJ, Danneberg S, Lok AS, Sultanik P, Galle PR, Labenz J, Thabut D, Marquardt JU, Bloom PP, Lauridsen MM, Montagnese S, Nardelli S, Labenz C. J Intern Med, 2024 Mar; 295 (3): 331 - 345. DOI:10.1111/joim.13747
      PMID: 37983845
    • Journal Article
      Toward a Functional Cure for Hepatitis B.
      Lok ASF. Gut Liver, 2024 Jul 15; 18 (4): 593 - 601. DOI:10.5009/gnl240023
      PMID: 38533651
    • Journal Article
      Prevalence of Minimal Hepatic Encephalopathy in Patients With Liver Cirrhosis: A Multicenter Study.
      Gairing SJ, Mangini C, Zarantonello L, Gioia S, Nielsen EJ, Danneberg S, Gabriel M, Ehrenbauer AF, Bloom PP, Ripoll C, Sultanik P, Galle PR, Labenz J, Thabut D, Zipprich A, Lok AS, Weissenborn K, Marquardt JU, Lauridsen MM, Nardelli S, Montagnese S, Labenz C. Am J Gastroenterol, 2023 Dec 1; 118 (12): 2191 - 2200. DOI:10.14309/ajg.0000000000002251
      PMID: 36940426
    • Journal Article
      Association of Alanine Aminotransferase Flares to Hepatitis B Surface Decline During Tenofovir Alone or With Pegylated Interferon Alfa.
      Perrillo R, Lok AS, Leonard K, Ghany MG, Terrault N, Belle SH, Janssen HLA, Hepatitis B Research Network . Am J Gastroenterol, 2023 Nov 1; 118 (11): 2075 - 2079. DOI:10.14309/ajg.0000000000002355
      PMID: 37307571
    • Journal Article
      Use of HBV RNA and to predict change in serological status and disease activity in CHB.
      Ghany MG, King WC, Hinerman AS, Lok AS, Lisker-Melman M, Chung RT, Terrault N, Janssen HLA, Khalili M, Lee WM, Lau DTY, Cloherty GA, Sterling RK. Hepatology, 2023 Nov 1; 78 (5): 1542 - 1557. DOI:10.1097/HEP.0000000000000413
      PMID: 37074026
    • Journal Article
      Improving alcohol treatment engagement using integrated behavioral interventions in alcohol-associated liver disease: A randomized pilot trial.
      Mellinger JL, Medley S, Kidwell KM, Asefah H, Winder GS, Fernandez AC, Lok ASF, Blow F. Hepatol Commun, 2023 Oct 1; 7 (10): DOI:10.1097/HC9.0000000000000181
      PMID: 37708435
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