Dr. Gurakar joined Johns Hopkins from the Nazih Zuhdi Transplantation Institute at the Integris Baptist Medical Center in Oklahoma City, where he was the chief of Hepatology Research and the program director of the Liver Transplantation Medicine/ Hepatology Fellowship. He served at various capacities in the Liver Medicine Section, since its first establishment in 1993. Dr. Gurakar's clinical interests include pre and post-transplant, clinical and endoscopic management of liver diseases and viral hepatitis. His research interests include bioartificial liver dialysis systems and application of total plasma exchange in the treatment of liver disorders. Dr. Gurakar is highly rated in 15 conditions, according to our data. His top areas of expertise are Hepatitis, Liver Failure, Alcoholic Cirrhosis, Liver Transplant, and Kidney Transplant.

Nathalie Urrunaga is a Hepatologist in Baltimore, Maryland. Dr. Urrunaga is highly rated in 13 conditions, according to our data. Her top areas of expertise are Alcoholic Cirrhosis, Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH), Cirrhosis, Liver Transplant, and Endoscopy.

Sasan Sakiani is a Hepatologist in Baltimore, Maryland. Dr. Sakiani is highly rated in 11 conditions, according to our data. His top areas of expertise are Alcoholic Cirrhosis, Visceromegaly, Hepatitis C, Liver Transplant, and Endoscopy.

Kirti Shetty is a Hepatologist in Baltimore, Maryland. Dr. Shetty is highly rated in 11 conditions, according to our data. Her top areas of expertise are Ascites, Hepatitis, Alcoholic Cirrhosis, Liver Transplant, and Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Surgery.

Kathleen Schwarz is a Hepatologist in Baltimore, Maryland. Dr. Schwarz is highly rated in 8 conditions, according to our data. Her top areas of expertise are Hepatitis, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, Sclerosing Cholangitis, and Liver Transplant.

Anurag Maheshwari is a Hepatologist in Baltimore, Maryland. Dr. Maheshwari is highly rated in 23 conditions, according to our data. His top areas of expertise are Hepatitis, Autoimmune Hepatitis, Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH), Endoscopy, and Colonoscopy.

Christopher Kim is a Hepatologist in Baltimore, Maryland. Dr. Kim is highly rated in 8 conditions, according to our data. His top areas of expertise are Intestinal Cancer, Portal Hypertension, Alcoholic Cirrhosis, Endoscopy, and Colonoscopy.

Zurabi Lominadze is a Hepatologist in Baltimore, Maryland. Dr. Lominadze is highly rated in 6 conditions, according to our data. His top areas of expertise are Liver Failure, Ascites, Alcoholic Cirrhosis, Banti's Syndrome, and Liver Transplant.

Filipa Ligeiro is a Hepatologist in Glen Burnie, Maryland. Dr. Ligeiro is highly rated in 4 conditions, according to our data. Her top areas of expertise are Hepatitis, Ascites, Liver Failure, and Visceromegaly.

Alexandra (Aly) Strauss is a transplant hepatologist who treats patients with acute and chronic liver disease, such as cirrhosis and liver cancer. Dr. Strauss completed medical school at the University of South Florida (USF), where she continued for internal medicine residency training and served as chief resident. She then went to The Johns Hopkins University for fellowship training in gastroenterology, followed by a fellowship in transplant hepatology. Her research training began when she completed a master’s degree in industrial/systems engineering at USF. Later, at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, she earned her Ph.D. in clinical investigation. Dr. Strauss’s research focus is on the use of systems engineering and data science to improve access to liver transplantation. She serves as core faculty in the Johns Hopkins University Malone Center for Engineering in Healthcare and is a faculty member in the Center for Data Science in Emergency Medicine. Recent News Articles and Media Coverage What Does AI Mean for GI, What does AI mean for GI? - American Gastroenterological Association (07/03/2023) Selected Publications Vong, Tyrus, Nicholas Rizer, Vedant Jain, Valerie L. Thompson, Mark Dredze, Eili Y. Klein, Jeremiah S. Hinson, et al. “Automated Identification of Incidental Hepatic Steatosis on Emergency Department Imaging Using Large Language Models.” Hepatology Communications 9, no. 3 (March 1, 2025). https://doi.org/10.1097/HC9.0000000000000638. Mankowski, Michal A., Sunjae Bae, Alexandra T. Strauss, Bonnie E. Lonze, Babak J. Orandi, Darren Stewart, Allan B. Massie, et al. “Generalizability of Kidney Transplant Data in Electronic Health Records - The Epic Cosmos Database vs the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients.” American Journal of Transplantation: Official Journal of the American Society of Transplantation and the American Society of Transplant Surgeons, November 15, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajt.2024.11.008. Xu, Jingzhi, Michal Mankowski, Karen B. Vanterpool, Alexandra T. Strauss, Bonnie E. Lonze, Babak J. Orandi, Darren Stewart, et al. “Trials and Tribulations: Responses of ChatGPT to Patient Questions about Kidney Transplantation.” Transplantation 109, no. 3 (March 1, 2025): 399–402. https://doi.org/10.1097/TP.0000000000005261. Strauss AT, Morgan C, El Khuri C, Slogeris B, Smith AG, Klein E, Toerper M, Peterson S, Gurses AP, DeAngelo A, Debraine, A, Levin S, Hinson J. Human-centered design and usability evaluation of LOOP, a patient outcomes-driven feedback platform for emergency medicine clinicians. JMIR Human Factors. 2022;9(1):e30130; *corresponding author. Strauss AT, Yeh J, Martinez D, Yanokyan G, Yoder J, Nehra R, Feller T, Bull-Henry K, Stein E, Hsu L, Al-Grain H, Zabko C, Fain C. A patient-centered framework for health systems engineering in gastroenterology: improving inpatient colonoscopy bowel preparation. BMC Gastroenterol. 2021;21(1):89;. Dr. Strauss is highly rated in 1 condition, according to our data. Her top areas of expertise are Hepatitis, Hepatitis C, Alcoholic Cirrhosis, Liver Transplant, and Endoscopy.

Bilal Ali is a Hepatologist in Baltimore, Maryland. Dr. Ali is highly rated in 1 condition, according to our data. His top areas of expertise are Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH), Visceromegaly, Ascites, and Enlarged Liver.

Jose Russe is a Hepatologist in Baltimore, Maryland. His top areas of expertise are Enlarged Liver, Liver Failure, Jaundice, Hepatitis, and Colonoscopy.

Natarajan Ravendhran is a hepatologist specializing in the diagnosis, treatment and management of liver diseases. He received his medical degree from Stanley Medical College, University of Madras in India, completed his residency in internal medicine at what is now Ascension Saint Agnes Hospital in Maryland and a residency in surgery at Railway Hospital in Madras, India. Dr. Ravendhran performed fellowship training in hepatology under the mentorship of Eugene and Leon Schiff at the University of Miami. Additionally, he received fellowship training in gastroenterology and liver disease at the University of Missouri. Dr. Ravendhran received a master’s degree in business administration in medical services management from The Johns Hopkins University. He is a fellow of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases and the American Gastroenterological Association, and is a member of the European Association for the Study of the Liver. Dr. Ravendhran is interested in exploring cholestatic disorders. He has participated in many clinical trials that focus on hepatitis B and C, in addition to metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease trials. He enjoys teaching, rounding with fellows and seeing patients, and his motto is “Patients come first!”. Dr. Ravendhran is highly rated in 15 conditions, according to our data. His top areas of expertise are Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease, Hepatitis, Visceromegaly, Enlarged Liver, and Endoscopy.

Braden Thomas is a Hepatologist in Baltimore, Maryland. His top areas of expertise are Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease and Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH).

Kristin Lescalleet is a Hepatologist in Baltimore, Maryland. Her top areas of expertise are Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease and Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH).

Monica Passi is a Hepatologist and a Gastroenterologist in Columbia, Maryland. Dr. Passi is highly rated in 21 conditions, according to our data. Her top areas of expertise are Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD), Gas Bloat Syndrome, Crohn's Disease, Endoscopy, and Colonoscopy. Dr. Passi is currently accepting new patients.

Urooj Ahmed is a Hepatologist and a Gastroenterologist in Columbia, Maryland. Dr. Ahmed is highly rated in 11 conditions, according to our data. His top areas of expertise are Indigestion, Portal Hypertension, Childhood Volvulus, Gastrectomy, and Endoscopy. Dr. Ahmed is currently accepting new patients.

Jennie Zhang is a Hepatologist and a Gastroenterologist in Columbia, Maryland. Dr. Zhang is highly rated in 1 condition, according to our data. Her top areas of expertise are Anemia, Relapsed Refractory Multiple Myeloma (RRMM), Small Lymphocytic Lymphoma (SLL), and Splenectomy. Dr. Zhang is currently accepting new patients.

Dr. Po-Hung (Victor) Chen is a transplant hepatology and addiction medicine physician. He is jointly appointed by the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology and the Division of Addiction Medicine. Dr. Chen's clinical focus is to care for patients with general or transplant-related liver conditions, including alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD), metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), viral hepatitis, autoimmune liver diseases, hemochromatosis, and other diagnoses. He directed the creation of a Johns Hopkins Medicine informational webpage on ALD. He is also a frequent consultant for other Johns Hopkins clinicians regarding inquiries about ALD, including biomarker interpretation, acute hepatitis management, and addiction treatment delivery. Dr. Chen is a member of multiple professional medical and public health organizations (see below). He is a Fellow of the American College of Gastroenterology and a Fellow of the American Society of Addiction Medicine. Dr. Chen is highly rated in 5 conditions, according to our data. His top areas of expertise are Hepatitis, Hepatitis C, Alcoholic Cirrhosis, Liver Transplant, and Endoscopy.

Rushi Talati is a Hepatologist and a Gastroenterologist in Columbia, Maryland. His top areas of expertise are Watermelon Stomach, Angiodysplasia of the Colon, Cataract Removal, and Shoulder Arthroscopy. Dr. Talati is currently accepting new patients.

Robert Byrne is a Hepatologist and a Gastroenterologist in Columbia, Maryland. Dr. Byrne is currently accepting new patients.

Charlee Mclean-Powell is a Hepatologist in Middle River, Maryland. Dr. Mclean-Powell is currently accepting new patients.