Current Award Recipients - CASL - Canadian Association for the Study of the Liver

2026 Award Recipients

CASL-Liver Canada Gold Medal Award (Awarded to an exceptional individual in hepatology, who has made outstanding contributions to liver research)

Raymond Kim

W. Ray Kim, MD is a Professor and Chief in the Division of Digestive Health at Stanford University School of Medicine. Dr. Kim received his MD degree from Seoul National University and his MBA from the University of Pennsylvania. Following his medicine residency at Seoul National University and the University of Arkansas, he underwent gastroenterology and hepatology fellowship training at Mayo Clinic in Minnesota.  Subsequently, Ray joined the faculty of the Mayo College of Medicine, where he established his research in prognostication in patients with chronic liver disease.  He is best known for his work in developing, validating and refining the Model for End-stage Liver Disease (MELD) score.

CASL Distinguished Service Award (Awarded to a CASL member in recognition of their outstanding contributions to CASL and to the field of liver disease in Canada)

Stephen Wong

Dr. Wong is an academic hepatologist and an Associate Professor in the Section of Hepatology at the University of Manitoba (UM) and Health Sciences Centre. He is also the Director of Online Learning for the Rady College of Medicine, and former Director of Hepatology undergraduate and postgraduate education programs for 17 years where he continues to be nominated regularly and awarded multiple teaching awards and accolades by medical trainees.

He completed his medical degree, internal medicine & chief medical resident training at the UM, and Hepatology subspecialty training at the UM, BC CDC, and UBC.

Dr. Wong has a long history of involvement with CASL from CASL/CIHR Hepatology fellowship awards, Chair of the CASL Membership Committee (where the CASL membership doubled!), and as a member of the CASL Education Committee, and CASL viral hepatitis guidelines committees.

He demonstrated his interest in innovation and promoting the field of Hepatology by partnering with the Liver Canada and creating the “Discover the World of Hepatology” conference for internal medicine residents to learn about the field of Hepatology for 4 years in various Canadian cities.

Dr. Wong also developed the “Updates in Hepatology” education conference that was held for the Discover the World of Hepatology students and taught by hepatologists from across Canada. He also helped to create and run the first Canadian National Hepatology Symposium for GI Residents developed by a UM and U Toronto collaboration.

Dr. Wong was on the AFC Steering Committee in Hepatology that developed the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada Area of Focused Competency (AFC) diploma in Adult Hepatology. He was also the lead at the UM which became one of the first official sites in Canada for the AFC Adult Hepatology diploma training program.

Dr. Wong continues to innovate within the field of Hepatology by recently creating and transitioning into a new role in 2026 as the first half-time academic hepatologist and half time private practice hepatologist to continue to enhance the care and continuity of hepatology patients from tertiary care to community-based care in Manitoba.

2026 CASL Visiting Professorship Award (Recognizes a CASL member who is an outstanding individual and an excellent communicator in the field of hepatology, with an interest in clinical, basic science or translation liver research)

Scott Fung

Dr. Scott Fung, MD, FRCPC, FAASLD is Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Toronto and the Director of Education for the Toronto Centre for Liver Disease, Francis Family Liver Clinic. He specializes in the management of Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C and Delta Hepatitis. Congratulations, Scott Fung.

CASL Education Excellence Award (Recognizes a CASL member who demonstrates exceptional scholarly activities, leadership in medical education, significant involvement in the development and/or implementation of educational programs and innovations, excellence in teaching, and a commitment to administrative duties relating to medical education)

Hin Hin Ko

Dr. Hin Hin Ko is a Clinical Professor of Medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology at the University of British Columbia. She is a Fellow of both the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (FAASLD) and American Gastroenterology Association (AGAF). She is a hepatologist and gastroenterologist at St. Paul’s Hospital. She serves as a committee member of the Canadian HBV Network and a steering committee member of the Canadian Network for Autoimmune Liver Disease. She is a past member of the AASLD Education Committee and has served on the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada Gastroenterology Examination Board for over a decade.

CIHR-INMD-CASL Early Career Research Partnership Prize (The CIHR-INMD-CASL Early Career Researcher Partnership Prize (“the Partnership Prize”) is designed to recognize exceptional young investigators with an interest specifically in some aspect of liver disease, and who are a member of the Canadian Association for the Study of the Liver)

Daljeet Chahal

Dr. Daljeet Chahal is a Hepatologist at Vancouver General Hospital with a clinical and research focus on cirrhosis and transplantation. He completed medical school, Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology training at the University of British Columbia. He then completed a Fellowship in Transplant Hepatology at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City as a CASL-Liver Canada Fellow and UBC Friedman Scholar. He has recently been awarded a CIHR Fellowship to further his research on the evaluation of biomarkers to predict graft outcomes both before and after transplantation.

CASL Research Excellence Award (This award is given to a CASL member who demonstrates research excellence and was lead author of a high-impact research article published during the last calendar year.)

Jordan Feld

Dr. Feld trained in GI and Hepatology at the University of Toronto and did post-doctoral training in the Liver Diseases Branch at the National Institutes of Health in laboratory and clinical research in viral hepatitis. After completing a Masters in Public Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, he returned to Toronto. He is a Professor of Medicine at the University of Toronto, Section Head, Hepatology, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University Health Network and holds the Francis Family / Dr. Jenny Heathcote Chair in Liver Research and R. Phelan Chair in Translational Liver Research as a clinician-scientist at the Toronto Centre for Liver Disease in the Toronto General Hospital where he leads a large clinical and translational research program focused primarily on viral hepatitis and its complications.

CASL PSC Partners Seeking a Cure Canada Award (This award recognizes the best abstract on primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) presented at the Canadian Liver Meeting, and is made possible by a generous donation from PSC Partners Seeking a Cure Canada):

Natassia Tan

Natassia Tan is one of the fellows working with the Autoimmune and Rare Liver disease programme at Toronto General Hospital. Her study explored how liver enzymes change over time in patients with PSC after liver transplantation, in particular focusing on identifying biochemical predictors of recurrent PSC.

Sass-Kortsak Award (This award is presented every two years to a CASL member in recognition of outstanding achievements in research and science in pediatric hepatology. The recipient is invited as a guest lecturer at the Canadian Liver Meeting, formerly CASL Annual Meeting).

Deirdre Kelly

Professor Deirdre Kelly CBE FRCP, FRCPI, FRCPCH, MD is a distinguished clinician, academic, and author specializing in paediatric hepatology. She serves as a Professor of Paediatric Hepatology at the University of Birmingham and is the Founding Director of the Liver Unit at Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust. Professor Kelly has made significant contributions to the field of paediatric liver disease, liver transplantation, and viral hepatitis in children. She has led numerous national and international multicentre clinical trials and has published extensively on these topics. Her research interests include the genetic basis of neonatal liver disease, cholestatic liver disease, biliary atresia, and autoimmune liver disease. Throughout her career, Professor Kelly has held prestigious positions, including President of the European Society of Paediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (ESPGHAN) and the British Society for Paediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (BSPGHAN). She has been recognized with several awards, including the Commander of the British Empire (CBE) in 2016.

CASL Clinical Hepatology Fellowships (To support individuals with a primary interest in liver disease to provide advanced training in clinical management and liver disease research)

Louis Huynh

Louis Huynh was born and raised in Toronto, Ontario. He completed a Bachelor of Science in Neurosciences at McGill University, followed by medical school, Internal Medicine residency, and Gastroenterology fellowship training at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario. His research interests include steatotic liver disease and general gastroenterology. He has a strong passion for leadership, mentorship, and medical education, and served as Chief Gastroenterology Fellow during his training. He will be pursuing advanced training in hepatology through the inaugural joint Transplant Hepatology and Advanced Clinical Hepatology fellowship at the University of Toronto.