Omar Sims Research Program | Cleveland Clinic Research

Principal Investigator

Omar Sims, PhD

Associate Staff
Joint Appointment in the Digestive Disease & Surgery Institute, Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
Email: [email protected]
Location: Cleveland Clinic Main Campus

Research

I conduct research to improve population and clinical health of people living with chronic liver disease caused by hepatitis C virus (HCV) and other etiologies. My program of research is focused on public health and clinical management and health outcomes of chronic liver disease. My first line of research is focused on hepatitis C virus (HCV), and my second line of research is focused on nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), decompensated cirrhosis (DCC), hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), liver transplantation, and other etiologies of chronic liver disease. My goal in this arena is to publish clinical and translational research to help clinicians, health and public health professionals improve clinical and health outcomes and extend life of those burdened with chronic liver disease. My research efforts are also focused on social determinants of health and populations heavily burdened with chronic liver disease: those living with HIV co-infection, alcohol and substance use and psychiatric disorders, minority racial and ethnic groups, and aging populations.

Biography

Dr. Sims is the Director of Hepatology Research. He has appointments in the the Department of Quantitative Health Sciences (Health Outcomes and Clinical Epidemiology Section), Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, and in the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University (Associate Professor of Medicine). Dr. Sims is dually trained as an epidemiologist and a clinical epidemiologist.

In his role as the Director of Hepatology Research, he is responsible for building and providing research infrastructure for the hepatology section and supporting programs of research and research endeavors (grants/funding, projects, industry-sponsored trials) of staff hepatologists. The hepatology section has a wide range of programs of research (basic science and clinical research) that he supports including but not limited to: alcohol associated liver disease, primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC), primary biliary cholangitis (PBC), acute-on-chronic liver disease, viral hepatitis (HCV, HBV), HIV/HCV co-infection, immune-mediated hepatitis (IMH), liver transplantation, metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), decompensated cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), , and health disparities/equity.

Education & Professional Highlights

Research

My first line of research is focused on hepatitis C virus (HCV), and my second line of research is focused on nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), decompensated cirrhosis (DCC), hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), liver transplantation, and other etiologies of chronic liver disease. My goal in this arena is to publish clinical and translational research to help clinicians, health and public health professionals improve clinical and health outcomes and extend life of those burdened with chronic liver disease. My research efforts are also focused on social determinants of health and populations heavily burdened with chronic liver disease: those living with HIV co-infection, alcohol and substance use and psychiatric disorders, minority racial and ethnic groups, and aging populations.

Our Team

Publications

Selected Publications

1. Guo, Y., Shi, J., Alabbas, M., Wu, H., Mahmoud, Sengupta, S., Sims, O.T. (in press). Concurrent alcohol use in HCV: an 11-year analysis of prevalence, trends, and risk factors. Journal of Dual Diagnosis

2. Sengupta, S., Anand, A., Reagan, M., Young, M., Minnick, A., Yang, Q, Nagy, L., Dasarathy, S., Sims, O.T., Mellinger, J.L. (2025). The impact of integrated care on clinical outcomes in patients with alcohol-associated liver disease: Early outcomes from a multidisciplinary clinic. Hepatology Communications, DOI: 10.1097/HC9.0000000000000603

3. Alabbas, M., Shi, J., Guo, Y., Wu, H., Oshobu, I., Castano, M., Mahmoud, W., Sengupta, S., & Sims, O.T. (2025). Prevalence and Trends in Active Smoking among Adults Living with HCV in the US: A Population-Level Analysis. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 14(18), 6671; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm14186671

4. Mazumder, R.M., Khan, S., Prakash, S., Yang, Q., Sims, O.T., Starling, R.C., & Carey, W. (2025). Medium-term comprehensive outcomes of heart transplantation using donors with hepatitis c viremia to aviremic receipents. JHLT Open, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhlto.2025.100467

5. Abu-Hammour, M., AbdelRazeq, R., Vignarajah, A., Khedraki, R., Sims, O.T., Vigneswaramoorthy, N., Chiang, D. (2025). Sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors and serious liver events in patients with cirrhosis. JAMA Network Open, 8(6): e2518470. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.18470

6. Schwartz, J., Tripathi, S., Sims, O.T., Carey, W., & Chiang, D. (2025). Quality improvement for vibration controlled transient elastography using a novel analysis algorithm. Digestive and Liver Disease, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dld.2025.05.029

7. Alabbas, M., Khoudari, H., Ghosh, G., Sims, O.T., & Wan, D. (2025). FLIP use in achalasia: Comparing poem and heller myotomy outcomes—a systematic review and meta-analysis. Surgical Endoscopy, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00464-025-11776-4

8. Krishnan, A., Sims, O.T., Woreta, T.A., Thakkar, S., Singh, S., & Alqahtani, S. (2025). Bariatric Surgery and Cardiovascular Outcomes in Patients with Obesity, Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease, and Coronary Artery Disease: A Population-Based Matched Cohort Study. European Heart Journal Quality Care & Clinic Outcomes, doi: 10.1093/ehjqcco/qcaf001

9. Delicce, M. J., Mauch, J., Sims, O. T., Lyu, R., Kren, H., Bartow, R., Ferchill, D., Joseph, A., Fares, M., & Wakim‐Fleming, J. (2024). A comparison between patients with various etiologies of cirrhosis and examination of cardiac risk factors limiting survival to liver transplantation. Clinical Transplantation. 38(1), https://doi.org/10.1111/ctr.15210

10. Khan, S., Mazumder, R., Wang, X., Wang, Y., Sims, O.T., Budev, M., & Carey, W. (2024). Hepatitis C Viremic Lung Transplantation to Aviremic Recipients: Comprehensive Outcomes and Post-Transplant Viremia. Clinical Transplantation, doi: 10.1111/ctr.15325

11. Bajwa, R., Singh, L., Imperio-Lagabon, K., Garcia, S. M., Sims, O.T., & Modaresi Esfeh, J. (2024). Post Liver Transplant Short Term and Survival Outcomes in Patients Living with Obesity. Digestive and Liver Disease, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dld.2024.04.018

12. Niu, J., Wael, A., Pinyopornpanish, K., Park, J.S., Salazar, M., Xiao, H., Bena, J., Lyu, R., Flocco, G., Sims, O.T., & Wakim-Fleming, J. (2024). The Long-term Effect of Weight Loss on the Prevention of Progression to Cirrhosis Among Patients with Obesity and MASH-Related F3 Liver Fibrosis. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, https://doi.org/ 10.3390/ijerph21060708

13. Mazumder, R., Ford, A., Sims, O.T., & Modaresi Esfeh, J. (2024). Combined heart-liver transplant vs heart transplant alone: A single center experience. Transplantology, 5, 186-192, doi.org/10.3390/transplantology5030018

14. White M, Eng J, Sims O.T., & Modaresi Esfeh J. (2024). Combined heart and liver transplantation in delayed-onset propionic acidemia: A case report ACG Case Reports, 11(10), e01526. doi: 10.14309/crj.0000000000001526

15. Singh, L., Bajwa, R., Imperio-Lagabon, K., Garcia, S. M., Sims, O.T., & Modaresi Esfeh, J. (2024). Effects of Tobacco Smoking on Post-Liver Transplant Outcomes. Transplantology, 5(4), 288-297 https://doi.org/10.3390/transplantology5040029

16. Bajwa, R. K., Kleb, C., Faisal, M. S., Khan, M. Z., Khan, A., Lyu, R., Angelini, D., Sims, O. T., & Modaresi Esfeh, J. (2024). Thromboelastography characteristics in critically ill patients with liver disease. European Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, 36(2), 190–196. https://doi.org/10.1097/MEG.0000000000002673

17. Saberi, B., Gurakar, A., Tamim, H., Schneider, C. V., Sims, O. T., Bonder, A., Fricker, Z., & Alqahtani, S. A. (2023). Racial Disparities in Candidates for Hepatocellular Carcinoma Liver Transplant After 6-Month Wait Policy Change. JAMA Network Open, 6(11). https://doi.org/10.1001/JAMANETWORKOPEN.2023.41096

18. Krishnan, A., Woreta, T.A., Sims, O.T., Hamilton, J.P., Potter, J.J., & Alqahtani, S.A. (2023). Impact of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease on clinical outcomes in patients with COVID-19 among persons living with HIV: A multicenter research network study. Journal of Infection and Public Health, 16(5), 673-769, doi: 10.1016/j.jiph.2023.02.008

19. Krishnan, A., Sims, O.T., Surapaneni, P.K., Woreta, T.A., & Alqahtani, S.A. (2023). Risk of adverse cardiovascular outcomes among people with HIV and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. AIDS, 37(8(, 1209-1216. doi: 10.1097/QAD.0000000000003537

20. Alqahtani, S.A., Schneider, C., Sims, O.T., Gurakar, A., Tamim, H., & Bonder, A., & Saberi, B. (2022). Liver transplantation for budd-chiari syndrome in the MELD-era. Transplantation Direct, 8: e1407, doi: 10.1097/TXD.0000000000001407

Careers

Training at Lerner Research Institute

Our education and training programs offer hands-on experience at one of the nationʼs top hospitals. Travel, publish in high impact journals and collaborate with investigators to solve real-world biomedical research questions.

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