Professional Development

Resources for Students in Hepatology

Professional societies, memberships, and reference tools — curated for medical students who want to build a presence in hepatology and transplant medicine from day one.

Professional Societies

Student membership in these societies is inexpensive and provides access to journals, conference discounts, and networking that accelerates your development in the field.

American Society of Transplantation (AST)
$29 / year
The leading professional home for transplant physicians across all organ types. Student membership grants access to the journal American Journal of Transplantation, reduced conference registration, and eligibility for travel grants.
Key groups to join (both free for members):
· Trainee & Young Faculty Community of Practice
· Liver & Intestinal Community of Practice (LICOP) Educational Subcommittee — the group behind annual travel grants for medical students to attend ATC
Join AST ↗
American Society of Transplant Surgeons (ASTS)
$27 / year
The surgical counterpart to AST. Relevant for students interested in the surgical aspects of organ procurement and transplantation, and for those considering a combined medical-surgical career in transplant.
Trainee membership includes access to the ASTS Annual Meeting and access to the Transplantation journal.
Join ASTS ↗
American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD)
$25 / year
The premier hepatology society in North America. AASLD publishes Hepatology and Hepatology Communications, produces the annual Liver Meeting (one of the largest GI conferences in the world), and sets clinical practice guidelines. Student membership is the best investment in this list for pure hepatology focus.
Student members can access clinical practice guidelines, educational resources, and apply for conference registration support. The Liver Meeting abstract deadline is typically late May each year.
Join AASLD ↗
International Liver Transplantation Society (ILTS)
Trainee rates available
The global society for liver transplantation, with an international membership across surgery, hepatology, anesthesiology, and nursing. Less well-known to students but valuable for those who want a global perspective on transplant practices, living donor liver transplant (more prevalent internationally), and split liver techniques.
Annual congress rotates internationally — valuable for networking with global transplant programs.
Visit ILTS ↗
Clinical Reference Tools

Essential databases and tools for hepatology clinical reasoning and research.

LiverTox (NIH / NCBI)
Free
The definitive database for drug-induced liver injury. Covers >1000 drugs, supplements, and herbal products with structured summaries of hepatotoxicity patterns, case reports, and mechanistic data. Use it whenever you encounter unexplained liver enzyme elevation and suspect a medication cause.
Open LiverTox ↗
OPTN MELD Calculator
Free
The official MELD 3.0 calculator from the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network. Use this to calculate and understand allocation scores for patients with end-stage liver disease. Essential for transplant rotations.
Open Calculator ↗
Liver-Focused Physical Exam (MedMastery)
Free access
A structured guide to performing and interpreting a hepatology-focused physical examination. Paired with the LIMES physical exam topic, this provides practical guidance for what to look for and how to elicit findings.
View Guide ↗