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Professor Sumita Verma

Professor Sumita Verma (MBBS, MD, FRCP)

Professor of Hepatology
E: s.verma@bsms.ac.uk
T: +44 (0)1273 877890
Location: BSMS Teaching Building, Room 2.17, Falmer, Brighton, BN1 9PX

DA: Lisa Costick
E: bsmsmedicineanatomyda.ac.uk
T: +44 (0)1273 877890

Areas of expertise: Cirrhosis and its complications, chronic viral hepatitis, autoimmune hepatitis, alcohol-related liver disease

Research areas: Developing and evaluating nationally recognised and award winning novel community models of care for vulnerable adults, novel interventions for refractory ascites, autoimmune hepatitis

Other relevant positions: Member of the British, European and American Association for Study of the Liver, Fellow of Royal College of Physicians

Preferred gender pronouns: She/her

Biography

Sumita is Professor of Hepatology (BSMS), and an Honorary Consultant in Hepatology at the University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust. She obtained her medical degree from the University of Delhi India, before training as a Gastroenterologist/Hepatologist in Yorkshire, UK. She subsequently worked as an Assistant Professor in Hepatology at the University of Southern California and Johns Hopkins University Hospital, before being appointed as an Academic Hepatologist at Brighton in 2007.

Sumita has developed Hepatology research at BSMS, receiving research funding from the National Institute of Health Research, Dunhill Medical Trust and Gilead Sciences. Her research interests include developing and evaluating novel community models of care for vulnerable adults with liver disease, innovative strategies for management of ascites and autoimmune hepatitis (natural history and outcomes). She is the senior author of the recently published national (2021) (British Society of Gastroenterology) ascites guidelines. In 2014, Royal Sussex County Hospital Brighton was designated as one of the national Hepatitis C centre to deliver the national hepatitis C elimination strategy. Sumita is the academic lead of the Sussex ODN, being passionate about achieving hepatitis C elimination. She has authored multiple publications in Hepatology.

Research

Most individuals with hepatitis C are vulnerable adults (people who inject drugs/homeless). These vulnerable individuals do not engage with hospitals. It will be impossible to achieve hepatitis C elimination without linking such individuals into care. Sumita’s research focuses on developing and evaluating nationally recognised and award-winning community models for vulnerable adults with liver disease.

Secondly, Sumita is researching novel intervention for patients with refractory ascites. Most individuals with end-stage liver disease receive suboptimal palliative care, lack of evidence-based interventions being a contributory factor. Sumita hopes her award-winning research will contribute to development of validated patient reported outcome measures in end-stage liver disease populations, enabling high-quality trials of other potential interventions for this cohort.

Finally, Sumita has always had an interest in autoimmune hepatitis, especially related to natural history and outcomes and drug-related autoimmune liver disease. She has published seminal papers on this topic. After moving to Brighton, she is continuing research in this area.

Teaching

Sumita is passionate about teaching. She is a GMC recognised undergraduate trainer. Sumita teaches on all aspects of Hepatology, particularly focusing on core concepts of disease aetiology, pathophysiology and management. She has won multiple teaching awards for her undergraduate teaching.

Selected publications

Aithal GP, Palaniyappan N, China L, Harmala S, Macken L, Ryan J, Wilkes E, Moore K, Leithead J, Hayes P, O’Brien A, Verma S. British Society of Gastroenterology. Guidelines on the management of ascites in cirrhosis. Gut. 2021;70:9-29

Macken L, Bremner S, GageH, TourayM, WilliamsP, CrookD, MasonL, LambertD, EvansCJ, CooperM, TimeyinJ, SteerS, AustinM, ParnellN, ThomsonSJ, SheridanD, WrightM, Isaacs P, Hashim A, Verma S. Randomised Clinical Trial: Palliative Long-term Abdominal Drains Versus Large Volume Paracentesis In Refractory Ascites Due to Cirrhosis. Aliment Pharmacol Ther. 2020;52:107-122

Cooper M, Pollard A, Pandey A, Bremner S, Macken L, Evans C, Austin M, Parnell N, Steer S, Thomson S, Hashim A, Mason L, Verma S. Palliative Long-term Abdominal Drains Versus Large Volume Paracentesis in Refractory Ascites due to Cirrhosis (REDUCe Study): Qualitative Outcomes. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2021; 62:312-32

O’Sullivan M, Jones AM, Gage H, Jordan J, MacPepple M, Williams H, Verma S. ITTREAT (Integrated Community Test - stage - TREAT) Hepatitis C Service for People who Use Drugs: Real World Outcomes. Liver Int. 2020;40:1021-1031

Phillips C, Schulkind J, O’Sullivan M, Edelman N, Smith H, Verma S, Jones J. Improving access to care for People Who Inject Drugs: Qualitative evaluation of Project ITTREAT, an integrated community hepatitis C service. J Viral Hepat. 2020;27: 176-187

Macken L, Gelson W, Priest M, Abouda G, Barclay S, Fraser A, Healy B, Irving WL, Verma Sand HCV Research UK Efficacy of direct acting antivirals UK real world data from a well characterised predominantly cirrhotic HCV cohort. J Med Virol. 2019;91:1979-1988

Verma S, Torbenson M, Thuluvath PJ. The impact of ethnicity on the natural history of autoimmune hepatitis. Hepatol. 2007:46:1828-1835

Verma S, Bonacini M, Govindarajan S, Kanel G, Lindsay KL, Redeker A. More advanced hepatic fibrosis in Hispanic patients with chronic hepatitis C: role of patient demographics, hepatic necroinflammation and steatosis. Am J Gastroenterol. 2006; 101:1817-1823

Verma S, Gunawan B, Mendler MH, Govindrajan S, Redeker A. Factors predicting relapse and poor outcome in Type 1 autoimmune hepatitis: Role of cirrhosis development, patterns of transaminases during remission and plasma cell activity in the liver biopsy. Am J Gastroenterol. 2004;99:1510-6

Nair S, Verma S, Thuluvath PJ: Pre transplant renal function predicts survival in patients undergoing orthotopic liver transplantation. Hepatol. 2002; 35:1179–1185

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