Giuseppe Cullaro, MD
Assistant Professor
Medicine
School of Medicine

My academic interests lie at the intersection of hepatology and nephrology. Specifically, I focus on improving outcomes for patients with end-stage liver disease by identifying predictive markers of future kidney dysfunction—markers that may inform the mechanism of disease pathogenesis and allow for the implementation of preventative strategies.

I earned my undergraduate and medical degrees from Boston University. I completed a residency in Internal Medicine at New York Presbyterian—Columbia University, followed by a gastroenterology fellowship at UCSF, and a transplant hepatology fellowship at New York Presbyterian—Cornell and Columbia University in 2020. I obtained a Master of Advanced Studies in Clinical Research through the UCSF Graduate Division in 2019.

• Nonselective beta-blockers may lead to stage 2 acute kidney injury and waitlist mortality in child class C cirrhosis.
  Hepatology communications 2023 Lai M, Fenton C, Ge J, Rubin J, Lai JC, Cullaro G
• Prognostic significance of acute kidney injury stage 1B in hospitalized patients with cirrhosis: A US nationwide study.
  Liver transplantation : official publication of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases and the International Liver Transplantation Society 2023 Patidar KR, Cullaro G, Naved MA, Kabir S, Grama A, Orman ES, Piano S, Allegretti AS
• Racial and Ethnic Disparities Among Patients Hospitalized for Acute Cholangitis in the United States.
  Journal of clinical gastroenterology 2023 Wang M, Wadhwani SI, Cullaro G, Lai JC, Rubin JB
• Clinical Characteristics Associated With Posttransplant Survival Among Adults 70 Years Old or Older Undergoing Liver Transplantation.
  Journal of clinical gastroenterology 2023 Wang M, Ge J, Ha N, Shui AM, Huang CY, Cullaro G, Lai JC
• Reply: Variability in serum creatinine is associated with waitlist and post-liver transplant mortality in patients with cirrhosis.
  Hepatology (Baltimore, Md.) 2023 Cullaro G
• Longer time to recovery from acute kidney injury is associated with major adverse kidney events in patients with cirrhosis.
  Alimentary pharmacology & therapeutics 2023 Patidar KR, Naved MA, Kabir S, Grama A, Allegretti AS, Cullaro G, Asrani SK, Worden A, Desai AP, Ghabril MS, Nephew LD, Orman ES
• Recent Advances in the Management of Hepatorenal Syndrome: A US Perspective.
  Clinical gastroenterology and hepatology : the official clinical practice journal of the American Gastroenterological Association 2023 Patidar KR, Piano S, Cullaro G, Belcher JM, Allegretti AS, HRS-Harmony Consortia
• Women with cirrhosis have lower self-rated health than men.
  Hepatology communications 2023 Wang M, Huang CY, Cullaro G, Covinsky K, Lai JC
• Much Ado About Something: The Clinical Pattern of Tolvaptan-Associated Liver Injury in Participants With ADPKD.
  American journal of kidney diseases : the official journal of the National Kidney Foundation 2022 Postalcioglu M, Cullaro G, Park M
• Multicenter assessment of hypertension management among liver transplantation recipients.
  Liver transplantation : official publication of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases and the International Liver Transplantation Society 2022 Chebrolu S, Phipps M, Yao F, Lai J, Verna E, Serper M, Cullaro G, Asrani SK, VanWagner LB
• Predictors of Length of Stay and Mortality During Simultaneous Liver-Kidney Transplant Index Admission: Results From the US-Multicenter SLKT Consortium.
  Transplantation direct 2022 Barman PM, Patel YA, Xie J, Zhang M, Jo J, Sinha J, Answine A, Schluger A, Walter K, Biggins SW, Cullaro G, Wong R, Lai JC, VanWagner LB, Magee J, Verna EC, Sharma P
• Factors associated with cardiovascular events after simultaneous liver-kidney transplant from the US Multicenter Simultaneous Liver-Kidney Transplant Consortium.
  Hepatology communications 2022 Jo J, Crespo G, Gregory D, Sinha J, Xie J, Zhang M, Magee J, Barman P, Patel YA, Schluger A, Walters K, Biggins S, Filipek N, Cullaro G, Wong R, Lai JC, Perreault GJ, Verna EC, Sharma P, VanWagner LB
• Acute Kidney Injury in Patients with Liver Disease.
  Clinical journal of the American Society of Nephrology : CJASN 2022 Cullaro G, Kanduri SR, Velez JCQ
• Burden of early hospitalization after simultaneous liver-kidney transplantation: Results from the US Multicenter SLKT Consortium.
  Liver transplantation : official publication of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases and the International Liver Transplantation Society 2022 Sharma P, Xie J, Wang L, Zhang M, Magee J, Answine A, Barman P, Jo J, Sinha J, Schluger A, Perreault GJ, Walters KE, Cullaro G, Wong R, Filipek N, Biggins SW, Lai JC, VanWagner LB, Verna EC, Patel YA
• Variability in serum creatinine is associated with waitlist and post-liver transplant mortality in patients with cirrhosis.
  Hepatology (Baltimore, Md.) 2022 Cullaro G, Hsu CY, Lai JC
• Timing of Acute Kidney Injury Recovery a Promising Indicator of Outcomes After Liver Transplantation.
  Transplantation 2022 Cullaro G
• Improving the Model for End-Stage Liver Disease with sodium by incorporating kidney dysfunction types.
  Hepatology (Baltimore, Md.) 2022 Cullaro G, Verna EC, McCulloch CE, Lai JC
• Discordance in categorization of acute-on-chronic liver failure in the United Network for Organ Sharing database.
  Journal of hepatology 2022 Lee BP, Cullaro G, Vosooghi A, Yao F, Panchal S, Goldberg DS, Terrault NA, Mahmud N
• Sex-based Disparities in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Recurrence After Liver Transplantation.
  Transplantation 2021 Cullaro G, Rubin J, Mehta N, Yao F, Verna EC, Lai JC
• Frailty and the Risk of Acute Kidney Injury Among Patients With Cirrhosis.
  Hepatology communications 2021 Cullaro G, Verna EC, Duarte-Rojo A, Kappus MR, Ganger DR, Rahimi RS, Boyarsky B, Segev DL, McAdams-DeMarco M, Ladner DP, Volk ML, Hsu CY, Lai JC
• Estimating Glomerular Filtration Rate in Cirrhosis: A Variable Science That Needs Clinical Awareness.
  Liver transplantation : official publication of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases and the International Liver Transplantation Society 2021 Cullaro G, Verna EC
• Temporal Trends and Evolving Outcomes After Simultaneous Liver-Kidney Transplantation: Results from the US SLKT Consortium.
  Liver transplantation : official publication of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases and the International Liver Transplantation Society 2021 Cullaro G, Sharma P, Jo J, Rassiwala J, VanWagner LB, Wong R, Lai JC, Magee J, Schluger A, Barman P, Patel YA, Walter K, Biggins SW, Verna EC
• Association Between Kidney Dysfunction Types and Mortality Among Hospitalized Patients with Cirrhosis.
  Digestive diseases and sciences 2021 Cullaro G, Rubin JB, Fortune BE, Crawford CV, Verna EC, Hsu CY, Liu KD, Brown RS, Lai JC, Rosenblatt R
• Renal Outcomes After Simultaneous Liver-Kidney Transplantation: Results from the US Multicenter Simultaneous Liver-Kidney Transplantation Consortium.
  Liver transplantation : official publication of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases and the International Liver Transplantation Society 2021 Sharma P, Sui Z, Zhang M, Magee JC, Barman P, Patel Y, Schluger A, Walter K, Biggins SW, Cullaro G, Wong R, Lai JC, Jo J, Sinha J, VanWagner L, Verna EC
• Early Kidney Allograft Failure After Simultaneous Liver-kidney Transplantation: Evidence for Utilization of the Safety Net?
  Transplantation 2021 Cullaro G, Verna EC, Emond JC, Orandi BJ, Mohan S, Lai JC
• Women who undergo liver transplant have longer length of stay post-transplant compared with men.
  Liver international : official journal of the International Association for the Study of the Liver 2020 Rubin JB, Cullaro G, Ge J, Lai JC
• Association of Karnofsky Performance Status with waitlist mortality among older and younger adults awaiting kidney transplantation.
  Clinical transplantation 2020 Sheshadri A, Cullaro G, Johansen KL, Lai JC
• Chronic Kidney Disease in Liver Transplant Candidates: A Rising Burden Impacting Post-Liver Transplant Outcomes.
  Liver transplantation : official publication of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases and the International Liver Transplantation Society 2020 Cullaro G, Verna EC, Lee BP, Lai JC
• Not All Episodes of Acute Kidney Injury Are Equal in Patients With Cirrhosis, Based on Patterns of Renal Dysfunction.
  Clinical gastroenterology and hepatology : the official clinical practice journal of the American Gastroenterological Association 2020 Cullaro G, Asrani SK
• A Comprehensive Review of Outcome Predictors in Low MELD Patients.
  Transplantation 2020 Mazumder NR, Atiemo K, Kappus M, Cullaro G, Harinstein ME, Ladner D, Verna E, Lai J, Levitsky J
• Precipitants of Acute-on-Chronic Liver Failure: An Opportunity for Preventative Measures to Improve Outcomes.
  Liver transplantation : official publication of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases and the International Liver Transplantation Society 2020 Cullaro G, Sharma R, Trebicka J, Cárdenas A, Verna EC
• Differential Impact of Age Among Liver Transplant Candidates With and Without Hepatocellular Carcinoma.
  Liver transplantation : official publication of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases and the International Liver Transplantation Society 2019 Cullaro G, Rubin JB, Mehta N, Lai JC
• Changes in Simultaneous Liver-kidney Transplant Allocation Policy May Impact Postliver Transplant Outcomes.
  Transplantation 2019 Cullaro G, Hirose R, Lai JC
• National Trends and Long-term Outcomes of Liver Transplant for Alcohol-Associated Liver Disease in the United States.
  JAMA internal medicine 2019 Lee BP, Vittinghoff E, Dodge JL, Cullaro G, Terrault NA
• Association Between Renal Function Pattern and Mortality in Patients With Cirrhosis.
  Clinical gastroenterology and hepatology : the official clinical practice journal of the American Gastroenterological Association 2019 Cullaro G, Verna EC, Lai JC
• "Normal" Creatinine Levels Predict Persistent Kidney Injury and Waitlist Mortality in Outpatients With Cirrhosis.
  Hepatology (Baltimore, Md.) 2018 Cullaro G, Park M, Lai JC
• Early Postoperative Neutrophil Gelatinase-Associated Lipocalin Predicts the Development of Chronic Kidney Disease After Liver Transplantation.
  Transplantation 2018 Cullaro G, Pisa JF, Brown RS, Wagener G, Verna EC
• Sex-based disparities in delisting for being "too sick" for liver transplantation.
  American journal of transplantation : official journal of the American Society of Transplantation and the American Society of Transplant Surgeons 2017 Cullaro G, Sarkar M, Lai JC
• Ascites Neutrophil Gelatinase-Associated Lipocalin Identifies Spontaneous Bacterial Peritonitis and Predicts Mortality in Hospitalized Patients with Cirrhosis.
  Digestive diseases and sciences 2017 Cullaro G, Kim G, Pereira MR, Brown RS, Verna EC
• Reduction of covalently closed circular DNA with long-term nucleos(t)ide analogue treatment in chronic hepatitis B.
  Journal of hepatology 2016 Lai CL, Wong D, Ip P, Kopaniszen M, Seto WK, Fung J, Huang FY, Lee B, Cullaro G, Chong CK, Wu R, Cheng C, Yuen J, Ngai V, Yuen MF
• Knockdown of heme oxygenase-2 impairs corneal epithelial cell wound healing.
  Journal of cellular physiology 2011 Halilovic A, Patil KA, Bellner L, Marrazzo G, Castellano K, Cullaro G, Dunn MW, Schwartzman ML
• Heme oxygenase-1 induction attenuates corneal inflammation and accelerates wound healing after epithelial injury.
  Investigative ophthalmology & visual science 2008 Patil K, Bellner L, Cullaro G, Gotlinger KH, Dunn MW, Schwartzman ML