Julia J Wattacheril, MD, MPH

Transplant Hepatology
Gastroenterology
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Overview

Dr. Wattacheril's clinical specialties include all aspects of transplant hepatology, general hepatology and gastroenterology with emphasis on metabolic liver disease and obesity. She specializes in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease as well as all forms of hepatitis, chronic liver disease, and liver cancer in addition to liver transplantation. Her research interests include hepatic steatosis, insulin resistance, gut hormones and metabolic liver disease in adults. Her current research concentrates on the relationship between proteins and lipids that differentiate steatosis from steatohepatitis using an integrated omics approach.

Visit The Center for Liver Disease and Transplantation at columbiasurgery.org/liver

Areas of Expertise / Conditions Treated

  • Chronic Liver Disease
  • Hereditary Liver Disease
  • Liver Disease
  • Liver Transplant
  • Liver Transplantation
  • Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease
  • Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis

Academic Appointments

  • Associate Professor of Medicine at CUMC

Administrative Titles

  • Director of the Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease Program
  • Attending, New York - Presbyterian Hospital

Hospital Affiliations

  • NewYork-Presbyterian / Columbia University Irving Medical Center
  • NewYork-Presbyterian / Weill Cornell Medical Center

Languages

  • Spanish

Gender

  • Female

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Virtual Visits/Telehealth

Virtual Visits allow you to connect with your provider from the comfort, convenience, and safety of your own home.

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Phone Appointments

New and Existing Patients:
(212) 305-0914

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Location(s)

CUIMC/Presbyterian Hospital and Vanderbilt Clinic
622 West 168th Street
PH, Floor 14
New York, NY 10032
Primary
Phone:
(212) 305-0914
Open location in Google Maps

Insurance Accepted

Aetna

  • Aetna Signature Administrators
  • EPO
  • HMO
  • Medicare Managed Care
  • NY Signature
  • POS
  • PPO
  • Student Health

Affinity Health Plan

  • Essential Plan
  • Medicaid Managed Care

Amida Care

  • Special Needs

Cigna

  • EPO
  • Great West (National)
  • HMO
  • Medicare Managed Care
  • POS
  • PPO

Emblem/GHI

  • Medicare Managed Care
  • PPO

Emblem/HIP

  • ConnectiCare
  • EPO
  • Essential Plan
  • HMO
  • Medicaid Managed Care
  • Medicare Managed Care
  • POS
  • PPO
  • Select Care (Exchange)
  • Vytra

Empire Blue Cross/Blue Shield

  • EPO
  • HMO
  • Medicare Managed Care
  • PPO

Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield HealthPlus

  • Child/Family Health Plus
  • Essential Plan
  • Medicaid Managed Care

Fidelis Care

  • Child/Family Health Plus
  • Essential Plan
  • Medicaid Managed Care
  • Medicare Managed Care

Healthfirst

  • Child/Family Health Plus
  • Leaf (Exchange)
  • Medicaid Managed Care
  • Medicare Managed Care

Local 1199

  • Local 1199
  • NYP Employee Plan

MagnaCare (National)

  • MagnaCare

Medicare

  • Railroad
  • Traditional Medicare

Multiplan

  • Multiplan

MVP Health Care

  • Child/Family Health Plus
  • Essential Plan
  • HMO
  • Medicaid Managed Care

RiverSpring

  • Special Needs

UnitedHealthcare

  • Compass (Exchange)
  • Empire Plan
  • HMO
  • Medicaid (Community Plan)
  • Medicare Managed Care
  • Oxford Freedom
  • Oxford HMO
  • Oxford Liberty
  • POS
  • PPO

VNSNY CHOICE

  • Medicare Managed Care
  • SelectHealth
  • Special Needs

WellCare

  • Medicaid Managed Care
  • Medicare Managed Care

World Trade Center Health Plan

  • World Trade Center Health Plan

*Before your appointment, please contact the doctor’s office or your insurance provider to verify that your insurance is accepted. This list of insurances can change, and the insurance plans listed may not be accepted at all office locations for this provider.

Credentials & Experience

Education & Training

  • 2004 Baylor College of Medicine
  • Residency: Baylor College of Medicine
  • Fellowship: Vanderbilt University Medical Center
  • Fellowship: 2011 NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center

Committees, Societies, Councils

  • Liver Forum, academic investigator
  • Noninvasive Biomarkers of Metabolic Liver Disease (NIMBLE) consortium, academic investigator
  • New York Genome Center, affiliate member
  • American Liver Foundation, NY chapter, Medical Advisory Committee member
  • Institute for Genomic Medicine, member
  • New York Academy of Sciences, member
  • Texas Medical Association, member
  • American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, member
  • American Liver Foundation, Medical Advisory Committee,member
  • American Board of Internal Medicine, member
  • American Gastroenterological Association, member
  • American Society of Human Genetics, member
  • European Society of Human Genetics, member
  • National Valedictorian Society, member

Board Certifications

  • Transplant Hepatology
  • Gastroenterology

Honors & Awards

  • 2024 Department of Surgery Innovation Award
  • 2024 Department of Biomedical Engineering Ignite Award
  • 2003 Alpha Omega Alpha
  • 2000 Glasgow-Rubin Achievement Citation recipient, American Medical Women’s Association

Research

Dr. Wattacheril is an Associate Professor of Medicine and Director of the Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) Program in the Center for Liver Disease and Transplantation. Her primary Translational science interests include: 1) investigating the relationship between lipids and proteins within the context of the development and progression of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, 2) optimizing the clinical care of patients with NAFLD pre and post-transplantation, 3) understanding the relationship between NAFLD and hepatocellular carcinoma and 4) enhancing the care of liver disease patients using genomics and electronic health record phenotyping. She mentors several residents and gastroenterology fellows in addition to computational geneticists, nurse practitioners, dietitians, and anyone interested in enhancing the integrated knowledge and care for patients with chronic liver disease.

Research Interests

  • Body Composition
  • Hepatocellular carcinoma
  • Insulin Resistance
  • Lipid metabolism
  • Metabolic liver diseases
  • Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD)
  • OMICs
  • Transplant hepatology

Selected Publications

  1. Basile AO, Verma A, Tang LA, Serper M, Scanga A, Farrell A, Destin B, Carr RM, Anyanwu-Ofili A, Rajagopal G, Krikhely A, Bessler M, Reilly MP, Ritchie MD, Tatonetti NP, Wattacheril J. Rapid identification and phenotyping of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease patients using a machine-based approach in diverse healthcare systems.
    Clin Transl Sci. 2025 Jan;18(1):e70105. doi: 10.1111/cts.70105.
    PubMed PMID: 39739635; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC11686338.
  2. A Single Dose of Phosphoinositide-3-kinase Inhibitor Alpelisib Induces Insulin Resistance in Healthy Adults: A Randomized Feasibility Study.
    Cook JR, Bedeir N, Sone ZD, Wattacheril J, Ginsberg HN, Laferrère B.
    Diabetes. 2024 Sep 12:db240402. doi: 10.2337/db24-0402. Online ahead of print.
    PMID: 39264822
  3. A multisociety Delphi consensus statement on new fatty liver disease nomenclature.
    Rinella ME, Lazarus JV, Ratziu V, Francque SM, Sanyal AJ, Kanwal F, Romero D, Abdelmalek MF, Anstee QM, Arab JP, Arrese M, Bataller R, Beuers U, Boursier J, Bugianesi E, Byrne CD, Castro Narro GE, Chowdhury A, Cortez-Pinto H, Cryer DR, Cusi K, El-Kassas M, Klein S, Eskridge W, Fan J, Gawrieh S, Guy CD, Harrison SA, Kim SU, Koot BG, Korenjak M, Kowdley KV, Lacaille F, Loomba R, Mitchell-Thain R, Morgan TR, Powell EE, Roden M, Romero-Gómez M, Silva M, Singh SP, Sookoian SC, Spearman CW, Tiniakos D, Valenti L, Vos MB, Wong VW, Xanthakos S, Yilmaz Y, Younossi Z, Hobbs A, Villota-Rivas M, Newsome PN; NAFLD Nomenclature consensus group.
    Hepatology. 2023 Dec 1;78(6):1966-1986. doi: 10.1097/HEP.0000000000000520. Epub 2023 Jun 24.
    PMID: 37363821 Free PMC article.
  4. A global research priority agenda to advance public health responses to fatty liver disease.
    Lazarus JV, Mark HE, Allen AM, Arab JP, Carrieri P, Noureddin M, Alazawi W, Alkhouri N, Alqahtani SA, Arrese M, Bataller R, Berg T, Brennan PN, Burra P, Castro-Narro GE, Cortez-Pinto H, Cusi K, Dedes N, Duseja A, Francque SM, Hagström H, Huang TT, Wajcman DI, Kautz A, Kopka CJ, Krag A, Miller V, Newsome PN, Rinella ME, Romero D, Sarin SK, Silva M, Spearman CW, Tsochatzis EA, Valenti L, Villota-Rivas M, Zelber-Sagi S, Schattenberg JM, Wong VW, Younossi ZM; Healthy Livers, Healthy Lives Collaborators.
    J Hepatol. 2023 Sep;79(3):618-634. doi: 10.1016/j.jhep.2023.04.035. Epub 2023 Jun 20.
    PMID: 37353401
  5. Using epigenomics to understand cellular responses to environmental influences in diseases.
    Wattacheril JJ, Raj S, Knowles DA, Greally JM.
    PLoS Genet. 2023 Jan 19;19(1):e1010567. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1010567. eCollection 2023 Jan.
    PMID: 36656803 Free PMC article. Review.
  6. Health Disparities in Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment of Hepatocellular Carcinoma.
    Guo A, Pomenti S, Wattacheril J.
    Clin Liver Dis (Hoboken). 2021 Jun 4;17(5):353-358. doi: 10.1002/cld.1057. eCollection 2021 May.
    PMID: 34136141 Free PMC article. Review. No abstract available.
  7. *Pomenti S, Gandle C, Abu Sbeih H, Phipps M, Livanos A, Guo A, Yeh J, Burney H, Liu H, Dakhoul L, Kettler C, Gawrieh S, deLemos A, Scanga A, Chalasani N, Miller E, Wattacheril J. Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Hispanic Patients: Trends and Outcomes in a Large United States Cohort. Hep Communications2020: doi.org/10.1002/hep4.1575
  8. *Phipps M, Livanos A, Guo A, Pomenti S, Yeh J, Dakhoul L, Burney H, Kettler C, Liu H, Miller E, GawriehS, deLemos A, Scanga A, Chalasani N, Wattacheril J. Gender Matters: Characteristics of Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Women from a Large, Multicenter Study in the United States. Am J Gastroenterol2020: doi: 10.14309/ajg.0000000000000643.
  9. deLemos, A, Patel M, Gawrieh S, Burney H, Dakhoul L, Miller E, Scanga A, Kettler C, Liu H, Roche P, Wattacheril J, Chalasani N. Distinctive Features and Outcomes of Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Patients with Alcohol-Related Liver Disease: A US Multicenter Study. Clin Transl Gastroenterol2020: doi: 10.14309/ctg.0000000000000139.
  10. Siddiqui MS, Van Natta ML, Connelly MA, Vuppalanchi R, Neuschwander-Tetri BA, Tonascia J, Guy C, Loomba R, Dasarathy S, Wattacheril J, Chalasani N, Sanyal AJ; NASH-CRN. Impact of obeticholic acid on the lipoprotein profile in patients with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis. J Hepatology2020 doi: 10/1016/j.hep.2019.10.006
  11. *Gawrieh S, Dakhoul L, Miller E, Scanga A, deLemos A, Kettler C, Burney H, Liu H, Abu-Sbeih H, Chalasani N, Wattacheril J. Characteristics, Aetiologies and Trends of Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Patients without Cirrhosis: A United States Multicenter Study. Alimentary Pharmacology and Therapeutics.2019 doi.org/10.1111/apt15464
  12. Wattacheril J, Shea PR, Mohammad S, Behlin C, Aggarwal V, Wilson LA, Yates KP, Ito J, Fishbein M, Stong N, Lavine JE, Goldstein DB. Exome sequencing of an adolescent with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease identifies a clinically actionable case of Wilson Disease. Cold Spring Harb Mol Case Stud.2018 Oct 1.doi: 0.1101/mcs.a003087
  13. Wattacheril J, Lavine JE, Chalasani NP, Guo X, Kwon S, Schwimmer J, Molleston JP, Loomba R, Brunt EM, Chen YI, Goodarzi MO, Taylor KD, Yates KP, Tonascia J, Rotter JI. Genome Wide Associations Related to Hepatic Histology in Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in Hispanic Boys. J Pediatr. 2017 Nov. doi:10.1016/j.jpeds.2017.08.004
  14. Wattacheril J, Rose, K.L., Hill, S., Lanciault, C., Murray, C.R., Washington, K., Williams, B., English, W., Spann, M., Clements, R., Abumrad, N., and Flynn, C.R.(2017) NAFLD Phosphoproteomics: A Functional Piece of the Precision Puzzle. Hepatol Res, doi:10.1111/hepr.12885.
  15. Corey KE, Gawrieh S, deLemosAS, Zheng H, Scanga AE, Haglund JW, Sanchez J, Danford CJ, Comerford M, BossiK, Munir S, Chalasani N, Wattacheril J. Risk factors for hepatocellular carcinoma in cirrhosis due to nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: A multicenter, case-control study. World J Hepatol 2017; 9(7): 385-390
  16. Guo Y, Xiong Y, Sheng Q, Zhao S, Wattacheril J, Flynn CR. A micro-RNA expression signature for human NAFLD progression. J Gastroenterol. 2016 Feb 13.
  17. Garcia A, Kasim N, Gonzalez, R, Antoun J, Eckert E, Marks P, Wattacheril J, Abumrad N, Tamboli R, Walle T, Dunn J, Flynn CR. Lipoprotein Profiles in Class III Obese Caucasian and African American Women with Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease. PLoS One.2015 Nov 23;10(11):e0142676. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0142676
  18. Sharifnia T, Antoun J, Suarez G, Wattacheril J, Wilson K, Peek RM, Abumrad N, and Flynn CF. Hepatic TLR4 Signaling in Obese NAFLD. Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol. 2015 Aug 15;309(4):G270-8. doi: 10.1152/ajpgi.00304.2014

For a complete list of publications, please visit PubMed.gov