Run for Your Liver, Run for Your Life
Join us for a 5K fundraiser to support the Vanguard Research Grant of the International Liver Transplant Society (ILTS), empowering young physician-scientists to lead innovative research in liver transplantation.
Learn about one recent Vanguard Research Grant awardee.
This event is more than just a race—it’s a celebration of healthier living and a shared commitment to raising awareness about MASLD and advancing liver transplant care. Whether you're running, walking, cheering others on, or simply stopping by to learn and enjoy, make sure you stop at the educational and healthy food trucks. And if you can’t attend in person, you can still support this important cause by making a donation—every contribution helps advance research and improve lives.
Date:
Sunday, September 21, 2025
Location:
Centennial Park, North Liberty, Iowa - Race course map | Directions
Questions?
Please contact Taryn Owens at taryn-owens@uiowa.edu
Objectives and Aims
Objectives and Aims
- Raise awareness on MASLD and its consequences on health, including end-stage liver disease.
- Promote a healthier community, by highlighting lifestyle changes and prevention.
- Raise awareness about liver transplant and the importance of organ donation.
Raise money for International Liver Transplant Society
Mission and Governance
The mission of the International Liver Transplantation Society is to promote and disseminate multidisciplinary scientific advances in liver transplantation worldwide.
Mission Statement
- The mission of the International Liver Transplantation Society is to promote and disseminate multidisciplinary scientific advances in liver transplantation worldwide. The Society has therefore established the following goals:
- Promote research and other scientific inquiry into questions that relate to the practice of liver transplantation.
- Promote teaching excellence in liver transplantation.
- Advocate for issues, programs or projects that impact favorably on liver transplantation research, teaching, or program development.
- Collaborate with existing public and private organizations to promote and encourage education and research in the science and clinical practice of liver transplantation internationally.
2023 Awardee of the ILTS Vanguard Young Investigator Research Grant
Dr. Elizabeth A. Wilson is an Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology at Duke University Medical Center, with a deep commitment to improving outcomes for patients undergoing liver transplantation. She earned her medical degree from the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University and went on to complete extensive training in pediatrics, pediatric critical care, anesthesiology, and liver transplant anesthesiology at some of the nation’s leading institutions, including Duke, Johns Hopkins, and UCSF. With a unique combination of clinical expertise and academic dedication, Dr. Wilson strives to advance the field of liver transplant through both exceptional patient care and innovative research.
Dr. Wilson received the ILTS Vanguard Young Investigator Research Grant in 2023, which allowed her to perform a pilot study of 43 liver transplant patients. She discovered that giving too much oxygen during the critical moment of organ connection (reperfusion) was linked to a higher risk of early allograft dysfunction (EAD), a serious condition where the transplanted liver doesn’t function properly soon after surgery. She also identified specific immune markers in the blood that may help predict which patients are most at risk. These insights could help doctors tailor care during surgery to reduce complications and improve recovery. Building on this work, Dr. Wilson is now exploring how the immune system’s balance between protective and harmful signals affects liver transplant outcomes—laying the groundwork for more personalized, safer transplant care.
5K Course Map
Hosted by: UI Health Care DIvision of Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Sponsored by Hy Vee