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In memory of

Sobia Laique Khalid

For Adam, and for all of us

Her work

Sobia's professional life was defined by a rare combination of clinical excellence, research leadership, and genuine compassion for patients facing complex liver disease. This page preserves her talks, writing, and the work she built — so her family, and especially Adam, can hear her and see what she made.

Highlights

peer-reviewed papers
29peer-reviewed papers
research abstracts
24research abstracts
lectures & presentations
24lectures & presentations
board certifications
3board certifications

Roles & leadership

  • Staff Gastroenterologist & Transplant Hepatologist, Cleveland Clinic
  • Director, Multidisciplinary MASLD Center
  • Chair, MASLD Task Force
  • Assistant Professor, Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine
  • Core Faculty, Cleveland Clinic Transplant Hepatology Fellowship

Honors & recognition

  1. 2026

    Rising Star Award

    Cleveland Clinic Digestive Disease Institute Staff Awards

  2. 2025–26

    AASLD Women’s Leadership Development Program

    Selected participant

  3. 2025

    Poster of Distinction

    AASLD The Liver Meeting, for her shared medical appointment model for MASH cirrhosis and obesity

  4. 2024, 2025

    Caregiver Celebrations Teaching Award, Safety & Quality

    Cleveland Clinic

  5. 2023

    Unsung Hero Recognition

    Cleveland Clinic Professional Staff Program

  6. 2016, 2022

    Excellence in Teaching Award

    Cleveland Clinic — received three times

  7. 2019

    Best of The Liver Meeting

    AASLD, liver transplant category — her study of transplant access for acute-on-chronic liver failure

In her voice, and on the record

Videos, papers, and posts — preserved here, with a link to the original whenever one exists.

Hear her

Talks and interviews so Adam can one day hear his mother teach. Each one is summarized here; the original is linked in case it remains online.

Butts & Guts, with Scott Steele, MD

Fatty Liver Disease — Butts & Guts

Cleveland Clinic podcast

Sobia explains MASLD in plain language — why the name changed, how fat in the liver leads to MASH and fibrosis, and what patients can do. She also tells a little of her own path: growing up between Pakistan and England, then training at Cleveland Clinic and Mayo.

I'm essentially from Pakistan, but I did most of my growing up and training in England, because that's where my father was getting his medical training from. Then had a short stint in Pakistan. And then about 10 years ago, moved to the US for my medical training. And I'm actually a product of the clinic itself. So, I did my residency and my advanced fellowship here and then my GI training at Mayo Clinic. But happy to come back here and it's been phenomenal.

MedPage Today, Peer-to-Peer Videos

In MASLD, How Can Spatial Genomics Improve Understanding of the Disease?

February 19, 2025

Sobia, as chair of Cleveland Clinic’s MASLD Task Force, explains spatial genomics: mapping where genes act in the liver, how cells interact as disease progresses, and where new treatments might halt or reverse fibrosis.

It's these specific microenvironments that we really have to study to understand where can we develop therapeutic targets to halt fibrosis and then allow for fibrosis regression.

HCPLive, with Abigail Brooks, MA

Metabolic Surgery’s Benefit for MASH-Related Cirrhosis

February 5, 2025

Sobia talks through the SPECCIAL study: in patients with obesity and compensated MASH cirrhosis, metabolic surgery was tied to a 72% lower risk of major adverse liver outcomes and an 80% lower risk of decompensation.

What our findings revealed was a 72% lower risk of incident MALOs and an 80% lower risk of hepatic decompensation in the surgical group, which are staggering numbers to see.

Cleveland Clinic, moderated by Arjun Chatterjee, MD

MASLD with Dr. Sobia Laique — The Medicine Grand Rounders

November 14, 2023

A teaching conversation on the new steatotic liver disease names, how to diagnose and risk-stratify MASLD, and how internists, endocrinologists, and hepatologists should work together. Her answers are preserved on the original page.

Live from Cleveland Clinic

Can MASH Be Surgically Cured? — ConsultQD Live

May 13, 2026

Sobia presented “What is MASH? Why it matters and how treatment paradigms are evolving,” alongside colleagues including Ali Aminian, MD, on metabolic surgery for MASH.

Publications & writing

Papers and articles she wrote or helped lead. We keep a record here because journals and news pages move; the original link is always included.

Cleveland Clinic · Intercontinental Hotel, Cleveland

Multidisciplinary MASH Conference

August 14–15, 2026

Sobia served as Activity Director with Ali Aminian, MD — advancing multidisciplinary care across the MASH spectrum. The conference took place after her passing; colleagues honored her there, and kept her name on the program as director.

We took a moment to honor her and recognize how much she contributed to making this conference possible. Her presence was truly felt, and we’re very grateful for everything she did.

Consult QD, Cleveland Clinic

MASH-Cirrhosis and Obesity: Transforming Care with Shared Medical Appointments

January 6, 2026

Describes the shared medical appointment program she piloted in March 2025 for patients with compensated MASH cirrhosis and obesity — nutrition, exercise, and behavioral health in one visit, so weight loss does not cost patients their muscle.

We cannot simply prescribe a medication and walk away. Without safeguards, there is a legitimate risk of muscle wasting, or sarcopenia, which is already a significant predictor of poor outcomes in cirrhosis. We must ensure patients are losing fat mass, not lean muscle.

Digestive Diseases and Sciences

MASLD Clinical Trials: Increasing Enrollment, Diversity and Generalizability

July 12, 2026

Her paper on why MASLD trials must include the communities most affected by the disease — including Hispanic patients at higher risk of progression — so new treatments are tested in the people who need them.

Nature Medicine

Long-term liver outcomes after metabolic surgery in compensated cirrhosis due to MASH

2025

A Cleveland Clinic study of metabolic surgery in compensated MASH cirrhosis. Sobia was a co-author, working with Ali Aminian, MD, and colleagues.

Gastrointestinal Endoscopy

Application of OCR with NLP for large-scale quality metric data extraction in colonoscopy reports

2020

Early informatics work extracting quality metrics from colonoscopy reports — a sign of how she thought about systems, not only individual patients.

Her posts

LinkedIn, X, and other writing in her own name. Send any post and it will be copied here with a link back to the original.

None archived yet. When a link is sent, it will appear here.

Something missing? If you know of a talk, paper, interview, or post that isn't here yet, please send Omar the link.

Publications

29 peer-reviewed papers published as Sobia Laique, MD, from her training at Aga Khan University and the Mayo Clinic to her work at the Cleveland Clinic.

  1. 2026

  2. 2026

  3. 2026

  4. 2026

  5. 2026

  6. 2025

  7. 2025

  8. 2024

  9. 2024

  10. 2022

  11. 2021

  12. 2021

  13. 2020

  14. 2019

  15. 2019

  16. 2019

  17. 2018

  18. 2017

  19. 2017

  20. 2016

  21. 2016

  22. 2016

  23. 2016

  24. 2016

  25. 2016

  26. 2016

  27. 2015

  28. 2015

  29. 2015

Research group contributions

Studies where she is credited as a member of the research group.

  1. 2026

  2. 2024

Papers she had submitted

Work still under review in 2026, including the paired-biopsy study she presented at Digestive Disease Week.

  1. 2026

    Fibrosis Regression in Compensated MASH Cirrhosis Following Metabolic Surgery: A Long-Term Paired Biopsy Study

    First author · Under review

  2. 2026

    Treatment Discontinuation Determines Real-World Effectiveness of Semaglutide and Tirzepatide in MASLD

    First author · Under review

  3. 2026

    Metabolic Surgery for MASH Cirrhosis: A New Era of Disease Modification and Translational Precision

    First author · Invited letter, under review

  4. 2026

    Is Bariatric Surgery Still Relevant in the Management of MASH in Patients With Obesity?

    First author · Invited review, under review

  5. 2026

    Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery in Patients With Obesity and MASLD: A GRADE-Based IFSO Position Statement

    Co-author of the International Federation for the Surgery of Obesity position statement · Under revision

  6. 2026

    Modern Era Experience With Concurrent Liver Transplantation and Sleeve Gastrectomy: An MBSAQIP-Based Analysis of 30-Day Outcomes

    Co-author · Under review

Invited review

Pathophysiology, Diagnosis, and Management of Portal Hypertension in the Pediatric Population

Invited review, Digestive Disease Interventions, 2024

Book chapter

Chronic Intestinal Pseudo-Obstruction

With Scott L. Gabbard, in Essential Medical Disorders of the Stomach and Small Intestine: A Clinical Casebook (Springer Nature, 2019)

See her full record on PubMed

Clinical & research focus

  • Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD/MASH)
  • MASH-related cirrhosis
  • Post-transplant cardiometabolic complications
  • Multidisciplinary liver disease care

Research abstracts

24 studies she presented at national and international meetings, from a Presidential Poster in 2014 to Digestive Disease Week 2026.

  1. 2026

    Real-World Liver Stiffness Measurement Predicts Hepatic Decompensation Risk but May Overestimate Risk in Obese MASLD: A Multicenter U.S. Study

    Baveno VIII Consensus Workshop, Baveno, Italy

  2. 2026

    Treatment Discontinuation Determines Real-World Effectiveness of Semaglutide and Tirzepatide in MASLD

    Digestive Disease Week · First author

  3. 2026

    Cost-Effectiveness of Pharmacologic Therapies for MASH With F2–F3 Fibrosis in the United States

    Digestive Disease Week

  4. 2025

    A Value-Based Healthcare Delivery Model for MASH-Related Compensated Cirrhosis and Obesity: Integrated Shared Medical Appointments

    AASLD The Liver Meeting · First author · Poster of Distinction

  5. 2025

    The Obesity Epidemic and Its Impact on Adult Living Liver Donation: A Declining Donor Pool

    AASLD The Liver Meeting · Senior author

  6. 2025

    Trends and Regional Variation in Utilization of U.S. Living Liver Donors With Class II/III Obesity and Associated Recipient Survival, 2002–2023

    AASLD The Liver Meeting · Senior author

  7. 2025

    Long-Term Outcomes in Two Decades of Liver Transplantation Combined With Cardiac Surgery: Single Center Analysis

    World Transplant Congress

  8. 2024

    Familial Hyperammonemia Requiring Liver Transplantation: A Case Series of Type 1 Citrullinemia

    American College of Gastroenterology, Philadelphia · Senior author

  9. 2022

    Prevalence of Diagnosed Primary Biliary Cholangitis and Associated Conditions in the United States

    American College of Gastroenterology, Charlotte

  10. 2022

    The Prevalence and Patient Characteristics of Hepatic Porphyria: A National Database Study

    American College of Gastroenterology, Charlotte

  11. 2019

    Is the Use of Proton Pump Inhibitors Associated With Increased Risk of Ischemic Stroke? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

    American College of Gastroenterology, Philadelphia · First author

  12. 2018

    Differences in Detection of Polyp Pathology Based on Endoscopist Characteristics and the Role of Withdrawal Time

    Digestive Disease Week, Washington, DC · Senior author

  13. 2018

    Factors Associated With Adequate Bowel Preparation on Subsequent Colonoscopy in Patients With an Inadequate Initial Colonoscopy

    Digestive Disease Week, Washington, DC

  14. 2017

    Efficacy and Safety of Drainage of Pancreatic Fluid Collections Using Metal Stents in Patients With Cirrhosis

    American College of Gastroenterology, Orlando · First author

  15. 2017

    Rapid Gastric Emptying: An Under-Recognized Clinical Entity?

    American College of Gastroenterology, Orlando · First author

  16. 2017

    Prevalence and Clinical Features of Rapid Gastric Emptying

    American College of Gastroenterology, Orlando

  17. 2016

    Clinical Characteristics and Associated Diseases in Patients With “Absent Contractility” on High-Resolution Esophageal Manometry (Chicago Classification 3.0)

    American College of Gastroenterology, Las Vegas · First author

  18. 2015

    Timing of ERCP in Patients With Bile Duct Leaks Strongly Correlates to Clinical Outcomes: A Large Multicenter Experience

    Digestive Disease Week, Washington, DC

  19. 2015

    Outcomes in Patients Undergoing Esophageal Stent Placement for Benign Esophageal Conditions: A Large Multicenter Study

    Digestive Disease Week, Washington, DC

  20. 2015

    Endotherapy for Pancreatic Ductal Disruption: A Dual Center Experience

    Digestive Disease Week, Washington, DC

  21. 2015

    EUS-Guided Drainage of Peripancreatic Fluid Collections and Necroses Using a Novel Lumen-Apposing Stent: A Large Multicenter US Experience

    Digestive Disease Week, Washington, DC

  22. 2015

    Diagnostic Accuracy of Directed Cholangioscopic Biopsies and Confocal Laser Endomicroscopy in Cytology-Negative Indeterminate Bile Duct Stricture

    Digestive Disease Week, Washington, DC

  23. 2015

    Efficacy and Safety of Therapeutic ERCP in Patients With Liver Cirrhosis: A Large Multicenter Study

    Digestive Disease Week, Washington, DC

  24. 2014

    Comparison of Capillary Versus Aspiration Technique in EUS-Guided Fine-Needle Aspiration for Solid Pancreatic Lesions

    Presidential Poster, American College of Gastroenterology, Philadelphia

Lectures, grand rounds & presentations

Every talk listed on her CV, from Cleveland Clinic grand rounds to international meetings.

Invited lectures — international

  1. 2026

    Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease

    3rd Best of AASLD, Islamabad, Pakistan

  2. 2025

    Cirrhosis in the Obese Patient

    State of the Art Lecture, Digestive Disease Week, San Diego

  3. 2024

    Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease (MASLD)

    Mexican Congress of Internal Medicine, Monterrey, Mexico

  4. 2024

    Alcohol-Related Liver Disease

    Mexican Congress of Internal Medicine, Monterrey, Mexico

Invited lectures — national

  1. 2026

    Cholestatic Liver Diseases

    APPNA Strategy Meeting, San Francisco

Grand rounds and regional lectures

  1. 2026

    High-Risk MASH in Obesity: From Fibrosis to Cirrhosis

    ObesityLIVE, Cleveland Clinic

  2. 2025

    Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease

    23rd Annual AASLD Liver Update, Northeast Ohio Liver Alliance, Cleveland

  3. 2025

    New Frontiers in the Liver: Treatment of MASLD and MASH, Diabetes and Cardiovascular-Kidney-Metabolic Health

    Institute for Value-Based Medicine, The American Journal of Managed Care, Cleveland

  4. 2025

    Multidisciplinary MASH Care: Closing Gaps Across the Patient Care Journey

    Internal Medicine Grand Rounds, Cleveland Clinic

  5. 2025

    New Therapies for Metabolic Liver Disease

    Cleveland Clinic Gut Insights conference, Hollywood, Florida

  6. 2024

    Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease (formerly known as NAFLD)

    Department of Hospital Medicine Symposium, Cleveland Clinic

  7. 2023

    New Horizons for NAFLD: Demystifying the Old and Looking at the New

    Annual Gastroenterology Update, Cleveland Clinic

  8. 2023

    Obesity and Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease

    17th Annual Obesity Summit, Cleveland Clinic

  9. 2022

    Hyperammonemia: A Revised Diagnostic Approach to an Old Stumbling Block

    Pediatric Gastroenterology Grand Rounds, Cleveland Clinic

Conference presentations

  1. 2026

    Can Metabolic Surgery Regress MASH Cirrhosis? Evidence From Paired Biopsies

    Oral presentation, Digestive Disease Week, Chicago

  2. 2025

    A Value-Based Healthcare Delivery Model for MASH-Related Compensated Cirrhosis and Obesity: Integrated Shared Medical Appointments

    Public Health SIG Abstract Highlights, AASLD The Liver Meeting, Washington, DC

  3. 2024

    Academic Live Debates

    Expert panelist, Northeast Ohio Liver Alliance Liver Meeting

  4. 2022

    Hepatocellular Carcinoma

    Educational session speaker, Northeast Ohio Liver Alliance

  5. 2019

    Increased Access to Liver Transplantation for Patients With Acute-on-Chronic Liver Failure After the Share 35 Rule

    Best of The Liver Meeting oral presentation, AASLD, Boston

  6. 2019

    Is the Use of Proton Pump Inhibitors Associated With Increased Risk of Ischemic Stroke?

    North American Conference of Gastroenterology Fellows, Orlando

Talks to Cleveland Clinic colleagues

  1. 2026

    Risk Stratification and Management of Patients With “At-Risk” MASH

    Bariatric and Metabolic Institute

  2. 2024

    Diabetes and MASLD

    Primary Care Obesity Mini-Fellowship

  3. 2024

    MASLD: Risk Stratification and Principles of Management

    Primary Care Obesity Mini-Fellowship

  4. 2023

    NAFLD: Change in Nomenclature and Management

    Department of Executive Health

Teaching

She taught medical students, residents, and fellows, and Cleveland Clinic gave her its Excellence in Teaching Award three times.

Courses and conferences she led

  1. 2026

    Cleveland Clinic Multidisciplinary MASH Conference

    Activity leader

  2. 2026

    MASH APP Preceptorship Series

    Co-activity leader, for gastroenterology and hepatology advanced practice providers

  3. 2025

    MASLD: New Therapeutic Opportunities

    Co-activity leader, LIVE from Cleveland Clinic webcast series

Teaching materials she created

  1. 2025

    Spotting the Patients at Highest Risk for MASH Progression

    MedPage Today Expert Video Roundtable, with Drs. Naim Alkhouri and Meena Bansal

  2. 2025

    The Future of MASH: More Screening, Drug Options, and Hints of Cirrhosis Regression

    MedPage Today Expert Video Roundtable, with Drs. Naim Alkhouri and Meena Bansal

  3. 2024

    Four Peer-to-Peer videos for clinicians

    MedPage Today: MASLD Nomenclature: Why the Change?; MASLD in Diabetes; Screening for MASH; MASLD and Cardiac Abnormalities

  4. 2024

    Cleveland Clinic guidance on evaluating and risk-stratifying patients with MASLD

    Written for primary care, endocrinology, and Bariatric and Metabolic Institute faculty across the health system

  5. 2023

    Hepatology and Medical Intensive Liver Unit resident education guide

    Plus the Hepatology “Green Team” resident education posters, Cleveland Clinic

In the classroom and at the bedside

  1. 2022–26

    Bedside teaching on the hepatology service

    Residents, fellows, and advanced practice providers, Cleveland Clinic

  2. 2023–26

    Teaching in the Multidisciplinary MASLD Clinic

    Bariatric surgery, obesity medicine, endocrinology, and transplant hepatology fellows

  3. 2023–25

    Seminars on liver structure and function and chronic liver disease

    First- and second-year medical students, Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine

  4. 2024

    Faculty mentor for a fellow’s State of the Art lecture on MASLD

    Gastroenterology fellowship, Cleveland Clinic

  5. 2022

    Cirrhosis Care in the Surgical Patient

    General surgery resident education series, Cleveland Clinic

  6. 2021

    Problem-based learning in gastrointestinal cases

    Medical students, Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine

In the media

Interviews and podcasts

  1. 2026

    Histologic Evidence of MASH Cirrhosis Regression After Metabolic Bariatric Surgery

    HCPLive video interview

  2. 2026

    Management of Portal Hypertension

    Chronic Liver Disease Foundation podcast

  3. 2026

    MASH Cirrhosis and Obesity: Transforming Care With Shared Medical Appointments

    Consult QD, Cleveland Clinic

  4. 2025

    Metabolic Surgery’s Benefit for MASH-Related Cirrhosis

    HCPLive video interview

  5. 2025

    Weight-Loss Surgery Lowers Risk of Developing Complications of Liver Disease in Patients With Cirrhosis and Obesity

    Consult QD, Cleveland Clinic

  6. 2024

    ESSENCE: Semaglutide Bests Placebo in MASH Resolution and Fibrosis Improvement at 72 Weeks

    Healio Gastroenterology Perspective

  7. 2024

    SGLT2 Inhibitors Surpassed Other Antidiabetics as a Viable Option for MASLD in Diabetes

    Healio Gastroenterology Perspective

  8. 2024

    Topline Data Position GLP-1 Newcomer Survodutide as a Potential Leading Treatment for MASH

    Healio Gastroenterology Perspective

  9. 2023

    Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease (MASLD)

    Cleveland Clinic Internal Medicine Medicine Grand Rounds Podcast

  10. 2021

    Optical Character Recognition With Natural Language Processing for Colonoscopy Quality Data

    Endoscopedia, the blog of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy

Research she led

Sobia was proud of her research. Much of it grew out of problems she saw in her own patients.

FLAMES trial

Principal investigator of the Cleveland Clinic award supporting this international randomized trial comparing metabolic surgery and medical therapy for advanced MASH.

View on ClinicalTrials.gov

OPTIMAL trial

Principal investigator of a trial combining TIPS and interval metabolic surgery to treat portal hypertension in advanced liver disease.

View on ClinicalTrials.gov

AI for cardio-kidney-metabolic care

Principal investigator of a 2026 Cleveland Clinic innovation award using AI in the electronic health record to find patients with metabolic liver, heart, and kidney disease and connect them to care.

Helping living liver donors with obesity

Principal investigator of a multicenter study of GLP-1 medicines to help people with obesity become eligible to donate part of their liver.

National research networks

Co-investigator in the NIH NASH Clinical Research Network, the NIH TRACER national liver cancer screening trial, the multicenter POrtAL study of portal hypertension outcomes endorsed by the American Society of Transplantation, and a global trial of the BD Liverty TIPS stent graft.

Studies she was launching

RESoLvE-MASH

Principal investigator of a planned multicenter trial of resmetirom for MASH in Asian patients.

Shared medical appointments for MASH cirrhosis

Principal investigator of a study of the group-visit care model she built for patients with MASH cirrhosis and obesity; Cleveland Clinic accepted her letter of intent.

AI to widen access to obesity and MASLD care

Principal investigator of an investigator-initiated study using AI to find patients with obesity and MASLD and bring them into care.

Cleveland Clinic site leadership

Proposed site principal investigator for trials of resmetirom in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, survodutide’s effect on the heart in MASLD (ELEVATE-LIVER), and blood biomarkers that could replace liver biopsy.

Laboratory collaborations

Collaborator on NIH proposals to model MASLD in lab-grown human liver organoids and to study how bariatric surgery protects against liver cancer.

Service & professional development

  • Editorial Board, ACG Case Reports Journal (2020–2021)
  • Peer reviewer for Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Digestive Diseases and Sciences, Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, and VideoGIE
  • Internal Medicine Residency Recruitment Committee, Cleveland Clinic
  • Digestive Disease Institute Innovation Council, Cleveland Clinic
  • Core faculty, Transplant Hepatology Fellowship, Cleveland Clinic
  • Member, American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, American Gastroenterological Association, and American College of Gastroenterology
  • Value-Based Health Care Delivery Intensive Seminar, Harvard Business School (2018)
  • The Boston Course in Obesity Medicine, Harvard Medical School (2024)

Sobia Laique Memorial Travel Award

AASLD has published a remembrance of Sobia. The AASLD Foundation also established a named travel award in her memory. It supports emerging leaders in multidisciplinary liver care, clinical research, and mentorship — the work she gave herself to. If you would like to give, your gift goes directly to the AASLD Foundation for this award.