Dr. Chang is Professor of Medicine at the National Cheng Kung University Hospital in Tainan, Taiwan. After receiving his Doctorate of Medicine from Taipei Medical College in Taipei, Taiwan, Dr. Chang completed a rotating internship and residency in internal medicine at the Veterans General Hospital in Taipei, where he was named Chief Resident in Internal Medicine and where he then completed a research fellowship in gastroenterology.  Professor Chang has subsequently held a variety of other professional posts including Director of Institute of Molecular Medicine, Director of Institute of Clinical Medicine, Medical College, National Cheng Kung University and Chief of Division of Gastroenterology, National Cheng Kung University Hospital.

Dr. Chang is a member of the Digestive Endoscopy Society of the Taiwan, The Gastroenterological Society of Taiwan, and the Taiwan Association of the Study of Liver Disease.

Recently Dr. Chang has chaired the 36th Annual Meeting of the Gastroenterological Society of Taiwan and the Fifth National Health Research Institutes Conference on Viral Hepatitis and Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Professor Chang has disclosed the following information:

He has no relevant financial relationships with any commercial interests to disclose

Professor Wasim Jafri

Dr. Jafri is currently Chair and Professor of Medicine at the Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan, where he is also Head of Gastroenterology. After receiving his MBBS from the University of Karachi, Dr. Jafri did his postgraduate training in internal medicine and gastroenterology in the United Kingdom. He later completed a fellowship in hepatology at the University of Miami, Florida. He worked as Chief of Medicine in Saudi Arabia, subsequently returning to Pakistan and joining the Aga Khan University in 1987.

Dr. Jafri is a member of the Royal College of Physicians of the United Kingdom and is a Fellow of the Royal Colleges of London, Glasgow, and Edinburgh.  He is also a Fellow of the American College of Physicians and of the American College of Gastroenterology.

A distinguished researcher and scholar, Dr. Jafri has organized courses and workshops both nationally and internationally on the subjects of gastroenterology and hepatology. In recognition of his educational contributions, he received the Outstanding Teachers Award of the Aga Khan University. In addition, he serves on the International Advisory Board of the famous Textbook of Medicine by Davidson. A well-published author in gastroenterology and hepatology, Dr. Jafri sits on the editorial board of several national medical journals and is reviewer to many international journals in his specialty.

With a main interest in chronic viral hepatitis, Dr. Jafri heads the Hepatitis Taskforce of the Aga Khan University, which actively studies the preventive aspects involved in health policy making and suggests ways and means to control the spread of hepatitis in Pakistan.  He has been the General Secretary of the Pakistan Society of Gastroenterology and is currently the Senior Vice-President of the Pakistan Society of Hepatology.

At the present time, Dr. Jafri is also the Director of the Training Center of the World Congress of Gastroenterology at the Aga Khan University, serving as Group Leader of their eight Training Centers throughout the world.  His other appointments include positions as Executive Council Member of the Asian-Pacific Association for the Study of the Liver and Advisory Board member for APHEX. Dr. Jafri is also a member of the ACT-HBV^® Initiative (Advancing the Clinical Treatment of Hepatitis B Virus) for the Asia-Pacific region, serving as Chair of the ACT-HBV^® Pakistan Chapter. He is a member of the international faculty for the Web site Gastro/Hep, contributing his much-valued expertise in gastroenterology and hepatology to its programs.

Professor Jafri has disclosed the following information:

He has no relevant financial relationships with any commercial interests to disclose

Professor Yun-Fan Liaw

Professor Yun-Fan Liaw is Professor of Medicine at Medical College, Chang Gung University, Taipei, Taiwan. After graduating from the College of Medicine of the National Taiwan University, Professor Liaw went on to specialize in gastroenterology, becoming Director of the Department of Hepatogastroenterology, a position he held from 1976 to 2001. During this time, Professor Liaw was also the Director of the Liver Research Unit of Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, where he is now an Advisor.

Professor Liaw has professional affiliations with numerous organizations in his field, including the Formosan Medical Association, Gastroenterological Society of Taiwan, Taiwan Association for the Study of the Liver (TASL), Asian-Pacific Association for the Study of the Liver (APASL), European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL), International Association for the Study of the Liver (IASL), and American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD). He served as president of TASL from 1994 to 1995 and of APASL from 2000 to 2002.

Professor Liaw’s main clinical and research interests are in hepatitis and hepatoma. Having published extensively in these areas, he has also served as a reviewer for many journals and is currently on the editorial board of Hepatology, Journal of Hepatology, Journal of Viral Hepatitis, Antiviral Therapy, and Hepatology Review. He is a former Editor and Senior Editor of the Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology. Among the awards he has received are the Distinguished Research Award from the National Science Council, the Academic Award from the Ministry of Education and Distinguished Scientist Award from Prime Minister Taiwan. Professor Liaw has also been elected Academician from the Academia Sinica, Taiwan.

Professor Liaw has disclosed the following information:

	Has acted as a speaker/consultant for Bristol-Myers Squibb Company and Roche Laboratories
	Has received grants/research support from Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Idenix Pharmaceuticals, and SciClone Pharmaceuticals
	Has received honoraria from Bristol-Myers Squibb Company and Roche Laboratories

Professor Stephen Locarnini

Dr. Locarnini is the Head of Research and Molecular Development at the Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory in North Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, and Director of the laboratory’s World Health Organization Collaborating Centres for Virus Reference and Research. He received his Bachelor of Science degree with honors, and his Doctorate in Philosophy, from Monash University in Clayton, Victoria, and his Bachelor of Medicine/Bachelor of Surgery degree from the University of Melbourne in Parkville, Victoria.

He is a member of numerous medical organizations, including the Australian Society for Microbiology, the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, and the European Association for the Study of Liver Disease, in addition to being a Fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists in London, United Kingdom. 

Dr. Locarnini is an editor for Antiviral Therapy and a member of the editorial boards of Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, Antiviral Chemistry and Chemotherapy, Antiviral Research, and Viral Hepatitis Reviews. He has authored or coauthored more than 200 journal articles and book chapters.

His main areas of interest include viral hepatitis and antiviral chemotherapy, which includes basic virology of the various agents of hepatitis, the immunopathogenesis of hepatitis, and prevention and public health control measures.

Professor Locarnini has disclosed the following information:

He has no relevant financial relationships with any commercial interests to disclose

Professor Jose Sollano

Dr. Sollano is Professor of Medicine and Chief of Gastroenterology at the University of Santo Tomas in Manila, the Philippines. He is also Immediate Past Chairman of Medicine at St. Luke’s Medical Center and School of Medicine in Quezon City, the Philippines.

He received his medical degree from the University of Santo Tomas Faculty of Medicine and Surgery and his training in internal medicine and gastroenterology from the university hospital.  A recipient of the Japanese Monbusho scholarship and the German DAAD Foreign Student Grant, he proceeded to work with Professor Kunio Okuda at Chiba University, Japan, and with Professor Nib Soehendra at the University Hospital of Hamburg, Germany. In 1989, he served as a training officer and in 1996 was appointed Chief of the Section of Gastroenterology of the University of Santo Tomas. He is a member of the editorial board of Chinese Journal of Gastroenterology, Digestive Diseases, Digestive Endoscopy, Journal of Gastroenterology, and Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology.

Dr. Sollano is the Immediate Past President of the Asia Pacific Association for the Study of the Liver. He is a Past President of the Philippine Society of Gastroenterology and Digestive Endoscopy and the Philippine College of Physicians. He is a member of the Steering Committee of the Asian Pacific Digestive Week, the Asia Pacific Masters of Endoscopy Forum, the Committee on Guidelines and Publication of the Organisation Mondiale de Gastro-Entérologie, and the Asian Oceanic Pancreatic Association.

Professor Sollano has disclosed the following information:

He has no relevant financial relationships with any commercial interests to disclose

MDG Development Group has disclosed the following information:

Has a client/provider relationship with Bristol-Myers Squibb Company