Hepatitis Outreach Network (HONE™) Advisory Board Members

Marc Ghany, MD
Marc Ghany, MD works in the Liver Diseases Branch at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland.

Robert Perrillo, MD
Robert Perrillo, MD, is the Director of the Transplant Hepatology Fellowship Program at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas. He chairs the Hepatitis B Special Interest Group (SIG) of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD), which was launched in 2009. This is AASLD’s largest SIG, with approximately 150 members, including many who are distinguished international members. Prior to joining the Hepatology Division at Baylor in 2006, Dr. Perrillo was Director of Academic Affairs, Section of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, at the Ochsner Clinic Foundation in New Orleans, and Clinical Professor of Medicine at Tulane University. Dr. Perrillo is internationally recognized for his work on antiviral therapy of chronic hepatitis B. He is an opinion leader in this area and has been actively engaged in the treatment of hepatitis B since the early 1980s.

Eric Rude, MSW
Eric Rude, MSW, is Director of New York City’s Office of Viral Hepatitis Coordination within the Division of Disease Control. Mr. Rude received his master of social work degree at the University of Denver in Colorado and his undergraduate degree at the University of Vermont. His career in health care and infectious disease prevention has spanned over 20 years and includes employment with various community-based organizations and government agencies.

Rhoda Sperling, MD 
Dr. Rhoda Sperling is the Research Director and Vice Chair of the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Science at Icahn School of Medicine. She has formal training in obstetrics/gynecology, infectious diseases, and epidemiology. She is an experienced clinical researcher and women's health practitioner and has contributed to clinical practice guideline committees (sponsored by federal and local agencies as well as professional societies) encompassing a broad range of topics related to infectious diseases and women's health. Currently, her funded research projects are focused in the areas of immunologic changes in pregnancy and in adult vaccination.

Tram Tran, MD
Tram Tran, MD, is the Medical Director of Liver Transplantation at the Center for Liver Disease and Transplantation at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Dr. Tran's primary areas of research interest involve hepatitis B and C, liver transplantation, and recurrent disease following transplantation, HIV and hepatitis co-infection, and hepatocellular carcinoma. She has authored and co-authored numerous abstracts, reviews and chapters in these fields. Dr. Tran is a member of numerous professional organizations including the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, the American Society of Transplantation and the American Gastroenterological Association. Dr. Tran received her medical degree at New York Medical College. She completed her internship and residency in internal medicine at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where she was named both Intern and Resident of the Year. She fulfilled fellowships in gastroenterology and hepatology at UCLA and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

John Ward, MD
John Ward, MD, is Director of the Division of Viral Hepatitis at NCHHSTP, CDC. Dr. Ward is responsible for planning and directing national and international research, surveillance, and public health programs related to viral hepatitis prevention and control.  Dr. Ward has authored over 100 scientific publications and recently served as editor for Silent Victories, a history of public health in the 20th century published in 2007 by Oxford University Press. He received his medical degree from the University of Alabama School of Medicine in Birmingham and completed an internship and residency in internal medicine at the University of Alabama Hospitals with additional postgraduate training at the London School of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, CDC’s Epidemic Intelligence Service and the infectious diseases fellowship program at the University of Washington Medical Center in Seattle. He holds a clinical faculty appointment with the Department of Medicine, Emory University.

HONE is a not for profit program through The Mount Sinai Medical Center.