My journey with Autoimmune hepatitis started with taking care of children, some as young as a few months old who were diagnosed with this disease. But it took on a different meaning when I met Nicole as her medical provider and walked with her through her trials and tribulations as she bravely faced the burden of this disease along with the extensive side effects of medications.

What subsequently started as a small research study, revealed startling results: that African American children, particularly females, had a worse outcome of Autoimmune hepatitis despite receiving the same therapy as Caucasian children. This was a landmark study that has now left me asking the question: Why? What makes African American children more vulnerable to this disease despite receiving adequate treatment. And who could be a better partner to help answer this question than Nicole herself?

Our foundation’s approach is to invest in high-quality research to better understand Autoimmune hepatitis in African American children particularly females. Our goal is to investigate the impact of race and ethnic background in response to standard treatment so that we can develop a personalized treatment approach to improve outcomes of African American children with Autoimmune hepatitis.

Professor of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition Emory University School of Medicine
 

Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta