The National Institute of Diabetes & Digestive & Kidney Diseases

M.D., Hebrew University Hadassah Medical School, Jerusalem, Israel, 2000

M.Sc. in Neurophysiology, Hebrew University Hadassah Medical School, Jerusalem, Israel, 2000

Resident (Medicine) 2000-2003, Rabin Medical Center , Petach-Tiqwa, Israel

Fellow (Gastroenterology and hepatology) 2003-2006, Rabin Medical Center , Petach-Tiqwa, Israel

Clinical research fellow, Liver Diseases Branch, NIDDK, 2006-2009

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common liver disorder in the western world and is closely associated with the metabolic syndrome, insulin resistance and obesity. My studies focus on the genetic aspects of fatty liver disease, its pathogenesis, the mechanism of action of various treatment options and prediction of response to treatment.

I am also studying chronic hepatitis C and its complications. We are attempting to elucidate the mechanism of action of ribavirin, a crucial medication in hepatitis C treatment, and to determine its effect on the interferon-signaling pathway in the liver. I am also studying the effect of hepatitis C virus eradication on lipid metabolism and the risk for developing atherosclerotic complications.

Clinical Protocols

• Viral kinetics and liver gene expression in response to ribavirin and peginterferon therapy of chronic hepatitis C (08-DK-0182)
• Hepatitis C eradication and progression of atherosclerosis (08-DK-0106)

Rotman, Y., Koh, C. Zmuda, J. M., Kleiner, D. E., Liang, T. J.. 2010. The association of genetic variability in PNPLA3 with histological severity of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Hepatology (In press)

Feld, J. J., Lutchman, G. A., Heller, T., Hara, K., Pfeiffer, J. K., Leff, R. D., Meek, C., Rivera, M., Ko, M., Koh, C., Rotman, Y., Ghany, M. G., Haynes-Williams, V., Neumann, A. U., Liang, T. J. and Hoofnagle, J. H. 2010. Ribavirin improves early responses to peginterferon through enhanced interferon signaling. Gastroenterology (In press)

Rotman, Y., Borg, B., Soza, A., Feld, J. J., Modi, A. A., Loomba, R., Lutchman, G., Rivera, E., Doo, E., Ghany, M. G., Heller, T., Neumann, A. U., Liang, T. J. and Hoofnagle, J. H. 2010. Low- and Standard-Dose Peginterferon Alfa-2a for Chronic Hepatitis C, Genotype 2 or 3: Efficacy, Tolerability, Viral Kinetics and Cytokine Response. Aliment Pharmacol Ther 31(9):1018-27 (PubMed).

Ahlenstiel, G., Titerence, R. H., Koh, C., Edlich, B., Feld, J. J., Rotman, Y., Ghany, M. G., Hoofnagle, J. H., Liang, T. J., Heller, T. and Rehermann, B. 2010. Natural Killer Cells Are Polarized Toward Cytotoxicity in Chronic Hepatitis C in an Interferon-Alfa-Dependent Manner. Gastroenterology 138(1):325-35.

Rotman, Y., Brown, T. A. and Hoofnagle, J. H. 2009. Evaluation of the patient with hepatitis B. Hepatology 49(5 Suppl): S22-7.

Rotman, Y., Katz, L., Cohen, M., Cohen-Ezra, O., Manhaim, V., Braun, M., Ben-Ari, Z. and Tur-Kaspa, R. 2009. Low weight predicts neutropenia and peginterferon alfa-2a dose reductions during treatment for chronic hepatitis C. J Viral Hepat 16(5): 340-5.

Rotman, Y. and Liang, T. J. 2009. Coinfection of Hepatitis C Virus and Human Immunodeficiency Virus: Virological, Immunological, and Clinical Outcomes. J Virol.

Rotman, Y. and Liang, T. J. 2009. Hepatitis C Virus. in: Clinical Virology. D. D. Richman, R. J. Whitley and F. G. Hayden, eds. Washington, DC, ASM Press.

Schmilovitz-Weiss, H., Niv, Y., Pappo, O., Halpern, M., Sulkes, J., Braun, M., Barak, N., Rotman, Y., Cohen, M., Waked, A., Tur-Kaspa, R. and Ben-Ari, Z. 2008. The 13C-Caffeine Breath Test Detects Significant Fibrosis in Patients With Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis. J Clin Gastroenterol 42(4): 408-412.

von Rosenvinge, E. C., Koh, C., Rotman, Y. and Lim, R. M. 2008. Electronic clinical challenges and images in GI. Gastrointestinal malignant melanoma. Gastroenterology 135(1): e5-6.

Cohen, M., Bachmatov, L., Ben-Ari, Z., Rotman, Y., Tur-Kaspa, R. and Zemel, R. 2007. Development of specific antibodies to an ARF protein in treated patients with chronic HCV infection. Dig Dis Sci 52(9): 2427-32.

Schmilovitz-Weiss, H., Tovar, A., Halpern, M., Sulkes, J., Braun, M., Rotman, Y., Tur-Kaspa, R. and Ben-Ari, Z. 2006. Predictive value of serum globulin levels for the extent of hepatic fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis B infection. J Viral Hepat 13(10): 671-7.

Bar-Yosef, O., Rotman, Y. and Nelken, I. 2002. Responses of neurons in cat primary auditory cortex to bird chirps: effects of temporal and spectral context. J Neurosci 22(19): 8619-32.

Rotman, Y., Bar-Yosef, O. and Nelken, I. 2001. Relating cluster and population responses to natural sounds and tonal stimuli in cat primary auditory cortex. Hear Res 152(1-2): 110-27.

Rotman, Y. and Tur-Kaspa, R. 2001. Transmission of hepatitis B and C viruses--update. Isr Med Assoc J 3(5): 357-9.

Nelken, I., Rotman, Y. and Bar Yosef, O. 1999. Responses of auditory-cortex neurons to structural features of natural sounds. Nature 397(6715): 154-7.

Nelken, I., Rotman, Y. and Bar Yosef, O. 1997. Specializations of the auditory system for the analysis of natural sounds. in: Central Auditory Processing and Neural Modeling. J. F. Brugge and P. F. Poon, Plenum Press: 43-54.