Emmet Keeffe, Hepatitis Expert, Dead at 69

By Joyce Frieden, News Editor, MedPage TodayPublished: August 12, 2011

Emmet Keeffe, MD, a noted hepatologist and past president of the American Gastroenterological Association, died this week at 69, according to the HCV Advocate, a website for patients with hepatitis C virus.
Keeffe, author of more than 700 articles, book chapters, and other publications, served as chief of hepatology and medical director of the liver transplant program at Stanford University. He was president of the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, and a member of the Board of Directors of the American Liver Foundation.

Keeffe's research interests included the treatment of chronic hepatitis B and chronic hepatitis C and the use of the hepatitis vaccine, especially in patients with chronic liver disease, and selection and outcomes of liver transplantation, according to the Stanford website.
He also studied the role of standard interferon, interferon alfacon-1, and peginterferon alone or with ribavirin for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C.

Keeffe, who was board certified in internal medicine, received his BS from the University of San Francisco and his MD degree from Creighton University. He did his internship and residency at Oregon Health & Science University, and also completed a fellowship there; he also completed a hepatology fellowship at the University of California San Francisco.
"We extend our condolences to Dr. Keeffe's family, friends, colleagues, and patients," read a post on the HCV Advocate blog. "His death leaves a huge hole in our community."

http://www.medpagetoday.com/PublicHealthPolicy/GeneralProfessionalIssues/28017