Scientist and Professor of Hepatology and Chronic Liver Failure at the Roger Williams Institute of Liver Studies, King’s College London. She works as a Consultant Hepatologist on the King’s College Hospital Liver Unit with a specialist interest in hepatic encephalopathy and the complications of cirrhosis.  

Debbie Shawcross is an internationally recognised liver specialist and passionate advocate for tackling the growing burden of chronic liver disease. Frequently featured on TV, radio, and in print, she speaks out on the dangers of excessive alcohol use and the urgent need for prevention. 

She was elected to the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) Scientific Committee and Governing Board in October 2022 and is currently serving as its first female Secretary General.  

As an advocate for high quality education and training in gastroenterology and hepatology she served as a Health Education England London Gastroenterology Training Programme Director for 10 years serving on the British Society Gastroenterology (BSG) Specialist Advisory Committee and Training Committee, BSG Mentor and an active member of the BSG Supporting Women in Gastroenterology. She is Chair of the BSG Research Committee and sits on the BSG Executive Committee and Council, Clinical Advisor for the British Liver Trust and a Trustee for GUTS UK Charity. 

Her research programme characterises the immunobiology of chronic liver failure focusing specifically on the gut-liver-brain axis in the context of the gut microbiome as a driver of immune dysfunction, inflammation and encephalopathy. She is leading the field in clinical trials of faecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) in Europe and is Chief Investigator of the NIHR-funded EME UK multicentre randomised placebo-controlled clinical trial of FMT (capsules) [PROMISE Trial] in patients with metabolic dysfunction-associated and alcohol-related cirrhosis.