Turkish Association For The Study Of The Liver was established in Istanbul in 1992 with the gathering of 12 faculty members from Istanbul, Cerrahpaşa, Marmara, Aegean and Ankara Medical Faculties under the leadership of Prof. Dr. Süleyman Yalçın. Founding members of the Association; Prof. Dr. Süleyman Yalçın, Prof. Dr. Atilla Ökten, Prof. Dr. Muzaffer Gürakar, Prof. Dr. Nurdan Tözün, Prof. Dr. Yücel Batur, Prof. Dr. Özden Uzunalimoğlu, Prof. Dr. Sabahattin Kaymakoğlu, Prof. Dr. Fatih Beşışık, Prof. Dr. Hakan Şentürk, Prof. Dr. Selim Karayalçın, Prof. Dr. Cem Kalaycı, Prof. Dr. Uğur Çevikbaş ve Prof. Dr. Yılmaz Çakaloğlu.

Purpose of the Association
The aim of the association is to encourage all kinds of scientific research on the liver and its diseases, to provide cooperation between researchers and groups, to serve human health by communicating and exchanging information with organizations with the same purpose in the country and abroad. Our association, which still has more than 200 members, opened its İzmir Branch on February 25, 2000, after the amendment of the statute allowing the opening of branches in accordance with the decision taken in the general assembly held in November 1997, followed by the opening of the Ankara branch. Thus, the identity of being a national association was firmly riveted with the establishment of organizations in the provinces where the largest centers related to liver diseases in our country are located at the first moment. Attempts to establish branches in other provinces are planned to follow these two branches gradually. The Liver Research Association is a national and now institutionalized organization of all medical professionals dealing with liver diseases in our country. Since 1995, it has been holding National Hepatology Congresses every 2 years, bringing together everyone related to liver diseases, and facilitating the exchange of ideas with foreign scientists who are invited to each congress. Our association has held the I. in 1995, the II. in 1997, and the III. in 1999. And in 2001, IV. In 2005, 5 National Hepatology Congresses, including the 5th, were held in Istanbul, and around 500 physicians participated in each congress.

National Hepatology Congresses
The Liver Research Society will continue to organize National Hepatology Congresses every two years from now on. Apart from the National Congresses, it has been organizing 5-6 post-graduate training meetings every year since 1993, thus laying the groundwork for the hepatology community to follow the innovations. Our association, which holds post-graduation training meetings with an average of 100 physicians in Istanbul, has held these meetings in cities neighboring Istanbul such as Kocaeli, Bursa and Edirne for the last 2 years, ensuring that regional physicians attend more meetings. Likewise, Ankara and İzmir branches organize postgraduate training meetings for physicians in their regions every year. He has organized scientific sessions on his behalf at the National Gastroenterology and Viral Hepatitis Congresses in close cooperation with other associations with liver diseases such as the Liver Research Association, Turkish Gastroenterology Association and the Association for Combating Viral Hepatitis.

It cooperates with the Association of Organ Transplantation and Organizations in the scientific plan so that liver transplantation can be applied more widely in our country, and maintains its contact with the written and visual media in order to contribute to the awareness of the public. In order to achieve its objectives, the Liver Research Association will continue this cooperation with other scientific associations operating in the fields close to it. One of the most important goals of the Association for Liver Studies is to establish organic ties with the "European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL)" and to include our country within the scope of EASL. Efforts made in this direction since the foundation of the association have resulted in positive results, and a scientific meeting called "EASL Postgraduate Course & First Hepatology Day" (European Liver Research Association Post-Graduation Training Course and First Hepatology Days) was held in Istanbul in May 1998. This meeting was included in the official program of EASL and was introduced through announcements at the EASL congress a year ago. More than 50 foreign participants participated in the meeting, in which more than 400 physicians participated. The initiatives of our association, which introduced itself abroad for the first time and left positive impressions on the occasion of this very successful meeting, continued, and as a result of these, in the 34th EASL Congress held in Naples on 8-12 April 1999, it was decided to hold the 2003 congress of EASL in Istanbul.

EASL Congresses
EASL is a corporate organization authorized to organize Liver Research Association – EASL Congresses in European countries. EASL Congresses are held every year, and they are large organizations attended by around 2500 physicians from all over the world, mainly from European countries. Although it was decided to convene this congress in our country in 2003, the meeting was taken to Geneva with a unilateral decision on the grounds that the US operation against Iraq would not be a safe environment, and this caused great sadness in our community. TKAD organized 5 postgraduate meetings in 2006 and allocated one of them to the "Hepatology School", which especially benefited young researchers. In this 2-day symposium held in Cappadocia, all established and new information about liver diseases was reviewed and new research was "brainstormed". Successful “school” programs will be repeated every two years.

Free Paper Award
The first meeting of 2007 was reserved for the "Update on HBV", and all subjects related to hepatitis B will be reviewed and treatment principles will be discussed under the leadership of experts for 2 days. Again in June 2007, the 6th National Hepatology Congress will be held in Istanbul. At the 5 National Hepatology and “EASL Postgraduate Course & First Hepatology Day” meetings, the best 3 free papers were awarded with money and researchers were encouraged. The same practice will be continued in the next congresses.
Supports Research.

The Liver Research Association supports certain scientific researches and overseas training of researchers at various levels. These supports include short-term training, courses or postgraduate doctoral programs as well as research projects. These supports, which have been limited so far (such as the purchase of any material, the supply of air tickets), will be made more functional in the future with the increase in the financial possibilities of the association. Liver diseases, especially viral hepatitis, have an important place in our country. In this respect, Turkish Liver Research aims to carry out more activities in the coming years to encourage scientific research in this field and to inform the public about liver diseases.