Bio
Dr. Samuel So is the Lui Hac Minh Professor and Professor of Surgery at Stanford University School of Medicine. He is the founder of the multidisciplinary liver cancer program at the Stanford Cancer Center, and the founder and executive director of the Asian Liver Center at Stanford. A native of Hong Kong, Dr. So trained in surgery at the University of Hong Kong and the University of Minnesota where he also completed a fellowship in multi-organ transplantation. In 1995, he co-founded the Study of Pediatric Liver Tranplantation (SPLIT), a cooperative research registry of pediatric liver transplant centers in North America.
Dr. So is recognized worldwide for his expertise in chronic hepatitis B and primary liver cancer prevention, research, treatment, advocacy, and health policy. To raise hepatitis B awareness, he launched the Jade Ribbon Campaign in 2001 and cofounded the San Francisco Hep B Free movement. While serving on the Institute of Medicine's Board of Population Health and Public Health Practices, he advocated for addressing viral hepatitis in the United States, leading to the 2010 IOM report on hepatitis and liver cancer, which provided the framework for the first national viral hepatitis stratefic plan. He has also served as a special adviser on viral hepatitis to the World Health Organization Western Pacific regional office.
In 2010, he received the CDC and ATSDR Honor Award for mobilizing people and resources in ways that have changed global public health policies related to hepatitis B. In 2014, the White House recognized his global and national leadership in the prevention and control of viral hepatitis. He was the architect and subject matter expert behind the California legislation that made it the first state to mandate primary care institutions to provide hepatitis B and C screening and treatment services. In 2023, the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) honored Dr. So with its Distinguished Advocacy Award.
