Skip to main content
Sign In

Resources For: Prospective Students | Current Students | Parents | Faculty & Staff | Alumni & Friends | Patients

 

Ronald J. Sokol, MD

Professor of Pediatrics
 

Section Head, Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition
Vice Chair, Clinical and Translational Research
Director, Colorado Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute
Arnold Silverman, MD, Endowed Chair in Digestive Health
Program Director, Clinical and Translational Research Center
Associate Medical Director, Pediatric Liver Center and Liver Transplantation Program

Contact
   Phone: 720-777-1234 (TBD)
   E-mail: (TBD)

Affiliations
Section of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, Department of Pediatrics
Colorado Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute
Clinical and Translational Research Center
Children's Hospital Colorado

Certifications
Pediatrics, Pediatric Gastroenterology

Ronald J. Sokol, MD, earned his medical degree from the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine in 1976. He completed his Pediatric Residency at the University of Colorado School of Medicine in 1979, followed by a further year as Chief Resident, and his fellowship in Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition at the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and the University of Cincinnati in 1983.

Dr. Sokol joined the faculty of the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and Children's Hospital Colorado in 1983. He was appointed Professor of Pediatrics in 1995 and Vice Chair of Clinical and Translational Research for the Department of Pediatrics in 1999. He has served as the Program Director of the Clinical Translational Research Center (formerly the Pediatric General Clinical Research Center) since 1998 and as Section Head of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition since 2006. In 2008, he became Director of the Colorado Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute.

Dr. Sokol's major scientific interests include treatment and prevention of complications of cholestatic liver diseases; human vitamin E deficiency states; oxidative mechanisms of liver injury in cholestasis, copper toxicity, and hepatic steatosis; regulation of mitochondrial dysfunction in hepatocellular necrosis and apoptosis; the use of antioxidants in human health and disease; and developing a severity of illness scoring system for acute liver failure. Dr. Sokol is the Chair of the Biliary Atresia Research Consortium and the Cholestatic Liver Disease Consortium. He is the recipient of extensive grant support for his many research projects.

Dr. Sokol has received many awards and recognitions throughout his career. He is consistently cited as one of the Best Doctors in America.

Dr. Sokol has published more than 500 journal articles, abstracts, books, book chapters, and other professional publications. He has been a reviewer for more than forty medical journals, as well as a member of many medical journal editorial boards. He is also a frequently invited speaker and visiting professor at local, national, and international conferences and events.

Dr. Sokol serves on numerous boards and committees at the institutional, state, regional, and national levels.

  • Who's Who in Medicine and Healthcare, 2009-present
  • Public Policy/Advocacy Task Force, American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases/American Liver Foundation, 2008-present
  • Publications Committee, NASPGHAN, 2006-present
  • Editorial Board Member, Hepatology, 2005-present
  • Associate Editor, Seminars in Liver Disease, 2004-present
  • Liver Action Plan Committee Member, NIDDK, NIH, 2004-present
  • Member, APS, 2003-present
  • Member, Association for Patient-Oriented Research, 2003-present
  • Best Doctors in America, 2003-present
  • Editorial Board Member, Liver Transplantation, 1999-present
  • Principal Investigator and Director, Colorado Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute, NCRR, NIH, 2008-2013
  • America's Top Doctors, 2011
  • Chair, Childhood Liver Diseases Research and Education Network (ChiLDREN), NIDDK, NIH, 2010-2011
  • Nominating Committee, American Association for the Study of Liver Disease, 2010
  • Chair, Grant Review Panel, Boettcher Foundation, Webb-Waring Biomedical Research Awards, University of Colorado, 2010
  • Nominating Committee, SPR, 2010
  • Special Emphasis Panel/Scientific Review Group, ZDK1 GRB-6 J2, NIDDK, NIH, 2010
  • The Arnold Silverman, MD, Endowed Chair in Digestive Health, Children’s Hospital Colorado, 2010
  • National Board of Directors, American Liver Foundation, 2007-2010
  • National Commission for Digestive Diseases, Liver and Biliary Systems Working Group, NIH, 2006-2010
  • Special Emphasis Panel, ZDK1 GRB-R M4 1, Digestive Diseases and Nutrtion Mentored and Training Awards, NIH, 2009
  • James E. Strain M.D. Award, The Children’s Hospital, 2009
  • Pediatric Liver Research Award, Alpha-1 Kids, Alpha-1 Association, 2009
  • Member, Society for Clinical and Translational Sciences, 2009
  • Initial Review Group, ZDK1 GRB-7 M1 2, NIH, 2009
  • Initial Review Panel, NIH Director’s New Innovator Awards, NIH, 2009
  • Invited Speaker and Panelist, Advancing Rare Diseases Research Through Networks and Collaboration, ORDR, NCRR, NIH, Natcher Conference Center, NIH, Bethesda, Maryland, 2009
  • Harry Shwachman Award, NASPGHAN, 2009
  • 5280 Magazine’s Top Doctors in Denver, 2006-2009
  • Chair, Steering Committee of Rare Diseases Clinical Research Network, ORD/NCRR, NIH, 2006-2009
  • Who’s Who in America, 2005-2009
  • Chair and Principal Investigator, Cholestatic Liver Disease Consortium, ORD/NCRR/NIDDK, NIH, 2004-2009
  • Grant Steering Committee and Scientific Advisory Board Member, Studies in Pediatric Liver Transplantation, NIDDK, NIH, 2004-2009
  • Chair, Steering Committee for the Biliary Atresia Research Consortium, NIDDK, NIH, 2002-2009
  • Invited Speaker, Korean Society of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition Annual Meeting, COEX Convention Center, Seoul, Korea, 2008
  • Invited Speaker, Postgraduate Course 2008, Viral Hepatitis: Present and Future, Asian Pacific Association for the Study of the Liver, The 19th Conference, COEX Convention Center, Seoul, Korea, 2008
  • Invited Speaker, Pediatric Liver Update 2008, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya Medical Center, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 2008
  • Invited Speaker, 2nd National Peaediatric Research Conference, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya Medical Center, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 2008
  • Keynote Speaker, Pediatric Liver Disease Symposium, Pacific Northwest Chapter of American Liver Foundation, Seattle, Washington, 2008
  • Invited Speaker, Symposium 1 - Metabolic Disorders and Liver: Novel Diagnostic and Therapeutic Strategies, World Congress of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition 3, Iguassu Falls, Brazil, 2008
  • Special Emphasis Review Panel, NIDDK, NIH, 2006, 2008
  • Chair, Advocacy Committee, NASPGHAN, 2007-2008
  • Member, Liver and Biliary Systems Working Group, NCDD, NIH, 2006-2007
  • Scientific Advisory Committee, Children’s Research Institute, Children’s National Medical Center, Washington, D.C., 2004-2007
  • Member, Medical Advisory Board for the Alagille Syndrome Alliance, 2003-2007
  • America’s Top Pediatricians, 2002-2006

Publications in PubMed (partial list)

  • Sokol RJ, Narkewicz MR. Liver and pancreas. In: Hay WW Jr, Levin MJ, Sondheimer JM, Deterding RR, editors. Current pediatric diagnosis and treatment. 19th ed. New York: McGraw Hill; 2009.
  • Gumpricht E, Devereaux MW, Dahl R, Soden JS, Sparagna GC, Leonard SW, Traber MG, Sokol RJ. Resistance of young rat hepatic mitochondria to bile acid-induced permeability transition: potential role of alpha tocopherol. Pediatr Res. 2008 Nov;64(5):498-504. [PMID: 18596569]
  • Lu BR, Gralla J, Liu E, Dobyns EL, Narkewicz MR, Sokol RJ. Evaluation of a scoring system for assessing prognosis in pediatric acute liver failure. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2008 Oct;6(10):1140-5. [PMID: 18928939]
  • Laguna TA, Sontag MK, Osberg I, Wagener JS, Accurso FJ, Sokol RJ. Decreased total serum coenzyme-Q10 concentrations: a longitudinal study in children with cystic fibrosis. J Pediatr. 2008 Sep;153(3):402-7. [PMID: 18534204]
  • Sundaram SS, Bove KE, Lovell MA, Sokol RJ. Mechanisms of disease: Inborn errors of bile acid synthesis. Nat Clin Pract Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2008 Aug;5(8):456-68. [PMID: 18577977]
  • Sokol RJ. Swiss outcomes in biliary atresia: are there lessons to be learned? J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr. 2008 Mar;46(3):238-40. [PMID: 18376239]
  • Papas KA, Sontag MK, Pardee C, Sokol RJ, Sagel SD, Accurso FJ, Wagener JS. A pilot study on the safety and efficacy of a novel antioxidant rich formulation in patients with cystic fibrosis. J Cyst Fibros. 2008 Jan;7(1):60-7. [PMID: 17569601]
  • Petersen C, Harder D, Abola Z, Alberti D, Becker T, Chardot C, Davenport M, Deutschmann A, Kobayashi H, Kvist N, Leonhardt J, Melter M, Pakarinen M, Pawlowska J, Petersons A, Pfister E-D, Rygl M, Schreiber R, Sokol RJ, Ure BM, Veiga C, Verkade H, Wildhaber B, Yerushalmi B, Kelly D. European Biliary Atresia Registries - Summary of a Symposium. Eur J Pediatr Surg. 2008;18:111-6.
  • Sokol RJ. Corticosteroid treatment in biliary atresia: Tonic or toast? Hepatology. 2007 Dec;46(6):1675-8. [PMID: 18046714]
  • Sundaram SS, Sokol RJ. The multiple facets of ABCB4 (MDR3) deficiency. Curr Treat Options Gastroenterol. 2007 Dec;10(6):495-503. [PMID: 18221610]
  • DeRusso PA, Ye W, Shepherd R, Haber BA, Shneider BL, Whitington PF, Schwarz KB, Bezerra JA, Rosenthal P, Karpen S, Squires RH, Magee JC, Robuck PR, Sokol RJ. Growth failure and outcomes in infants with biliary atresia: a report from the Biliary Atresia Research Consortium. Hepatology. 2007 Nov;46(5):1632-8. [PMID: 17929308]
  • Sokol RJ, Daniels SR. The future of pediatrics: a festschrift for M. Douglas Jones, Jr, MD. J Pediatr. 2007 Nov;151(5 Suppl):S1-2. [PMID: 17950315]
  • Woodruff SA, Sokol RJ. Colonic polyp as lead point for intussusception. J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr. 2007 Sep;45(3):279-80. [PMID: 17873737]
  • Belkind-Gerson J, Guarino A, Sokol RJ. The 2008 World Congress Working Group Reports: an opportunity for a worldwide consensus to affect children's digestive health. J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr. 2007 Aug;45(2):172-3. [PMID: 17667709]
  • Lee WS, Sokol RJ. Liver disease in mitochondrial disorders. Semin Liver Dis. 2007 Aug;27(3):259-73. [PMID: 17682973]
  • Soden JS, Devereaux MW, Haas JE, Gumpricht E, Dahl R, Gralla J, Traber MG, Sokol RJ. Subcutaneous vitamin E ameliorates liver injury in an in vivo model of steatocholestasis. Hepatology. 2007 Aug;46(2):485-95. [PMID: 17659596]
  • Sokol RJ, Shepherd RW, Superina R, Bezerra JA, Robuck P, Hoofnagle JH. Screening and outcomes in biliary atresia: summary of a National Institutes of Health workshop. Hepatology. 2007 Aug;46(2):566-81. [PMID: 17661405]
  • Kahn MG, Kaplan D, Sokol RJ, DiLaura RP. Configuration challenges: implementing translational research policies in electronic medical records. Acad Med. 2007 Jul;82(7):661-9. [PMID: 17595562]
  • Mack CL, Falta MT, Sullivan AK, Karrer F, Sokol RJ, Freed BM, Fontenot AP. Oligoclonal expansions of CD4+ and CD8+ T-cells in the target organ of patients with biliary atresia. Gastroenterology. 2007 Jul;133(1):278-87. [PMID: 17631149]
  • Lee WS, Sokol RJ. Mitochondrial hepatopathies: advances in genetics and pathogenesis. Hepatology. 2007 Jun;45(6):1555-65. [PMID: 17538929]
  • Sokol RJ. Selection bias and vitamin E status in cystic fibrosis. J Pediatr. 2007 May; 150(5):e85-6. [PMID: 17452206]
  • Sokol RJ. Presentation of the 2006 Shwachman Award to Judith M. Sondheimer, MD. J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr. 2007 Jan;44(1):1. [PMID: 17204942]
  • Brady H, Lamb MM, Sokol RJ, Ross CA, Seifert JA, Rewers MJ, Norris JM. Plasma micronutrients are associated with dietary intake and environmental tobacco smoke exposure in a pediatric population. Public Health Nutr. 2007;10(7):712-8. [PMID: 17381951]
  • Cantin, AM, White TB, Cross CE, Jay-Forman H, Sokol RJ, Borowitz D. Antioxidants in cystic fibrosis. Conclusions from the CF antioxidant workshop, Bethesda, Maryland, November 11-12, 2003. Free Rad Biol Med. 2007; 42(1):15-31. [PMID: 17157190]
  • Feranchak A, Sokol RJ. Medical and nutritional management of cholestasis in the infant and child. In: Suchy FJ, Sokol RJ, Balistreri WF, editors. Liver disease in children. New York: Cambridge University Press; 2007.
  • O’Connor J, Sokol RJ. Copper metabolism and copper storage disorders. In: Suchy FJ, Sokol RJ, Balistreri WF, editors. Liver disease in children. New York: Cambridge University Press; 2007.
  • Sokol RJ. A new larger look to inflammatory bowel disease. J Pediatr. 2007;15:A2.
  • Sokol RJ. Mitochondrial hepatopathies. In: Suchy FJ, Sokol RJ, Balistreri WF, editors. Liver disease in children. New York: Cambridge University Press; 2007.
  • Sokol RJ. Pediatric liver disease: translating discoveries into practice. Semin Liver Dis. 2007;27:231-2.
  • Sokol RJ, Narkewicz MR. Liver and pancreas. In: Hay WW, Levin MJ, Sondheimer JM, Deterding RR, editors. Current pediatric diagnosis and treatment. 18th ed. New York: McGraw Hill; 2007.
  • Suchy FJ, Sokol RJ, Balistreri WF, editors. Liver disease in children. 3rd ed. New York: Cambridge University Press; 2007.
  • Barnes BH, Narkewicz MR, Sokol RJ. Spontaneous perforation of the bile duct in a toddler: the role of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography in diagnosis and therapy. J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr. 2006 Nov;43(5):695-7. [PMID: 17130751]
  • Mack CL, Tucker RM, Lu BR, Sokol RJ, Fontenot AP, Ueno Y, Gill RG. Cellular and humoral autoimmunity directed at bile duct epithelia in murine biliary atresia. Hepatology. 2006 Nov;44(5):1231-9. [PMID: 17058262]
  • Stene LC, Honeyman MC, Hoffenberg EJ, Haas JE, Sokol RJ, Emery L, Taki I, Norris JM, Erlich HA, Eisenbarth GS, Rewers M. Rotavirus infection frequency and risk of celiac disease autoimmunity in early childhood: a longitudinal study. Am J Gastroenterol. 2006 Oct;101(10):2333-40. [PMID: 17032199]
  • Whitworth JR, Mack CL, O'Connor JA, Narkewicz MR, Mengshol S, Sokol RJ. Acute hepatitis and liver failure associated with influenza A infection in children. J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr. 2006 Oct;43(4):536-8. [PMID: 17033532]
  • Squires RH Jr, Shneider BL, Bucuvalas J, Alonso E, Sokol RJ, Narkewicz MR, Dhawan A, Rosenthal P, Rodriguez-Baez N, Murray KF, Horslen S, Martin MG, Lopez MJ, Soriano H, McGuire BM, Jonas MM, Yazigi N, Shepherd RW, Schwarz K, Lobritto S, Thomas DW, Lavine JE, Karpen S, Ng V, Kelly D, Simonds N, Hynan LS. Acute liver failure in children: the first 348 patients in the pediatric acute liver failure study group. J Pediatr. 2006 May;148(5):652-8. [PMID: 16737880]
  • Sokol RJ, Devereaux M, Dahl R, Gumpricht E. "Let there be bile"--understanding hepatic injury in cholestasis. J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr. 2006 Jul;43 Suppl 1:S4-9. [PMID: 16819400]
  • Hoofnagle JH, Sokol RJ. Neonatal screening for biliary atresia. Hepatology. 2006 Apr;43(4):646. [PMID: 16557564]
  • Shneider BL, Brown MB, Haber B, Whitington PF, Schwarz K, Squires R, Bezerra J, Shepherd R, Rosenthal P, Hoofnagle JH, Sokol RJ. A multicenter study of the outcome of biliary atresia in the United States, 1997 to 2000. J Pediatr. 2006 Apr;148(4):467-74. [PMID: 16647406]
  • Liu E, MacKenzie T, Dobyns EL, Parikh CR, Karrer FM, Narkewicz MR, Sokol RJ. Characterization of acute liver failure and development of a continuous risk of death staging system in children. J Hepatol. 2006 Jan;44(1):134-41. [PMID: 16169116]
  • Mustacich DJ, Leonard SW, Devereaux MW, Sokol RJ, Traber MG. Alpha-tocopherol regulation of hepatic cytochrome P450s and ABC transporters in rats. Free Rad Biol Med. 2006;41(7):1069-78. [PMID: 16962932]
  • Sokol RJ, Bruno R, Traber M. Vitamin E and vitamin K metabolism. In: Johnson LR, editor. Physiology of the gastrointestinal tract. 4th ed. Amsterdam: Elsevier Academic Press; 2006.
  • Narkewicz MR, Kasaragod A, Lucia MS, Pflummer S, Sokol RJ, Stenmark KR. Connective tissue growth factor expression is increased in biliary epithelial cells in biliary atresia. J Pediatr Surg. 2005 Nov;40(11):1721-5. [PMID: 16291159]
  • Feranchak AP, Gralla J, King R, Ramirez RO, Corkill M, Narkewicz MR, Sokol RJ. Comparison of indices of vitamin A status in children with chronic liver disease. Hepatology. 2005 Oct;42(4):782-92. [PMID: 16175620]
  • Whitworth JR, Sokol RJ. Hepato-portopulmonary disorders--not just in adults! J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr. 2005 Oct;41(4):393-5. [PMID: 16205504]
  • Sokol RJ, Dahl R, Devereaux MW, Yerushalmi B, Kobak GE, Gumpricht E. Human hepatic mitochondria generate reactive oxygen species and undergo the permeability transition in response to hydrophobic bile acids. J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr. 2005 Aug;41(2):235-43. [PMID: 16056106]
  • Utterson EC, Shepherd RW, Sokol RJ, Bucuvalas J, Magee JC, McDiarmid SV, Anand R; The Split Research Group. Biliary atresia: clinical profiles, risk factors, and outcomes of 755 patients listed for liver transplantation. J Pediatr. 2005 Aug;147(2):180-5. [PMID: 16126046]
  • Condino AA, Ivy DD, O'Connor JA, Narkewicz MR, Mengshol S, Whitworth JR, Claussen L, Doran A, Sokol RJ. Portopulmonary hypertension in pediatric patients. J Pediatr. 2005 Jul;147(1):20-6. [PMID: 16027687]
  • Kobak GE, Dahl R, Devereaux MW, Gumpricht E, Traber M, Doctor RB, Sokol RJ. Increased susceptibility of fat-laden Zucker-rat hepatocytes to bile acid-induced oncotic necrosis: an in vitro model of steatocholestasis. J Lab Clin Med. 2005 May;145(5):247-62. [PMID: 15902097]
  • Leonard SW, Gumpricht E, Devereaux MW, Sokol RJ, Traber MG. Quantitation of rat liver vitamin E metabolites by LC-MS during high-dose vitamin E administration. J Lipid Res. 2005 May;46(5):1068-75. [PMID: 15722564]
  • Mack CL, Sokol RJ. Unraveling the pathogenesis and etiology of biliary atresia. Pediatr Res. 2005 May;57(5 Pt 2):87R-94R. [PMID: 15817506]
  • Mack CL, Tucker RM, Sokol RJ, Kotzin BL. Armed CD4+ Th1 effector cells and activated macrophages participate in bile duct injury in murine biliary atresia. Clin Immunol. 2005 May;115(2):200-9. [PMID: 15885644]
  • Norris JM, Barriga K, Hoffenberg EJ, Taki I, Miao D, Haas JE, Emery LM, Sokol RJ, Erlich HA, Eisenbarth GS, Rewers M. Risk of celiac disease autoimmunity and timing of gluten introduction in the diet of infants at increased risk of disease. JAMA. 2005 May 18;293(19):2343-51. [PMID: 15900004]
  • Das BB, Narkewicz MR, Sokol RJ, Chen YT, Bali D, Li SC, Matthews MR, Mierau GW, Ivy DD. Amylopectinosis disease isolated to the heart with normal glycogen branching enzyme activity and gene sequence. Pediatr Transplant. 2005 Apr;9(2):261-5. [PMID: 15787805]
  • Gumpricht E, Dahl R, Devereaux MW, Sokol RJ. Licorice compounds glycyrrhizin and 18beta-glycyrrhetinic acid are potent modulators of bile acid-induced cytotoxicity in rat hepatocytes. J Biol Chem. 2005 Mar 18;280(11):10556-63. [PMID: 15642733]
  • Sokol RJ, Mack CL. Optimizing outcomes and bridging biliary atresia into adulthood. Hepatology. 2005 Feb;41(2):231-3. [PMID: 15657917]
  • Sokol RJ, Narkewicz MR. Liver and pancreas. In: Hay WW Jr., Levin MJ, Sondheimer JM, Deterding RR, editors. Current pediatric diagnosis and treatment. 17th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill; 2005.