Maria Margaret Mercadal Hally I am a paediatrician, specialised in Paediatric Hepatology and Liver Transplantation. My clinical and research activities focus on liver transplantation, portal hypertension, metabolic-associated fatty liver disease, and rare paediatric liver diseases. Instituciones de las que forman parte Técnico de investigación Cirugía Hepato-bilio-pancreática (HBP) y trasplante hepático Vall Hebron Institut de Recerca Médico Pediatría Hospital Infantil i Hospital de la Mujer Maria Margaret Mercadal Hally Instituciones de las que forman parte Técnico de investigación Cirugía Hepato-bilio-pancreática (HBP) y trasplante hepático Vall Hebron Institut de Recerca Médico Pediatría Hospital Infantil i Hospital de la Mujer I am a paediatrician, specialised in Paediatric Hepatology and Liver Transplantation. My clinical and research activities focus on liver transplantation, portal hypertension, metabolic-associated fatty liver disease, and rare paediatric liver diseases.
Education I obtained my Medical Degree from the University of Barcelona (Bellvitge Campus) in 2011. I completed my specialty training in Paediatrics through the Spanish residency programme (MIR) at Hospital del Mar (Barcelona) from 2012 to 2016. In 2017, I completed a Master’s Degree in Paediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition, carried out at the Paediatric Hepatology, Gastroenterology and Nutrition Unit of Vall d’Hebron University Hospital, through the Autonomous University of Barcelona. Professional Experience I have worked as a paediatrician in various primary care centres across Barcelona and have also worked as an on-call paediatrician at Hospital del Mar and QuirónSalud Barcelona between 2016 and 2019. Since January 2018, I have been actively involved in research through the Vall d’Hebron Research Institute (VHIR), currently as part of the Hepato-Bilio-Pancreatic Surgery and Liver Transplantation group. Since July 2019, I have been working as a consultant paediatrician in the Paediatric Hepatology and Liver Transplantation Unit at Vall d’Hebron University Hospital. Teaching and research I have participated as a lecturer in courses and conferences on paediatric liver diseases, portal hypertension, liver transplantation, and rare liver diseases. I also coordinate our team’s annual course: Paediatric Hepatology and Liver Transplantation: What’s New? I am a member of the Hepato-Bilio-Pancreatic Surgery and Liver Transplantation research group, part of the paediatric research hub at our centre. I am currently involved in several national and international research projects, mainly focused on the following areas: 1. Follow-up and long-term outcomes in paediatric liver transplantation (GIG Project, HEPATIC registry, PORTAL registry...) 2. Portal hypertension and vascular complications 3. MASLD (Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease) 4. Rare liver diseases (LALD, Alagille syndrome, PFIC, biliary atresia, autoimmune hepatitis...) Other Affiliations • Member of the ERN TransplantChild and ERN Rare Liver networks (Vall d’Hebron Hospital) since 2021; Vall d’Hebron site coordinator for ERN TransplantChild since May 2025 • Coordinator of the Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition Working Group of the Catalan Society of Paediatrics (since June 2024) • Coordinator of the Hepatology Working Group of the Spanish Society of Paediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (since May 2025) • Member of the steering committee for the Portal Hypertension Working Group of the European Society for Paediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (ESPGHAN) since May 2023 • Member of the MASLD Working Group of ESPGHAN since May 2023 • Member of the Editorial Board of Pediatria Catalana (journal of the Catalan Society of Paediatrics) since February 2015
Líneas de investigación L'estudi de l'evolució a nivell histològic dels empelts hepàtics La seva correlació amb dades clíniques, analítiques, d'imatge i amb un panell de miRNA (miR-155-5p, miR-122-5p, miR-181a -5p, miR-148-3p ) podria permetre la individualització del tractament immunosupressor. IP: Jesús Quintero Bernabeu, Javier Juamperez Goñi, Maria Margaret Mercadal Hally Infusió intraportal de cèl·lules mare hepàtiques Podria restaurar la ureagènesi en pacients pediàtrics amb trastorns del cicle de la urea. IP: Jesús Quintero Bernabeu, Javier Juamperez Goñi, Maria Margaret Mercadal Hally