Dra. Maria Margaret Mercadal Hally

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