The establishment of this network was the centerpiece of a large initiative in hepatitis B that was directed at making progress in the understanding, prevention, and control of this important liver disease. This initiative was the result and a part of the Trans-NIH Action Plan for Liver Disease Research (http://liverplan.niddk.nih.gov) that was published in December 2004 and laid out a series of specific research goals for liver disease research for the next 10 years. The Action Plan represented the collective efforts of more than 250 individuals including liver research investigators, academicians, practicing physicians, researchers and representatives from industry, NIH staff, and lay advocates who worked together to prioritize liver disease research goals. The research goals were directed at specific advances that would translate into substantial improvement in the understanding, prevention, and treatment of liver diseases. Within this report, key research priorities for hepatitis B research were given in the chapter on viral hepatitis, many of which still remain incompletely resolved. To help meet these goals, the NIH sponsored this 2008 Consensus Development Conference on Management of Hepatitis B, but also set into motion a prospective clinical research network of investigators charged with the mission to provide new insights into the pathogenesis of hepatitis B and help define the most appropriate therapy of this disease in its multiple clinical forms and in the different populations that it affects.