Gastroenterology and Liver Research

The Department of Gastroenterology and Liver Services Research Unit at Concord Hospital has diverse research strengths. With over 200 peer-reviewed publications, including book chapters, our research has obtained grants from national funding bodies including the NHMRC and the Gastroenterological Society of Australia.

Various clinical trials are undertaken to help identify new treatments to patients using scientifically robust methodologies in areas such as advanced endoscopic techniques, viral hepatitis, hepatocellular carcinoma, helicobacter pylori eradication, recurrent clostridium difficile infection, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis and iron deficiency anaemia.

Our Research Team

Associate Professor Peter Katelaris	Head of Department, Gastroenterologist
Professor Rupert Leong	Gastroenterologist
Dr Emily He	Gastroenterologist
Professor Alice Lee	Gastroenterologist
Dr Lisa Shim	Gastroenterologist
Dr Aviv Pudipeddi	Gastroenterologist and PhD candidate
Dr Sudarshan Paramsothy	Gastroenterologist
Dr Mayenaaz Sidhu	Gastroenterologist
Dr Mark Bonnichsen	Gastroenterologist
Dr Yunki Yau	Senior Scientist
Melissa Kermeen	Clinical Trials Coordinator
Ashley Willis	Clinical Trials Coordinator
Diane Redmond	Research Administration Officer
Dr John Chetwood	PhD candidate

Selected Grants

Amount awarded	Grant and project details
$200,000	University of Sydney Faculty of Medicine and Health, 2024-2027 Risks and benefits of HCC surveillance in the elderly: towards a personalised medicine approach. Investigators: Waller K, He E.
$20,000	Sydney Health Partners, 2024-2026 Implementing integrated addiction and hepatology care for alcohol-related liver disease: a pilot implementation study. Investigators: Waller K, He E.
$124,847	NHMRC Postgraduate Scholarships, 2022-2025 Optimising Biologics in Inflammatory Bowel Disease Investigator: Chetwood J
$645,205	NHMRC Investigator Grant, 2021-2025 Faecal Microbiota Transplantation and Other Novel Therapeutic Microbial Manipulation Strategies in Inflammatory Bowel Disease Investigator: Paramsothy S

Our Publications

2024

Chetwood JD, Paramsothy S, Haifer C, Borody TJ, Kamm MA, Leong RW, Kaakoush NO. Key metabolomic alterations are associated with ulcerative colitis disease state and activity: a validation analysis. Gut. 2024 Jul 11;73(8):1392-1393. doi: 10.1136/gutjnl-2023-330196.

Chalasani A, Chetwood JD, Leong R, Paramsothy S. Gastrointestinal: A discovery hard to swallow: an unusual case of esophageal obstruction. J Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2024 Feb;39(2):219. doi: 10.1111/jgh.16351. Epub 2023 Sep 7.

Chetwood JD, Gupta S, Subramaniam K, De Cruz P, Moore G, An YK, Connor SJ, Kermeen M, Paramsothy S, Leong RW. Ustekinumab as induction and maintenance therapy for ulcerative colitis - national extended follow-up and a review of the literature. Expert Opin Drug Saf. 2024 Apr;23(4):449-456. doi: 10.1080/14740338.2023.2278686. Epub 2023 Nov 10.

Bonnichsen MH, Chua PBG, Wu CC, Asokkumar R, Khor CJ, Tan DMY. Endoscopic ultrasound-directed transgastric ERCP for disconnected pancreatic duct syndrome: finding the edge to bridge the gap. Endoscopy. 2024 Dec;56(S 01):E41-E42. doi: 10.1055/a-2213-1220. Epub 2024 Jan 9.

Bonnichsen MH, Chua PB, Khor C, Tan DMY. Biodegradable stent causing pancreatitis after papillectomy. Gastrointest Endosc. 2024 Feb;99(2):303-304. doi: 10.1016/j.gie.2023.08.019.

Chetwood JD, Ko Y, Pudipeddi A, Kariyawasam V, Paramsothy S, Leong RW. Biological Agents in the Treatment of Crohn's Disease: A Propensity Score-Matched Analysis From the Prospective Persistence Australian National IBD Cohort (PANIC3) Study. Am J Gastroenterol. 2024 Aug 1;119(8):1536-1544. doi: 10.14309/ajg.0000000000002679. Epub 2024 Jan 26.

Chalasani A, Ly T, Paramsothy S. A Rare Cause of Abdominal Pain and Weight Loss. Gastroenterology. 2024 Aug;167(3):e9-e13. doi: 10.1053/j.gastro.2024.01.047. Epub 2024 Feb 7.

Nash E, Nicoll A, Batt N, George J, Perananthan V, Prince D, Wallace M, Gow P, Vaz K, Chitturi S, Flores JE, Braund A, Bonnichsen M, Riordan S, Humphris J, Duong T, McKenzie C, Liu K, Strasser SI. Drug-induced liver injury from selective androgen receptor modulators, anabolic-androgenic steroids and bodybuilding supplements in Australia. Aliment Pharmacol Ther. 2024 Apr;59(8):953-961. doi: 10.1111/apt.17906. Epub 2024 Feb 19.

Chetwood JD, Paramsothy S, Leong RW. Letter: Thioguanine, an underutilised option in inflammatory bowel disease? Aliment Pharmacol Ther. 2024 Apr;59(8):1009-1010. doi: 10.1111/apt.17920.

Luu LDW, Pandey A, Paramsothy S, Ngo C, Castaño-Rodríguez N, Liu C, Kamm MA, Borody TJ, Man SM, Kaakoush NO. Profiling the colonic mucosal response to fecal microbiota transplantation identifies a role for GBP5 in colitis in humans and mice. Nat Commun. 2024 Mar 26;15(1):2645. doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-46983-5.

Yiu TH, Ko Y, Pudipeddi A, Natale P, Leong RW. Meta-analysis: Persistence of advanced therapies in the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease. Aliment Pharmacol Ther. 2024 Jun;59(11):1312-1334. doi: 10.1111/apt.18006. Epub 2024 Apr 23.

Chetwood JD, Tran Y, Subramanian S, Smith PJ, Iborra M, Buisson A, Paramsothy S, Leong RW. Intravenous Versus Subcutaneous Infliximab in Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. J Crohns Colitis. 2024 Sep 3;18(9):1440-1449. doi: 10.1093/ecco-jcc/jjae059.

Pudipeddi A, Paramsothy S, Kariyawasam V, Paramsothy R, Ghaly S, Haifer C, An YK, Begun J, Connor SJ, Corte C, Ward MG, De Cruz P, Lan-San Fung C, Redmond D, Chan W, Mourad F, Kermeen M, Leong RW. Effects of Thiopurine Withdrawal on Vedolizumab-Treated Patients With Ulcerative Colitis: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2024 Nov;22(11):2299-2308.e5. doi: 10.1016/j.cgh.2024.04.019. Epub 2024 May 9.

Yiu TH, Ko Y, Pudipeddi A, Natale P, Leong RW. Letter: Early real-world evidence from the United Arab Emirates of the persistence, effectiveness and safety of risankizumab for the treatment of Crohn's disease-Authors' reply. Aliment Pharmacol Ther. 2024 Jul;60(1):103-104. doi: 10.1111/apt.18057. Epub 2024 May 23.

Yiu TH, Ko Y, Pudipeddi A, Natale P, Leong RW. Letter: Persisting with persistence-A caution as an outcome measure in inflammatory bowel disease: Authors' reply. Aliment Pharmacol Ther. 2024 Aug;60(3):427-428. doi: 10.1111/apt.18136. Epub 2024 Jun 24.

Lee A, Hilmers D, Russell T. A new hepatitis B elimination strategy for remote populations is needed. Lancet Reg Health West Pac. 2024 Jun 28;48:101129. doi: 10.1016/j.lanwpc.2024.101129.

Majzoub ME, Luu LDW, Haifer C, Paramsothy S, Borody TJ, Leong RW, Thomas T, Kaakoush NO. Refining microbial community metabolic models derived from metagenomics using reference-based taxonomic profiling. mSystems. 2024 Sep 17;9(9):e0074624. doi: 10.1128/msystems.00746-24. Epub 2024 Aug 13.

Choy MC, Li Wai Suen CFD, Con D, Boyd K, Pena R, Burrell K, Rosella O, Proud D, Brouwer R, Gorelik A, Liew D, Connell WR, Wright EK, Taylor KM, Pudipeddi A, Sawers M, Christensen B, Ng W, Begun J, Radford-Smith G, Garg M, Martin N, van Langenberg DR, Ding NS, Beswick L, Leong RW, Sparrow MP, De Cruz P. Intensified versus standard dose infliximab induction therapy for steroid-refractory acute severe ulcerative colitis (PREDICT-UC): an open-label, multicentre, randomised controlled trial. Lancet Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2024 Nov;9(11):981-996. doi: 10.1016/S2468-1253(24)00200-0. Epub 2024 Sep 2.

Lau DTY, Jackson K, Picchio CA, Kramvis A, Sonderup M, Lemoine M, Matthews G, Howell J, Coffin CS, Hellard M, Lee AU, Anderson DA, Kerth HA, Lee EE, Tavis JE, Dandri M, Revill PA, Spearman CW, Penicaud C, Levrero M, El-Sayed M; ICE-HBV POC Model in Resource Limited Settings working group. Availability of point-of-care HBV tests in resource-limited settings. Lancet Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2024 Dec;9(12):1073-1076. doi: 10.1016/S2468-1253(24)00308-X. Epub 2024 Sep 19.

Costello RE, Waller KMJ, Smith R, Mells GF, Wong AYS, Schultze A, Mahalingasivam V, Herrett E, Zheng B, Lin LY, MacKenna B, Mehrkar A, Bacon SCJ, Goldacre B, Tomlinson LA, Tazare J, Rentsch CT; OpenSAFELY collaborative; LH&W NCS (or CONVALESCENCE) Collaborative. Ursodeoxycholic acid and severe COVID-19 outcomes in a cohort study using the OpenSAFELY platform. Commun Med (Lond). 2024 Nov 19;4(1):238. doi: 10.1038/s43856-024-00664-y.

Chaemsupaphan T, Pudipeddi A, Lin H, Paramsothy S, Kariyawasam V, Kermeen M, Leong RW. Development and Validation of a Scoring System to Predict 2-Year Clinical Remission in Ulcerative Colitis Patients on Vedolizumab. Crohns Colitis 360. 2024 Dec 28;7(1):otae068. doi: 10.1093/crocol/otae068.

Huang X, Webster AC, Mishra SR, Waller KMJ. Diversity and inclusion in chronic hepatitis B randomised controlled trials: A systematic meta-epidemiological review. JHEP Rep. 2024 Dec 31;7(4):101324. doi: 10.1016/j.jhepr.2024.101324.

Shir Ali M, Leong RW, Kariyawasam V, Yang J, Paramsothy S. Multi-modal conservative management of intraabdominal collections in fistulising Crohn’s disease. Gastrointest Tract. 2024;2(1).

2023

Feagan BG, Sands BE, Sandborn WJ, Germinaro M, Vetter M, Shao J, Sheng S, Johanns J, Panés J; VEGA Study Group. Guselkumab plus golimumab combination therapy versus guselkumab or golimumab monotherapy in patients with ulcerative colitis (VEGA): a randomised, double-blind, controlled, phase 2, proof-of- concept trial. Lancet Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2023 Apr;8(4):307-320. doi: 10.1016/S2468-1253(22)00427-7. Epub 2023 Feb 1.

Louis E, Resche-Rigon M, Laharie D, Satsangi J, Ding N, Siegmund B, D'Haens G, Picon L, Bossuyt P, Vuitton L, Irving P, Viennot S, Lamb CA, Pollok R, Baert F, Nachury M, Fumery M, Gilletta C, Almer S, Ben-Horin S, Bouhnik Y, Colombel JF, Hertervig E; GETAID and the SPARE-Biocycle research group. Withdrawal of infliximab or concomitant immunosuppressant therapy in patients with Crohn's disease on combination therapy (SPARE): a multicentre, open-label, randomised controlled trial. Lancet Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2023 Mar;8(3):215-227. doi: 10.1016/S2468-1253(22)00385-5. Epub 2023 Jan 11.

Smith PJ, Fumery M, Leong RW, Novak K, Dignass A. Real-world experience with subcutaneous infliximab: broadening treatment strategies for inflammatory bowel disease. Expert Rev Clin Immunol. 2023 Jul-Dec;19(9):1143-1156. doi: 10.1080/1744666X.2023.2231148. Epub 2023 Aug 13.

Yiu TH, Ko Y, Pudipeddi A, Natale P, Leong RW. Comparing persistence of new biologics to conventional anti-TNF alphas in adult patients with inflammatory bowel disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis protocol. BMJ Open. 2023 Oct 3;13(10):e073071. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2023-073071.

Laube R, Selinger CP, Seow CH, Christensen B, Flanagan E, Kennedy D, Mountifield R, Seeho S, Shand A, Williams AJ, Leong RW. Australian inflammatory bowel disease consensus statements for preconception, pregnancy and breast feeding. Gut. 2023 Jun;72(6):1040-1053. doi: 10.1136/gutjnl-2022-329304. Epub 2023 Mar 21.

Elford AT, Leong RW, Halmos EP, Morgan M, Kilpatrick K, Lewindon PJ, Gearry RB, Christensen B. IBD barriers across the continents: a continent-specific analysis - Australasia. Therap Adv Gastroenterol. 2023 Sep 8;16:17562848231197509. doi: 10.1177/17562848231197509.

Swaminathan A, Fulforth JM, Frampton CM, Borichevsky GM, Mules TC, Kilpatrick K, Choukour M, Fields P, Ramkissoon R, Helms E, Hanauer SB, Leong RW, Peyrin- Biroulet L, Siegel CA, Gearry RB. The Disease Severity Index for Inflammatory Bowel Disease Is a Valid Instrument that Predicts Complicated Disease. Inflamm Bowel Dis. 2023 Dec 22:izad294. doi: 10.1093/ibd/izad294. Epub ahead of print.

Anderson E, Waller K, Tamilarasan AG, Lin H, Paramsothy S, Leong RW. Adalimumab originator versus adalimumab biosimilars in inflammatory bowel disease in Australia. Expert Opin Biol Ther. 2023 Jul-Dec;23(8):819-825. doi: 10.1080/14712598.2023.2203812. Epub 2023 Apr 19.

Hocking L, Ianiro G, Leong RW, Iqbal T, Kao D, Cabling M, Stockwell S, Romanelli RJ, Marjanovic S. Faecal microbiota transplantation for recurrent C. difficile infections: challenges and improvement opportunities for clinical practice and healthcare systems. Aliment Pharmacol Ther. 2023 Mar;57(5):549-564. doi: 10.1111/apt.17309. Epub 2022 Dec 10.

Liu E, Laube R, Leong RW, Fraser A, Selinger C, Limdi JK. Managing Inflammatory Bowel Disease in Pregnancy: Health Care Professionals' Involvement, Knowledge, and Decision Making. Inflamm Bowel Dis. 2023 Apr 3;29(4):522-530. doi: 10.1093/ibd/izac101.

Li N, Leong R, Youssef P. Combination non tumour necrosis factor biologic and small-molecule therapy in a patient with ankylosing spondylitis and Crohn disease. Intern Med J. 2023 Jun;53(6):1083-1084. doi: 10.1111/imj.16120.

Pudipeddi A, Fung C, Christensen B, Bryant RV, Subramaniam K, Chetwood J, Paramsothy S, Leong RW. Knowledge and attitudes towards the use of histological assessments in ulcerative colitis by gastroenterologists <i>vs</i> pathologists. World J Gastroenterol. 2023 Jan 14;29(2):378-389. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v29.i2.378.

Au M, Low P, Rennie M, Mohseni M, Song Y, Kim N, Baraty B, Mitrev N, He E, Ho V, Leong R, Kariyawasam V. Determining efficacy of dynamic multimedia bowel preparation instructions versus standard instructions on adenoma detection and patient reported measures (DIGICLEAN trial): a study protocol for a multicentre, colonoscopist-blinded, randomised controlled trial. BMJ Open. 2023 Jul 21;13(7):e073843. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2023-073843.

Harb M, Yang J, Leong R. Magnetic resonance image healing correlating with long-term clinical improvement in proximal small bowel Crohn disease treated with first-line vedolizumab therapy. Intern Med J. 2023 Jan;53(1):160-162. doi: 10.1111/imj.15988.

Selinger CP, Laube R, Steed H, Brookes M, BioResource N, Leong RWL. Planning to conceive within a year is associated with better pregnancy-specific disease- related patient knowledge and better medication adherence in women of childbearing age with inflammatory bowel disease. Therap Adv Gastroenterol. 2023 Aug 30;16:17562848231193211. doi: 10.1177/17562848231193211.

Chetwood JD, Sabih AH, Chan K, Salimi S, Sheiban A, Lin E, Chin S, Gu B, Sastry V, Coulshed A, Tsoutsman T, Bowen DG, Majumdar A, Strasser SI, McCaughan GW, Liu K. Epidemiology, characteristics, and outcomes of patients with acute-on-chronic liver failure in Australia. J Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2023 Aug;38(8):1325-1332. doi: 10.1111/jgh.16197. Epub 2023 Apr 25.

Katelaris P, Hunt R, Bazzoli F, Cohen H, Fock KM, Gemilyan M, Malfertheiner P, Mégraud F, Piscoya A, Quach D, Vakil N, Vaz Coelho LG, LeMair A, Melberg J. Helicobacter pylori World Gastroenterology Organization Global Guideline. J Clin Gastroenterol. 2023 Feb 1;57(2):111-126. doi: 10.1097/MCG.0000000000001719.

Thompson AJ, Jackson K, Bonanzinga S, Hall SAL, Hume S, Burns GS, Sundararajan V, Ratnam D, Levy MT, Lubel J, Nicoll AJ, Strasser SI, Sievert W, Desmond PV, Ngu MC, Sinclair M, Meredith C, Matthews G, Revill PA, Littlejohn M, Bowden DS, Canchola JA, Torres J, Siew P, Lau J, La Brot B, Kuchta A, Visvanathan K. Baseline serum HBV RNA is associated with the risk of hepatitis flare after stopping nucleoside analog therapy in HBeAg-negative participants. Hepatol Commun. 2023 Jul 17;7(8):e0188. doi: 10.1097/HC9.0000000000000188.

Polaris Observatory Collaborators. Global prevalence, cascade of care, and prophylaxis coverage of hepatitis B in 2022: a modelling study. Lancet Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2023 Oct;8(10):879-907. doi: 10.1016/S2468-1253(23)00197-8. Epub 2023 Jul 27.

Lopetuso LR, Deleu S, Godny L, Petito V, Puca P, Facciotti F, Sokol H, Ianiro G, Masucci L, Abreu M, Dotan I, Costello SP, Hart A, Iqbal TH, Paramsothy S, Sanguinetti M, Danese S, Tilg H, Cominelli F, Pizarro TT, Armuzzi A, Cammarota G, Gasbarrini A, Vermeire S, Scaldaferri F. The first international Rome consensus conference on gut microbiota and faecal microbiota transplantation in inflammatory bowel disease. Gut. 2023 Sep;72(9):1642-1650. doi: 10.1136/gutjnl-2023-329948. Epub 2023 Jun 20.

2022

Chetwood JD, Volovets A, Sivam S, Koh C. Surgical considerations in cystic fibrosis: what every general surgeon needs to know. ANZ J Surg. 2022 Aug 3. doi: 10.1111/ans.17948. Epub ahead of print.

Bustamante S, Yau Y, Boys V, Chang J, Paramsothy S, Pudipeddi A, Leong RW, Wasinger V. Tryptophan metabolism 'hub' gene expression associates with increased inflammation and severe disease outcomes in COVID-19 and inflammatory bowel disease. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23(23):14776.

Chetwood JD, Koorey D, Bryant C. Hyperammonaemic encephalopathy. Intern Med J. 2022 Apr;52(4):693-694. doi: 10.1111/imj.15738.

Chetwood JD, Popuri R, Majumdar A, Saxena P. All in all, not just a clip on the wall. Dig Liver Dis. 2022 Apr 6:S1590-8658(22)00214-6. doi: 10.1016/j.dld.2022.03.010.

Chetwood JD, Shin JS, Koorey D. Gastrointestinal: Esophageal nodularity in a 32-year-old female patient. J Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2022 Mar 20. doi: 10.1111/jgh.15807.

Chetwood JD, Tsoutsman T, Pulitano C, Crawford MD, Liu K, Strasser SI, McCaughan GW, Majumdar A. MELD-GRAIL and MELD-GRAIL-Na Are Not Superior to MELD or MELD-Na in Predicting Liver Transplant Waiting List Mortality at a Single-center Level. Transplant Direct. 2022 Jun 10;8(7):e1346. doi: 10.1097/TXD.0000000000001346.

Gu, B., Williams, A., Ng, W., Xuan, W., Connor, S., Gholamrezaei, A., Corte, C., Venkatesh, K., Ghaly, S., Paramsothy, S. (2022). Higher infliximab and adalimumab trough levels are associated with fistula healing in patients with fistulising perianal Crohn's disease. World Journal of Gastroenterology, 28(23), 2597-2608.

Haifer, C., Paramsothy, S., Kaakoush, N., Leong, R. (2022). Oral faecal microbiota transplantation in ulcerative colitis - Authors' reply. The Lancet Gastroenterology & Hepatology, 7(4), 286-287.

Haifer, C., Paramsothy, S., Kaakoush, N., Saikal, A., Ghaly, S., Yang, T., Luu, L., Borody, T., Leong, R. (2022). Lyophilised oral faecal microbiota transplantation for ulcerative colitis (LOTUS): a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. The Lancet Gastroenterology & Hepatology, 7(2), 141-151.

Nash E, Chetwood J, Strasser SI, Liu K. Drug-induced liver injury from herbal and dietary supplements: a problem in the East and West alike. Hepatol Int. 2022 Apr;16(2):477-478. doi: 10.1007/s12072-021-10289-1. Epub 2022 Jan 23. PMID: 35066755.

Podlesny, D., Durdevic, M., Paramsothy, S., Kaakoush, N., Högenauer, C., Gorkiewicz, G., Walter, J., Fricke, W. (2022). Identification of clinical and ecological determinants of strain engraftment after fecal microbiota transplantation using metagenomics. Cell Reports Medicine, 3(8).

Pudipeddi A, Ko Y, Paramsothy S, Leong R. Vedolizumab has longer persistence than infliximab as a first-line biological agent but not as a second-line biological agent in moderate-to-severe ulcerative colitis: real-world registry data from the Persistence Australian National IBD Cohort (PANIC) study. Therap Adv Gastroenterol 2022; 15: 17562848221080793

Pudipeddi, A., Paramsothy, S., Leong, R. (2022). Combination Therapy of Immunomodulators With Non-Anti-Tumor Necrosis Factor Agents in Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Need More Evidence? Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, 20(3), e640-e641.

Shim LSE, Ngu MC, Yau Y, Russo R. Reflux scintigraphy in gastro-esophageal reflux disease: a comparison study with 24 hour pH-impedance monitoring. Scand J Gastroenterol. 2022 Jan 21:1-5.

Tamilarasan, A., Tran, Y., Paramsothy, S., Leong, R. (2022). The diagnostic yield of pan-enteric capsule endoscopy in inflammatory bowel disease: A systematic review and metaanalysis. Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, 37(12), 2207-2216.

Waller, K., Leong, R., Paramsothy, S. (2022). An update on fecal microbiota transplantation for the treatment of gastrointestinal diseases. Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, 37(2), 246-255.

Gastroenterology and Liver Research

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2024

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