RESEARCHER PROFILE
Professor Stuart Brierley (Filmed February 2024)
Director of the Visceral Pain Research Group,
Director of the Hopwood Centre for Neurobiology &
Theme co-Leader of Lifelong Health
South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI)
Professor Stuart Brierley is Director of the Visceral Pain Research Group, Director of the Hopwood Centre for Neurobiology, and Theme co-Leader of Lifelong Health at the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI).
He has developed a strong track record in coordinating and working in multi-faceted research programs for high impact publications in journals. His work has attracted four NHMRC Fellowships including other NHMRC and NIH grants.
The global pandemic has shed light on the severity of the Opioid Crisis, highlighting the urgent need for effective pain treatments. During his 24 years as a researcher, Professor Brierley has made significant strides in understanding how pain arises from the gastrointestinal tract or the gut.
Prof Brierley is an international expert on the ‘gut-brain axis’ and chronic visceral pain mechanisms. Current investigations are on a individual cell type called the enterochromaffin cell, and it helps signal pain and anxiety from the gastrointestinal tract to the brain.
His research comprises discovery and translational science investigating the nerve pathways innervating visceral organs to determine the causes of, and treatments for, Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), bladder pain syndrome, and endometriosis.
Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) disorders are highly prevalent, affecting up to 15% of the Western population.
Despite being a major global clinical issue, pain, especially from the gastrointestinal tract, lacks effective treatments, and the research focuses on understanding and treating pain in gastrointestinal diseases in order to develop targeted treatments. Individual gut cells communicate with the brain to signal pain and trigger symptoms that include depression and anxiety.
Professor Brierley is collaborating with researchers in Australia and internationally including Nobel Prize winner Nobel Prize Laureate Professor David Julius, Professor Holly Ingraham and Dr Jim Bayrer at the University of California San Francisco, all with the goal of helping people.
His research interests extends into other common causes for visceral pain including interstitial cystitis/painful bladder syndrome and endometriosis and how ‘cross-organ sensitisation’ can potentially explain co-morbidities in these patients.
Pain is a global issue, and Professor Brierley’s work aims to understand its causes in order to develop targeted treatments, while also balancing a busy family life and various interests.
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Computer science approach to detecting dementia
Watch Xinyi Wang, a researcher at the Wicking Dementia Research and Education Centre, University of Tasmania talk on identifying new approaches to detecting dementia.
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Radiation therapy techniques and combination treatments for sarcoma
Professor Angela Hong MBBS, MMed, PhD, FRANZCR is a Professor at Sydney Medical School of the University of Sydney. She is a radiation oncologist and has been a member of the Multidisciplinary Bone and Soft Tissue Tumour Clinic at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital/Chris O’Brien Lifehouse for the past 15 years.
As a radiation oncologist located in Sydney, Australia, Professor Hong is focused on treating patients with bone and soft tissue sarcoma. And as a clinician scientist, her research focuses on developing innovative radiation therapy technique and combination treatments to improve the outcome for patients with sarcoma.
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Integrated Oral Health Care
Dr Ajesh George is a Professor of Interprofessional Oral Health in the School of Nursing and Midwifery, Western Sydney University (WSU) and Honorary Professor in the School of Dentistry at The University of Sydney. He is a dentist with extensive experience in integrated oral health care and is a renowned expert globally in providing oral health training to non-dental professionals and translating oral health guidelines into their practice. Dr George is also the Director and Co-founder of the “Australian Centre for Integration of Oral Health” (ACIOH) which is a leading national research centre led by WSU in collaboration with various partners including universities, health services and professional organisations.
