THERAPY TO PREVENT HEPATOCELLULAR CARCINOMA IN PEOPLE WITH LIVER CIRRHOSIS
Professor John Olynyk, Liver Specialist, Gastroenterologist & Hepatologist,
Fiona Stanley and Fremantle Hospitals
South Metropolitan Health Service, Western Australia &
Associate Director, Clinical Engagement,
Curtin Medical Research Institute, Curtin University, Western Australia
RESEARCHER PROFILE
Filmed in Perth, Western Australia | February 2026
Professor John Olynyk is a Gastroenterologist & Hepatologist with over 30 years’ experience, primarily at The Fiona Stanley & Fremantle Hospital Group. He planned the Gastroenterology and Hepatology Service for the Fiona Stanley Hospital and was Head Department from 2010 until 2020.
Professor John Olynyk was appointed as Associate Dean and Head of the Medical Discipline at Curtin University in 2023 until 2025 and is now Associate Director, Clinical Engagement, Curtin Medical Research Institute, Curtin University.
Professor John Olynyk has a long and productive history of research in the field of haemochromatosis, liver disease and iron metabolism. He has sustained 27 years of continuous funding from the NHMRC and published over 270 peer reviewed publications with nearly 20,000 citations. He is patron of Haemochromatosis Australia and currently serves on the Royal Australasian College of Physicians overseas trained physicians assessment panel.
He has been a member of multiple national and international professional organisations. He was a keynote speaker at the UK Liver Cancer Meeting at Cambridge University in 2024. Currently he is leading a multicentre, international NHMRC-funded clinical trial examining whether aspirin therapy can prevent hepatocellular carcinoma in people with cirrhosis.
Source: Supplied
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0417-3411
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Mental wellbeing in rural and regional communities dealing with environmental challenges
Associate Professor Suzie Cosh is a psychologist and clinical researcher. Her work focuses on the intersection of climate change and mental health and she currently leads a body of work that focuses on supporting small rural communities to recover from and prepare for extreme weather events such as bushfires, floods and droughts.
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Personalised approaches to lung therapy
Dr. Adams’ research focus is on lung cancer, which is the deadliest of all cancers worldwide. He is working towards developing personalised approaches to pinpoint a therapy that is going to be most effective for the person with that disease. Dr. Adams’ research is focusing on chemotherapy and targeted therapy, and he is trying to identify upfront which of those tumours are likely to be resistant to the therapy. He then identifies strategies that will resensitize or increase the sensitivity of the tumour to the standard of care that is targeted therapy or chemotherapy.
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Cellular mechanisms of traumatic brain injury & concussion
Professor Melinda Fitzgerald is Deputy Vice Chancellor, Research at Curtin University, John Curtin Distinguished Professor and CEO of Connectivity Traumatic Brain Injury Australia.
She has published over 135 papers; recent highlights include Lancet Neurology, J Neuroscience, Nature Nano, ACS Nano, Biomaterials. Currently held grants/Projects total $10.1 million; CIA for $5.2 million of these; $18.5 million total research and equipment funding, $9.9 million as CIA; continuous category 1 grant funding as CIA since 2009.
