Gastroenterology and Liver

Gastroenterology and Liver at South Western Sydney delivers one of Australia’s most comprehensive services for complex liver disease, viral hepatitis, liver cancer and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

Located in a region with some of the highest rates of viral hepatitis and liver cancer in the country, the unit manages highly diverse and often vulnerable patient populations, many from non-English speaking backgrounds. This presents both challenges and opportunities to improve equity of access and long-term outcomes.

Our multidisciplinary teams in hepatology and IBD are actively engaged in cutting-edge translational research that informs clinical practice, including innovative screening, therapeutic drug monitoring, registries, and health literacy programs. The teams are also emerging leaders in sustainable healthcare delivery, with a pioneering program focused on reducing the carbon footprint of endoscopy and developing non-invasive alternatives where possible.

Key Initiatives and Research Platforms

Liver Disease & Viral Hepatitis Research

• Targeted programs to optimise diagnosis and management of Hepatitis B and C in diverse and hard-to-reach populations.
• The SEARCH (Screening Emergency Admissions at Risk of Chronic Hepatitis) initiative: routine viral hepatitis screening for emergency department presentations to facilitate earlier diagnosis and prevent complications such as cirrhosis, liver failure and hepatocellular carcinoma. More info: https://www.gastroliverpool.com.au/search-3x.html Collaboration with WHO-aligned targets to eliminate viral hepatitis as a public health threat by 2030.
• Novel approaches to optimise management of hepatitis B in pregnancy and post-partum care.
• Health literacy and culturally tailored education tools for CALD communities affected by hepatitis B.
• Clinical and research programs aimed at improving care in hepatocellular carcinoma to improve survival and quality of life outcomes.
• Innovation in locoregional therapy providing state of the art care in Australia.
• Advancing therapeutic development and expanding treatment options for patients by offering clinical trials in Liver cancer, hepatitis B, Metabolic dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease (MASLD), Primary Biliary Cholangitis (PBC), and Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis (PSC).

Inflammatory Bowel Disease Research

• Development of advanced decision support tools to facilitate personalised care and patient empowerment.
• Australia’s first and only public therapeutic drug monitoring service for IBD.
• A prospective Clinical Quality Registry with over 15,000 real-time patient records (including paediatrics) to inform treatment pathways and research.
• Clinical management platform Crohn’s Colitis Care — now implemented at 19 leading IBD centres across Australia, New Zealand and internationally.
• NHMRC-funded PROACTIVE study focused on optimising drug therapy for complex fistulising Crohn’s disease.
• Ongoing research into IBD genetics, dietary influences, microbiome modulation and biologic therapy optimisation.
• Sustainable Healthcare & Innovation in Endoscopy:
  • Ministry of Health-supported sustainability project focused on carbon reduction strategies in endoscopy.
  • Examining the role of non-invasive diagnostic alternatives to reduce reliance on resource-intensive endoscopic procedures.
• Advancing therapeutic development and expanding treatment options for patients by offering clinical trials in Luminal Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn’s Disease.