Australian Gastrointestinal Research Alliance

Current research focuses on the cause and treatment of inflammatory luminal gut disease.

The focus areas of AGIRA research include functional bowel disorders such as dyspepsia, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and pediatric abdominal pain syndromes. The Alliance is working on developing biomarkers, exploring underlying pathologies, evaluating psychological factors, and studying the brain-gut axis. Research also examines the role of infection, the microbiome, and the impact of hypoxia in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), as well as the epidemiology of IBD. Other areas of focus include gastro-oesophageal reflux disease, oesophageal pre-cancer and cancer, eosinophilic oesophagitis and eosinophilic GI diseases, coeliac disease, and the use of faecal transplantation in treating gut disorders.

• In Australia the founding groups of AGIRA are based at Newcastle (University of Newcastle, Hunter Medical Research Institute, John Hunter Hospital and General Practice), Brisbane (Princess Alexandra Hospital & Translational Research Institute) and Sydney (Macquarie University, University of NSW, and University of Sydney). We are always interested in establishing links with other GI research groups, both domestically and internationally.

• We have international collaborations in the USA, UK, Sweden, Belgium, Switzerland, Finland, Brazil, Chile, Singapore and China.

The aim of AGIRA is to bring together expertise, secure funding for research projects, conduct rigorous clinical research in basic science, and recruit sufficient patient numbers for robust clinical studies and trials.

For more information, please view the websites below or contact us:

NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence in Digestive Health

NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence in Transforming Gut Health