The Australian Gastrointestinal Research Alliance meeting in Newcastle (and online) included a diverse and thought-provoking line up of presentations, starting with Dr Huw McCarthy (UON) presenting on the effects of HIF-1α stabilisation on tumourigenesis and tumour progression in a murine colorectal cancer model.
Dr Kerith Duncanson then presented on the CRE in Digestive Health project progressing dietary assessment in diet-microbiome research, followed by Dr Md Moniruzzaman (UQ) discussing novel strategies to enable cure and preventative interventions in disorders of gut-brain interactions.
The next two presentations were based on the UK Health Improvement Network Database, the first by Professor Guy Eslick (USyd) that highlighted some interesting associations between conditions like eosinophilic esophagitis and coeliac disease and a range of risk factors and associated health markers. Professor Mike Jones (Macquarie University) then reported on the implications of childhood disorders of gut-brain interactions into adulthood.
Long COVID is a hot topic in gastrointestinal research at present, so it was interesting to hear Dimitri Kulin (UQ) present a systematic review and meta-analysis on the global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on disorders of gut-brain interactions. The program was completed with UON PhD student Nicole Simm presenting on the influence of diet on microbiological factors that mediate cognition.
It was so pleasing that colleagues and collaborators from across Australia and internationally could join today’s program to contribute comments, advise and ideas to hone and improve the research methods and analyses of the CRE’s work.