SA GROUP - Key Persons
Dr Abdul Shaikh graduated from medicine in Pakistan before coming to Australia in 2007 to further his medical training. He trained in gastroenterology at the Lyell McEwin Hospital, Queen Elizabeth Hospital and Royal Adelaide Hospital. He was the IBD fellow at Royal Adelaide Hospital in 2020.
Dr Shaikh is pursuing research in the role of diet in Inflammatory Bowel Disease, and is also involved in the clinical trials unit at Royal Adelaide Hospital.
Dr Adrian Chung graduated in medicine with honours from the University of Tasmania in 2001. He underwent training in gastroenterology and hepatology at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital and Westmead Hospital (Sydney), obtaining his Fellowship from the Royal Australasian College of Physicians in 2009.
Dr Chung pursued a further year of postgraduate training in advanced endoscopic procedures at Westmead Hospital in 2010, under the supervision of Prof. Michael Bourke and Dr Vu Kwan. He has accreditation with the Conjoint Committee of the Gastroenterological Society of Australia for endoscopy, colonoscopy and both gastrointestinal and hepatobiliary-pancreatic endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) with fine needle aspiration. Through the Australian colonoscopy recertification programme, he has an adenoma (significant polyp) detection rate of 61% which is above the national average of 41%. He has been a staff specialist gastroenterologist at Flinders Medical Centre since 2011.
Dr Alex Barnes graduated from Flinders University in 2013 before undertaking an IBD fellowship at Flinders Medical Centre. He is currently undertaking a PhD at Flinders University, examining the significance and aetiology of sleep disorders, fatigue and mental health conditions in people with Inflammatory Bowel Disease.
Dr Alex Rodgers graduated from medicine from the University of Adelaide, before training in gastroenterology at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital. He also completed a clinical fellowship at the Royal Infirmary Edinburgh (UK).
After graduating medicine, Dr Andrew Moey completed his specialist neurology training at the Royal Adelaide Hospital, Queen Elizabeth Hospital and Flinders Medical Centre. This included a Stroke Fellowship at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital in 2011.
Job Titles:
- Colorectal Surgeon ( Ph 8362 0887 )
Dr Arvind Rajagopalan moved from Newcastle to Adelaide to commence his medical training in 2005. He completed his advanced training in gastroenterology at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Royal Adelaide Hospital and Lyell McEwin Hospital. In 2019 he completed an Inflammatory Bowel Disease fellowship at Royal Perth Hospital.
Dr Claire Smart was born and raised in the UK and graduated medicine in England from the University of East Anglia in 2009. She undertook physician training across the north of England completing her MRCP(UK) in 2013 before moving to Australia in 2014 for a new adventure. She went on to commence Gastroenterology training in 2019 at Flinders Medical Centre and the Lyell McEwin Hospital completing her fellowship in luminal gastroenterology at Flinders achieving FRACP status in 2022. After a short career break she returns to clinical practice in 2023 following the birth of her first child.
Job Titles:
- Colorectal Surgeon ( Ph 8267 3355 )
Job Titles:
- Respiratory and Sleep Physician
After graduating from medicine, Dr Dien Dang worked in the United Kingdom for the National Health Service (NHS) before returning to the Royal Adelaide Hospital to complete his specialist training. He completed fellowships in respiratory and sleep medicine at the Western Hospital (Victoria) and the Melbourne Sleep Disorders Centre.
Job Titles:
- Respiratory and Sleep Physician
After graduating medicine, Dr Bate undertook an internship and basic physician training with the Hunter Area Health Service. He completed gastroenterology training, including a year as the hepatology fellow, at the Royal Adelaide Hospital. He subsequently spent 18 months as the hepatology/liver transplant fellow at St James's University Hospital (Leeds), the third largest liver transplant unit in the country.
Dr John Tillett is a specialist neurologist providing management for a range of neurological conditions, with a focus on nerve conduction and EMG, general neurology, including peripheral neuropath and headaches, and movement disorders.
Following his undergraduate degree, he undertook his internship and subsequent Basic Physician Training at the Royal Adelaide Hospital. He then completed Neurology advanced training at the Royal Adelaide Hospital and Flinders Medical Centre in 2016 and 2017. He subsequently completed fellowship training in movement disorders (with a focus on botulinum toxin administration and Parkinson's Disease) in 2018 and neurophysiology (both nerve conduction and encephalography) in 2019, both at the Royal Adelaide Hospital.
Qualifications and memberships
Dr Karmen Telfer completed her medical degree at Flinders University in 2011. After undertaking physician training at Flinders Medical Centre, she went on to complete advanced training in gastroenterology and hepatology at Flinders Medical Centre before a fellowship at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in inflammatory bowel disease. She is currently undertaking a Masters degree, researching the role of microbial therapies for inflammatory bowel disease.
Dr Mahinda De Silva graduated medicine before training in gastroenterology at Royal Hobart Hospital and Flinders Medical Centre.
Born in Canada and raised in Adelaide, Dr Marc Le Mire graduated from Flinders University in 1989, being awarded the Staff Prize for Medicine in his final year. He trained in infectious diseases medicine then gastroenterology in Adelaide, Darwin and Sydney. He then undertook a research project at the University of Adelaide looking at Hepatitis B infection. Dr Le Mire was awarded the Young Investigator Award, Asia Pacific Digestive Week, 2001, and then a PhD in 2003.
After a liver fellowship in Oxford (UK), Dr Le Mire returned to Adelaide. Since then, his work has included the implementation of the first FibroScan service in South Australia as well as postgraduate training and clinical trials.
Dr Martin Tan graduated medicine with honours from the University of Adelaide before undertaking physician training. He then went on to undertake specialist training in gastroenterology and nuclear medicine (including Positron-Emission Tomography, PET) at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Royal Adelaide Hospital and Lyell McEwin Hospital.
Job Titles:
- Respiratory and Sleep Physician
Dr Michelle Tan graduated from the University of Adelaide before completing her Respiratory training at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. She then completed a fellowship in Sleep Medicine at the Royal Adelaide Hospital.
Job Titles:
- Colorectal Surgeon ( Ph 8362 0887 )
Dr Raghu Kumar is a general gastroenterologist. After completing his bachelor's degree, he undertook an MD. Subsequently, he worked as a clinical teaching staff at the Kasturba Medical College, Manipal.
Dr Kumar completed further training at the Lyell McEwin Hospital, followed by advanced training in gastroenterology and hepatology at the Flinders Medical Centre and the Repatriation General Hospital, completing his FRACP and accreditation for endoscopy and colonoscopy by the conjoint committee.
He has been actively involved with medical student education, being the Clinical lead for gastroenterology at the Flinders University of South Australia for the past five years.
After graduating from medicine, Dr Sam Edwards undertook physician training at the Royal Adelaide Hospital. He then went on to complete advanced training in gastroenterology at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital before undertaking a fellowship at the Royal Free Hospital (London), with a focus on clinical management of inflammatory bowel disease.
Job Titles:
- General & Upper GI Surgeon
Dr Tim Bright graduated in Medicine from the University of Adelaide in 1995, was admitted to Royal Australasian College of Surgeons in 2006, and subsequently completed a Master of Surgery. He then went on to post-fellowship training at the Northern Oesophago-gastric Cancer Unit in Newcastle UK.
He has been involved in ANZGOSA and the ANZ Journal of Surgery, as well as published numerous research papers in Barrett's oesophagus, anti-reflux surgery, hiatus hernia surgery and oesophago-gastric cancer.
Associate Professor Hamish Philpott graduated from medicine at the University of Adelaide before completing further training interstate and overseas (in the United Kingdom and North America). He has received a number of scholarships, including the NHMRC scholarship in 2012, and the Philip Bushell Travelling Fellowship in 2016. This included travel to Chapel Hill, North Carolina, to conduct further research on eosinophilic oesophagitis, and gain clinical experience in managing complex neurogastroenterological conditions.
He has more than 60 publications in peer reviewed journals and continues research into Eosinophilic Esophagitis (EoE) and Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). Dr Philpott is passionate about medical research and applying the latest evidence to clinical practice.
Associate Professor Peter Bampton graduated in medicine from the University of Adelaide in 1988. He undertook specialist training in gastroenterology at the Royal Adelaide Hospital and Flinders Medical Centre, before obtaining an NHMRC Post-graduate Research Scholarship at the University of New South Wales (St George Campus).
He was a founding member of the Australian IBD Association as well as the ANZ IBD Research Consortium. He also helped develop Australia's largest surveillance program for people at risk of colorectal and oesophageal cancer, the SCOOP and BOSS programs.
He is a past elected council member of the Gastroenterological Society of Australia, as well as chair of its education arm, the Digestive Health Foundation. He was a founding member of the national executive of the Australian IBD Association, a member of the SA Reference Committee for the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program and has contributed to the NHMRC Guidelines on Colorectal Cancer Prevention. He has a keen interest in quality and safety, having undertaken courses in quality improvement from NSW Health as well as the Institute for Healthcare Improvement.
Associate Professor Peter Bampton has published over 100 scientific papers, opinions and reviews, and has contributed to both the Australian Medicines Handbook and Therapeutic Guidelines Handbook.