About Us
Metabolic diseases such as type two diabetes and morbid obesity are incredibly common and lead to death and severe illness in tens of thousands of Australians every year. Unfortunately these conditions lack “ambassadors” in the community to champion a campaign to seek solutions. As a result, funding into prevention and management from Government and private sources remains far less than for many conditions that are significantly more rare but better promoted. The lack of research is compounded by a lack of training. Without training it’s impossible to provide patients with doctors skilled enough to offer successful treatments to patients. The aim of the UGIMRF is to stimulate an interest in research and treatment for these and other conditions so that the patients we treat will have better treatments and better choices tomorrow. While we have started small, with a focus on our local communities, we realise that if we grow a large enough network our effectiveness will grow.
Created by medical professionals, managed by medical professionals.
100% of funding is directed into research & education, not administrative fees.
Performing research into today’s more common, yet most neglected medical problems.
Training doctors to provide patients better care for a better future.
BariatricAlso known as weight loss surgery, bariatric surgery alters the anatomy and function of the oesophagus, stomach and small bowel to drastically reduce hunger and eating capacity, leading patients to subsequently lose weight and attain a healthier lifestyle.
CancerResearch and education into treatment of several cancers within the upper gastrointestinal tract such as: oesophageal cancer, gastric cancer, pancreatic cancer and biliary cancer. This is an area with a high mortality rate yet lack of research and funding.
RefluxReflux is a common condition caused by a “faulty” valve at the bottom of the oesophagus that allows stomach acid to escape into the “food pipe”. Acid reflux is a normal bodily function, however people who experience on-going problems with reflux despite adequate medical treatment may require surgery.
HerniaHernias can develop very quickly or over time, usually caused by a combination of muscle weakness and strain. Hernias can affect people of both sexes and all ages, although other factors such as weight, pregnancy, constipation or straining through exercise can be causes.
When I was training as both a junior Doctor and junior Surgeon I was inspired by my mentors to look into the reasons why our treatments work, and to always look beyond the horizon to seek ways to individualise care for patients to improve their outcomes.
Associate Professor Michael TalbotMB ChB FRACS
Founding Director
Quality surgery for me is built on the foundations of good training and good research. The UGIMRF aims to provide opportunities for our junior Doctors to achieve both of these aims.
Dr David YeoBMedSci, MBBS, MS, FRACS
Director
I strongly believe that quality research and adequate funding are crucial for the advancement of surgery. These investments drive innovation, improve patient outcomes, and enable the development of cutting-edge techniques and treatments. By supporting robust research efforts, we can ensure that the latest evidence-based practices are incorporated into patient care, ultimately enhancing the standard of treatment in the field.
Dr Oliver FisherMD, PhD, FMH Surgery, FRACS
Director
Our Research & Education
Research is fundamental for the advancement in medical treatment for upper gastrointestinal conditions. Due to the nature of medical research our projects do take significant time to gather relevant data and statistics in order to draw conclusions from our work. Our current projects include:
- A randomised trial of banded sleeve gastrectomy.
- Long term outcomes of sleeve gastrectomy.
- Long term outcomes of revision bariatric surgery.
Education is vital to ensure that doctors who are working within the upper gastrointestinal and metabolic field, as well as doctors working in related areas, are up to date with the latest research and techniques. An important part of the foundation is providing doctors and medical staff with sufficient training and on-going teaching in this area. We believe that by continuing to provide education in this underdeveloped area of treatment and research, that we will be able to provide better treatment for patients in the future.
65%
of Australian adults are overweight or obese
7%
OF PEOPLE diagnosed with pancreatic cancer live longer than 5 years
60%
of adults will experience
some form of reflux
5%
of the population will develop an abdominal hernia
Grants
A Grant may be awarded upon completion of a research project to help financial arrangements related to presentation of the research paper or poster at either a local, regional or international level. There are currently two grants available for approved applicants.
More Information
For more information about our available grants please download and complete our application form and submit this to the email provided in Contact details.
Previous Grant Winners
Below you will find a list of all previous Grant recipients and the work produced as a result. Click the + symbol next to the year, and then you can select which Grant recipient/abstract you would like to view or download.
Unit Publications
Metabolic bariatric surgery generates substantial, sustained weight loss and
health improvement in a real-world setting.
ANZ J Surg. 2025 Jan 9. doi: 10.1111/ans.19378. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 39785110.
Brown WA, Brown DL, Holland JF, Campbell A, Cottrell J, Ahern S, Reilly J, Garduce P, Wetter J, Hamdorf JM, Talbot M, Baker S, MacCormick AD, Caterson ID.
Economics of emergency laparoscopic cholecystectomy at an Australian tertiary centre in the post COVID-19 era.
Am J Surg. 2024 Dec 20;241:116158. doi: 10.1016/j.amjsurg.2024.116158. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 39740648.
Hayler R, Hanna S, Boerkamp A, Gao Y, Alhayo ST, Talbot ML.
The Management of Intractable Gastroesophageal Reflux Following Sleeve Gastrectomy: A Narrative Review.
Curr Surg Rep (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40137-024-00426-8
Chan, D.L., Chen, K.L., Indja, B.E. et al.
Reply to comment on is simultaneous bariatric surgery and ventral hernia repair a
Surg Obes Relat Dis. 2024 Jun;20(6):597. doi:page 12 10.1016/j.soard.2024.02.009. Epub 2024 Mar 12.
Michael Leonard Talbot, Sukrit Khanna
Predictors of anastomotic leak and conduit necrosis after oesophagectomy: Results
March 2024. European
Journal of Surgical Oncology 50(6). DOI: 10.1016/j.ejso.2024.107983
Latrogenic eventration of the hemidiaphragm in a post-bariatric surgery patient.
Surg Case Rep. 2024 Mar 13;2024(3):rjae117. doi: 10.1093/jscr/rjae117. eCollection 2024 Mar.
Long LE, Alhayo ST, Talbot M.L
Is simultaneous bariatric surgery and ventral hernia repair a safe and effective approach?
Surg Obes Relat Dis. 2024 Mar;20(3):245-252. doi: 10.1016/j.soard.2023.10.013. Epub 2023 Nov 7.
Khanna S, Thevaraja M, Chan DL, Talbot ML.
Investigating the Prevalence of Copper and Zinc Abnormalities in Patients Pre and Post bariatric Surgery-an Australian Experience.
Obes Surg. 2023 Nov;33(11):3437-3446. doi:10.1007/s11695-023-06822-w. Epub 2023 Sep 29.
Zarshenas N, Tapsell LC, Batterham M, Neale EP, Talbot ML.
A case of life-threatening, early postoperative refeeding syndrome in an obese young female undergoing laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy.Surg Case Rep. 2023 Sep 16;2023(9):rjad516. doi: 10.1093/jscr/rjad516. eCollection 2023 Sep.
Chiu TR, Waller JH, Meslin SMM, Talbot ML, Jorgensen JJ, Fisher OM.J
Robotic Vagus-Sparing Total Gastrectomy for CDH1 Gene Mutation Treatment.
Chan DL, Talbot ML. J Vis Exp. 2023 Dec 8;(202). doi: 10.3791/65303.
CT oesophageal hiatal surface area measurements: An objective and sensitive means of hiatal hernia detection.
March 2023. Surgery Open Digestive Advance 9(4):100085. DOI: 10.1016/j.soda.2023.100085.
Daniel Leonard, Brenda W Huang, Jim Yip, Michael L Talbot.
Medium Term Outcomes of Revision Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy after Gastric Banding: A Propensity Score Matched Study.
May 2023. Obesity Surgery 33(7):1-11. DOI: 10.1007/s11695-023-06629-9.
Brenda W. HuangSarfraz S. ShahulMarcus, K.H. Ong, Michael L Talbot.
The influence of anastomotic techniques on postoperative anastomotic complications: Results of the Oesophago-Gastric Anastomosis Audit
The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery 164 (3), 674-684. e5
Author links open overlay panel. Oesophago-Gastric Anastomosis Audit study group on behalf of the West Midlands Research Collaborative. SK Kamarajah, RPT Evans, D Nepogodiev, J Hodson, JR Bundred,
Postoperative and Pathological Outcomes of CROSS and FLOT as Neoadjuvant Therapy for Esophageal and Junctional Adenocarcinoma.
OGAAO Collaborative. Annals of Surgery 277 (5), e1026-e1034
An International Cohort Study From the Oesophagogastric Anastomosis Audit.
The role of adjuvant pharmacotherapy with liraglutide for patients with inadequate weight loss following bariatric surgery.
Langenbeck’s Archives Surg 408, 115 (2023).
Colbourne, J. R. M., Fisher, O. M., Mo, S., Rigas, G. S. & Talbot, M. L.
Hiatial reconstruction is safe and effective for control of reflux after laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy.
BMC Surgical 22, 347 (2022)
Indja B, Chan DL, Talbot ML.
Optimal common limb length in Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery: is it important for an ideal outcome? – a systematic review.
(2022), ANZ Journal of Surgery.
Hort, A., Cheng, Q., Morosin, T., Yoon, P. and Talbot, M.
Bariatric Surgery: A Call for Greater Access to Coordinated Surgical and Specialist Care in the Public Health System
AHMAD ALY, MICHAEL L TALBOT, WENDY A BROWN. 14 AUGUST 2022
Fertility, pregnancy and postpartum management after bariatric surgery: a narrative review.
Medical Journal of Australia. 2022-02-07. DOI: 10.5694/mja2.51373.
Sarah Cheah; Yijun Gao; Shirley Mo; Georgia Rigas; Oliver Fisher; Daniel L
Chan; Michael G Chapman; Michael L Talbot.
Long-term outcomes and satisfaction of laparoscopic non-absorbable mesh-reinforced hiatal hernia repair.
Surgery Open Digestive Advance. 2022-06. DOI: 10.1016/j.soda.2022.100042.
Daniel Leonard Chan; Sonia Tran; Shaveen Kanakaratne; Hannah Mary Bruce; Cynthuja Thilakanathan; Nicholas
Bull; Annemarie Hennessy; Jim Iliopoulos; Michael Leonard Talbot
Roux-en-Y gastric bypass and gastric sleeve surgery result in long term bone loss.
Int J Obes (Lond). 2021 Jan;45(1):235-246. doi: 10.1038/s41366-020-00660-x. Epub 2020 Aug 26.
Malgorzata M Brzozowska, Thach Tran, Dana Bliuc, John Jorgensen, Michael Talbot, Douglas Fenton-Lee, Weiwen Chen, Angel Hong, Alex Viardot, Chris P White, Tuan V Nguyen, Nicholas Pocock, John A Eisman, Paul A Baldock, Jacqueline R Center.
Barrett’s Oesophagus and Bariatric/Metabolic Surgery-IFSO 2020 Position Statement.
Obes Surg. 2021 Jan 18. doi: 10.1007/s11695-020-05143-6. Online ahead of print.
Oliver M Fisher 1 , Daniel L Chan 1 , Michael L Talbot 1 , Almino Ramos 1 , Ahmad Bashir 1 , Miguel F Herrera 1 , Jacques Himpens 1 , Scott Shikora 1 , Kelvin D Higa 1 , Lilian Kow 1 , Wendy A Brown 2 3 DOI: 10.1007/s11695-020-05143-6.
Accuracy of High-Resolution Manometry in Hiatal Hernia Diagnosis in Primary and Revision Bariatric Surgery
Obesity Surgery 2021
Daniel L. Chan, Tien Y. Chern, Jim Iliopoulos, Annemarie Hennessy, Simon K. H. Wong, Enders K.W. Ng, Michael L. Talbot
Screening and treatment of thiamine deficiency in a sample of multidisciplinary
bariatric surgery clinical teams.
Obes Surg. 2021 Oct;31(10):4666-4668. doi: 10.1007/s11695-021-
05614-4. Epub 2021 Aug 5.
Zarshenas N, Tapsell LC, Batterham M, Neale EP, Talbot ML.
Endoscopic submucosal resection of gastric antrum stromal tumour
Medicine Case Reports and Study Protocols October 2021 – Volume 2 – Issue 10 – p e0170 doi:
10.1097/MD9.0000000000000170
Roy, Susmit Prosun; Benjamin, Aditya Thomas; Talbot, Michael.
Benefits of Intra‐Operative Cholangiogram for Acute cholecystitis.
Surg Pract. Accepted Author Manuscript. https://doi.org/10.1111/1744-1633.12491
Askari, A., Riaz, A.A., Brittain, R., Zhou, J., Irwin, S. and Talbot, M. (2021)
Changes in Anthropometric Measures, Nutritional Indices and Gastrointestinal Symptoms Following One Anastomosis Gastric Bypass (OAGB) Compared with Roux-en-y Gastric Bypass (RYGB).
Obesity Surgery (2021)
Nazy Zarshenas, Linda Clare Tapsell, Marijka Batterham, Elizabeth Phillipa Neale & Michael Leonard Talbot.
The Relationship Between Bariatric Surgery and Diet Quality: a Systematic Review. (2020)
Obes Surg. 2020 Jan 15. doi: 10.1007/s11695-020-04392-9. [Epub ahead of print]
Zarshenas N, Tapsell LC, Neale EP, Batterham M, Talbot ML
The Relationship Between Bariatric Surgery and Diet Quality: a Systematic Review.
Obes Surg. 2020 May;30(5):1768-1792. doi: 10.1007/s11695-020-04392-9.
Zarshenas N, Tapsell LC, Neale EP, Batterham M, Talbot ML.
Accuracy of hiatal hernia diagnosis in bariatric patients: Preoperative endoscopy versus intraoperative reference.
10.1002/jgh3.12388
Daniel L Chan 1 2 3, Simon K-H Wong 1, Hon Ting Lok 1, Jim Iliopoulos 2, Michael L Talbot 2 3, Annemarie Hennessy 2, Enders K-W Ng 1.
Accuracy of hiatal hernia diagnosis in bariatric patients: Preoperative endoscopy versus intraoperative reference.
10.1002/jgh3.12388</ br>Daniel L Chan 1 2 3, Simon K-H Wong 1, Hon Ting Lok 1, Jim Iliopoulos 2, Michael L Talbot 2 3, Annemarie Hennessy 2, Enders K-W Ng 1.
High-resolution impedance manometry and 24-hour multichannel intraluminal impedance with pH testing before and after sleeve gastrectomy: de novo reflux in a prospective series.
Surg Obes Relat Dis. 2021 Feb;17(2):329-337. doi: 10.1016/j.soard.2020.09.030. Epub 2020 Sep 23.PMID: 33153961
Tien Yew Chen, Daniel L Chan, Jason Maani, Jorgen Ferguson, Michael Talbot.
Mortality from esophagectomy for esophageal cancer across low, middle, and high-income countries: An international cohort study.
Eur J Surg Oncol doi:10.1016/j.ejso.2020.12.006.
Kamarajah, S. K. et al.
Comparison of Outcomes Following Revisional Laparoscopic Gastric Band, Sleeve Gastrectomy and Roux-En-Y Gastric Bypass. (2020)
Riaz AA*, Singh K, Askari A, Ferguson J and Talbot ML
Minimally invasive Venetian blinds ventral hernia repair with botulinum toxin chemical component separation. (2019)
ANZ JOURNAL OF SURGERY. D. L. CHAN MBBS, MPH, FRACS; P. RAVINDRAN MBBS, MS, FRACS; H. S. FAN MBBS; K. E. ELSTNER MBBS, MS; A. S. W. JACOMBS BSC, MBBS, PHD; N. IBRAHIM FRACS, FRCS; M. L. TALBOT MBCHB, FRACS.
Management of Zenker’s diverticulum using flexible endoscopy. (2019)
Fan HS, Stavert B, Chan DL, Talbot ML. | VideoGIE 4(2):87-90 01 Feb 2019.
Simultaneous laparoscopic ‘Venetian blinds’ closure and mesh-reinforced ventral hernia repair with revision of gastric band to bypass. (2018)
Chan DL, Talbot ML. | Surgery for Obesity and Related Diseases 14(2):245-246 01 Feb 2018.
Portomesenteric vein thrombosis in sleeve gastrectomy: a 10-year review. (2018)
S Tan et al. | Surgery for Obesity and Related Diseases Volume 14, Issue 3, March 2018, Pages 271-275.
Laparoscopic Enucleation of Schwannoma Masquerading as a Leiomyoma. (2017)
H., RAHMAN, A., TALBOT, M. | Journal of Medical Cases, North America, 8, jul. 2017.
Subspecialty approach for the management of acute cholecystitis: an alternative to acute surgical unit model of care. (2017)
Sonia Tran, Vincent Choi, Kirsten Hepburn, Nathan Hewitt, Joel Zhou, Daniel L. Chan, Michael L. Talbot. | ANZ J.
Successful management of perforated duodenal diverticulum by use of endoscopic drainage. (2017)
Howard S. Fan, Michael L. Talbot. Video GIE.
Contact Us
If you would like more information about UGIMRF or have any questions then please contact us using the form below or send us an email. If you would like to make a donation to the foundation then please complete our contact form and we will be in touch to go through the process with you personally.