Dr Alissa Walsh is a Sydney-based gastroenterologist. She undertook her undergraduate medical training at the University of Queensland. Specialty gastroenterology training was completed in Australia at the Royal Brisbane Hospital, Prince of Wales Hospital (Sydney) and St Vincent's Hospital (Sydney). In 2007-2008 Dr Walsh was a gastroenterology Fellow at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, United Kingdom. She is now a staff specialist at St Vincent's Hospital in Sydney. Dr Otto Buchel is a South African trained physician. Following completion of training in general internal medicine in Pretoria, he went abroad to pursue further training in gastroenterology. An initial 21 months at University Hospital Gasthuisberg, Leuven and Imelda Hospital Bonheiden, both in Belgium, were followed by 5 years in the UK. The first three and a half years were spent gaining experience at Good Hope Hospital, Sutton Coldfield and Walsall Manor Hospital in Walsall. Before returning to South Africa Dr Buchel worked as a Clinical Fellow in Gastroenterology at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford. He is currently a consultant physician at Universitas Hospital in Bloemfontein. Dr Jane Collier has been Consultant Hepatologist at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford since 2000. She trained in Newcastle-upon-Tyne at the transplant unit and in Toronto. As well as carrying out research in hepatocellular carcinoma, her areas of expertise are in general hepatology, managing liver transplant follow ups, alcoholic liver disease and chronic viral hepatitis. She also runs joint speciality clinics in cystic fibrosis and HIV disease. Dr Simon Travis is Chairman of the Scientific Committee of the European Crohn's and Colitis Organisation (ECCO), elected Member of the International Organisation of Inflammatory Bowel Disease and principal co-author of the ECCO Consensus Guidelines on Crohn's disease (2006) and ulcerative colitis (2008). He was formerly Chair of the IBD Section of the British Society of Gastroenterology (2002-5), Clinical Director of Gastroenterology and Endoscopy (2002-8), Member of Council of the British Society of Gastroenterology (2004-2007) and Consultant Gastroenterologist in Plymouth (1994-2001). He has been an invited contributor to the American and Canadian guidelines on the use of biological therapy for IBD. Research interests focus on IBD, particularly novel therapy, clinical prediction and outcomes in clinical trials. He is the author of 4 books, 26 chapters, 9 peer-reviewed international guidelines and over 100 papers.
