Prof Andrews has a long career in clinical gastroenterology, earning her FRACP in December 1994. Her research interests include IBD, functional GI disorders, quality of care, new care models and care outcomes, with recent endeavours branching into digital health delivery for IBD care, benchmarking, endoscopy, general surgery and even digital PreHab for various elective surgery pathways. She has worked at several hospitals within Australia (NSW and SA) and completed part of her Gastroenterology training in Oxford, UK.

Jane ran the IBD clinical trials at the Royal Adelaide Hospital (RAH) for several years. She is a previous Head of IBD Services, RAH (2007-2020), Head of Unit for Gastroenterology & Hepatology, RAH (2017-2019), and Medical Lead, Gastroenterology, General, GI & Trauma Surgery for Central Adelaide Local Healthcare Network (CALHN) (2019-2024) – experiences which broadened her interests in the systems underpinning healthcare delivery, care quality and value in care. She continues to work clinically with an IBD focus as a Senior Consultant Gastroenterologist. These clinical interactions inform her research and ensures it retains a patient focus.

Jane was previously a long serving member on the Board of the Gastroenterological Society of Australia (GESA) and formerly lead the GESA IBD Faculty. She is now the Board Chair and Medical Director at Crohn's Colitis Cure (CCCure), an IBD-focused charity on a mission to optimise care now and be instrumental in cure. She is one of the original design & build team members behind Crohn's Colitis Care (CCCare), an IBD-specific clinical management software created by CCCure. She is an internationally recognised thought leader in IBD care and has been involved in consulting work for various pharma nationally and internationally, with proceeds going to either CALHN-based or CCCure-based research work.

She also has a long-term research collaboration with psychologists to investigate the behavioural components of care receipt and delivery, along with the influence of mental health issues. She has authored >300 papers, and has successfully supervised several PhD, Masters and Honours students – many of whom have gone on to become impressive clinical researchers in their own right. She has been the grateful recipient of >$5M in PI grant funding, and was awarded the 2024 GESA Distinguished Researcher Prize.

Alissa Walsh is a Consultant Gastroenterologist at the Translational Gastroenterology Unit, John Radcliffe Hospital and an Associate Fellow at Green Templeton College at the University of Oxford. Alissa qualified from the University of Queensland, Australia in 1999 and trained in Gastroenterology, completing her FRACP in 2006. She went on to complete a DPhil in Clinical medicine at the University of Oxford.

Alissa was the Head of IBD at St Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney prior to relocating to Oxford and is now part of the IBD team at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford. She remains very involved with the inpatient and outpatient care of patients with Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. She is also the current Clinical Lead for Endoscopy for the Oxford University Hospitals Foundation Trust.

Research interests focus on inflammatory bowel disease, electronic remote monitoring of patient’s symptoms and impact on quality of life, clinical prediction, and machine learning. She is the author of 1 book, 4 chapters and over 50 papers.

Richard Gearry is a Consultant Gastroenterologist at Christchurch Hospital and Professor of Medicine at the University of Otago, Christchurch in New Zealand. Richard has undergraduate degrees in Medicine (1995) and a PhD (2006) from the University of Otago and has completed Fellowships at Box Hill Hospital in Melbourne and St Mark’s Hospital in London.

Richard has published widely in the field of luminal gastroenterology, particularly inflammatory bowel disease, is on the Editorial Board and Grant review boards of regional and international journals and funding bodies. He is a Medical Advisor to Crohn’s and Colitis NZ, the only New Zealand member of the International Organisation for the study of Inflammatory Bowel Diseases and a Trustee of the Gut Foundation, New Zealand.

Ian Lawrance is a Gastroenterologist and an Adjunct Professor in the School of Medicine and Pharmacology, Faulty of Medicine and Dentistry at the University of Western Australia. He completed his PhD at the John Curtin School of Medical Research in 1998 and undertook a post-doctoral fellowship in the Division of Gastroenterology, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA.

On his return to Australia in 2000, he was appointed as a staff specialist Gastroenterologist at Fremantle Hospital. He was subsequently appointed as a Senior Lecturer and then Associate Professor in the School of Medicine and Pharmacology, UWA. He was a Professor from 2009-18 when he became an Adjunct Professor.

Prof Lawrance was a founding member of the physician-initiated interest group ‘IBD Australia’ in 2002 and was its secretary from 2005-8. A member, and then Joint Chair, of the international IBD genetic Consortium (IIBDGC) and currently sits on the numerous pharmaceutical IBD drug advisory committees (Pharmatel Fresenius Kabi, Janssen-Cilag and Abbott Australasia and Scherring-Plough/Merck, Isopogen).

Prof Lawrance was the head of the department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at Fremantle Hospital from 2004-7, the director of endoscopic services at Kaleeya Hospital from 2004-7 and was the Director of the Centre for Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBD) Fremantle Hospital from its inception to 2015. In 2014 he set up, and continues to run, the Centre for Inflammatory Bowel Disease in the private sector at Saint John of God Hospital, Subiaco.

Susan is the Head of the Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) Service at Liverpool Hospital in Sydney where she is a senior staff specialist and conjoint Professor with University of New South Wales (UNSW) as well as leading one of the SWSLHD Academic Units. She did her medical degree (Hons 1) through UNSW, and her Bachelor of Medical Science (UNSW) was in lactose malabsorption in Burmese village children. Her PhD was also at UNSW in mucosal immunology in IBD with Prof Michael Grimm. She is past Chair of the IBD Faculty within the Gastroenterological Society of Australia (GESA), past Executive Committee member on the ANZIBD consortium for 10 years, past member of the Infectious Disease, Immunity and Inflammation Clinical Academic Group within SPHERE and has served on multiple other committees including for Crohn’s and Colitis Australia, National Prescribing Service and as a Senior National Examiner for the Royal Australian College of Physicians. Her focus now is on targeted advocacy for IBD through her Board membership on Crohn’s Colitis Cure using the data and research from the IBD Software Crohn’s Colitis Care (CCCare) for which she is a co-designer. Advocacy work is in collaboration with Crohn’s & Colitis Australia, GESA and IBD Nurses Australia. Her research interests include e-Health and Value based health care; patient and clinician support tools in IBD; optimising patient/clinician communication and perianal Crohn’s disease.

Steve has built and led a variety of services-oriented businesses and operated as an executive consultant and business advisor over his 35-year career. His experience has covered multiple sectors and he has worked across Australia, New Zealand, Asia Pacific, the UK and USA.

Originally from the UK, Steve joined Deloitte Consulting in Sydney in 1990, was appointed as a partner in 1995, running Australian and Asia Pacific businesses during that period, and for the last two years operated as the deputy managing director for Australia/NZ. In 2004 Steve joined Accenture as a managing director in, initially to run large deal business development in SE Asia, then moved to build their Telecommunications, Media and Hi-Tech business, which he ran for 8 years. He was appointed as senior managing director in 2012, continuing to run clients and businesses, the largest of which grew to revenues of AUD $700m pa and employed 4,000 people across 5 continents.

From 2014, Steve was based with Accenture in Hong Kong, where he was part of the global leadership team for Growth Markets, responsible for increasing market share with multinational clients across Asia, Africa and the Middle East. In the Hong Kong market, he was also responsible for leading an acquisition strategy which doubled annual revenue and re-positioned Accenture. During this period, he personally advised the boards and CEOs of two of Hong Kong’s largest multi-nationals, sponsored Accenture’s Asia Pacific Fintech lab, and led a global leadership development programme for managing directors in Accenture.

In early 2017, he returned to Australia, to re-structure and lead Accenture’s financial services business. Steve retired from Accenture in December 2019, after 15 years and he has since managed a portfolio of interests, which includes co-founding and running Harrow Advisory—a business providing advisory services to executives.

Kevin is an experienced senior executive and corporate advisor with extensive commercial experience across the technology and communications sectors. He has held global leadership roles in corporate strategy, marketing, sales, product management, strategic alliances, and customer service.

Originally from the UK and now residing in Australia, Kevin has had a global career, which also included periods living in North America and Asia. In 1994, after building the global training division for Eicon Technology, Kevin relocated from Canada to Australia to establish its Asia Pacific presence. During his tenure, the business expanded rapidly and secured some of its largest global contracts..

In 2001, he joined ASX-listed KAZ Group as executive general manager for marketing. The company then went through a significant scale-up prior to its acquisition by Telstra in 2003 for $333m. He then joined Microsoft in 2007, where he led the enterprise marketing team with responsibility for over $1b in annual revenues.

In 2013, Kevin joined ASX-listed Integrated Research, a global software business with solutions that provide critical data analytics for the payments transaction and video collaboration markets. During this time, he was recognised as one of Australia's leading chief marketing officers, featuring in the CMO Magazine annual CMO50 list. Over the following nine years he held various executive roles, including responsibility for global product strategy and go-to-market. Kevin currently provides mentoring and strategic advisory services, which includes areas such as market entry/expansion strategy, M&A, product, and marketing strategy.

As the CEO of CCCure, Bill brings 30 years of experience in transformation and innovation within the for-purpose sector. Under his stewardship CCCure is establishing itself as a leading MedTech charity globally.

Driven by a deep understanding of the issues relating to access and navigation in healthcare, Bill and the team are transforming the patient journey in Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD through ground-breaking data-driven solutions that will enable personalised treatment and ultimately a pathway to a cure.

Bill’s commitment to improving healthcare outcomes through data was sparked during his tenure as CEO of a national health consumer organisation. There, he led a stakeholder discovery study that identified over 700 unmet patient needs, resulting in the creation of the Zero Lives Lost strategy and Australia’s first ‘State of the Nation’ report on blood cancer. These initiatives established a national taskforce and action plan to improve access to treatments and enhance survival rates.

In addition to his role at CCCure, Bill serves as Co-Chair of the Australian chapter of an international healthcare advocacy organisation focused on optimising cancer care. He also Chairs the charitable foundation for one of NSW's largest hospitals, where he oversees funding for innovative healthcare programs.

Outside of his professional roles, Bill co-founded a HealthTech charity that uses virtual reality to support patients dealing with isolation, anxiety, and depression. He holds postgraduate qualifications in Politics, Social Impact, Marketing, and Governance.

Coming soon!

Coming soon!

Rodger is the current Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) Research fellow Crohn's Colitis Cure and Conjoint Associate Lecturer with the University of New South Wales. He obtained a Bachelor of Science from The University of Queensland and a Doctor of Medicine from The University of Sydney, graduating in 2020. After undertaking internship and residency at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Rodger completed Basic Physician Training at Liverpool Hospital. Rodger is focused on advancing research in inflammatory bowel diseases with a goal of improving treatment outcomes and patient care. With a deep commitment to both research and clinical practice, he aspires to become a gastroenterology staff specialist, bridging the gap between innovative research and improved patient care within the field of gastroenterology.

Chrissie Whitfield brings over 30 years’ experience in governance, strategic management, and IT programme delivery across public, private, and charitable sectors. A committed advocate for community impact, she is Strategy Lead at Crohn's Colitis Cure, has led and supported numerous charitable initiatives, including as Founding Director of Blindsided NZ, and contributed to health, disability, and community support organisations.

Combining senior experience in governance, risk management, and digital transformation with a passion for equitable access to support, Chrissie helps purpose-led organisations deliver meaningful, measurable outcomes.

Away from work, she enjoys motorbikes, motorsports, photography, and writing, is always looking for opportunities to travel, and loves reading and exploring new ideas.

Gabby is the Office & Project Coordination Lead at Crohn’s Colitis Cure, bringing over a decade of experience coordinating executive support and streamlining finance, legal, and administrative operations. She previously directed governance, day‑to‑day financials, and system rollout at SaaS startup OrbViz and spent seven years with Canterbury Angels helping shape New Zealand’s startup and angel investment ecosystem. A hands‑on operator with strong communication skills and strategic perspective, she delivers cross‑sector efficiency and tangible impact.

Away from the office, Gabby is mum to four, she loves reading, following Formula 1 weekends, soaking up live concerts and camping with her family in summer.