Professor Stuart Brierley is Director of the Visceral Pain Research Group, Director of the Hopwood Centre for Neurobiology, and Co-Theme Leader of Lifelong Health at the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI). He is an NHMRC Investigator L1 recipient (2022-2026), and received an NHMRC Research Excellence Award for being the top-ranked NHMRC CDF-II Fellow in the 2016 round.

Since 2020 he has been named in the Stanford University / Elsevier World Top 2% Scientist Rankings. He was also a South Australian Tall Poppy Science Awardee in 2011.

Professor Brierley is an international expert on the 'gut-brain axis' and chronic visceral pain mechanisms. His research comprises discovery and translational science investigating the nerve pathways innervating visceral organs to determine the causes of, and treatments for, Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), bladder pain syndrome, and endometriosis. His research focuses on the role of different nerve pathways innervating the viscera, the channels and receptors underlying their function, the influence of microbiome and the immune system, and how these mechanisms are changed during acute and chronic visceral pain.

Professor Brierley has a proven track record of publishing innovative, technically demanding research in the fields of gastroenterology, pain, neuroscience and pharmacology. He has published 132 papers in high impact journals, such as Nature (x5), Science, Cell, Nature Communications, Gastroenterology (x6), Gut (x11), PNAS (x2), JCI Insight (x3), Pain (x13), J Neuroscience (x2). He also has invited reviews in Nature Reviews Gastroenterology Hepatology (x2), Annual Reviews of Physiology. Since 2020 he has been named in the Stanford University / Elsevier Top 2% World Scientist Rankings.

Professor Brierley has been awarded >$43.5M in research funding (since 2004) including NHMRC fellowships (x4), NHMRC Project grants (x13), NHMRC Development grant (x1), NHMRC Synergy grant (x1), NIH RO1 grant (x1), NIH HEAL/SPARC grants (x2), MRFF (x1), ARC Discovery (x2) and ARC LIEF (x3).

Professor Brierley has a strong track record of industry collaboration. His collaborations with industry partners Ironwood Pharmaceuticals identified the mechanism of pain relief of a new drug (Linaclotide) in treating patients with IBS with constipation (IBS-C). Linaclotide, a guanylate cyclase-C agonist is effective in relieving abdominal pain associated with IBS-C and is available and registered for use by IBS-C patients in the USA, Europe, Asia, and Australia.

Professor Brierley has active collaborations with AusHealth, GSK, Nxera, Thetis, and Escient Pharmaceuticals for testing and developing novel visceral pain treatments. Over the last 10 years he has worked with Ironwood, Takeda, Ferring, Allergan, Arena, Sosei Heptares, Nocion, Zealand, and Tioga Pharmaceuticals.

For a current list of publications see:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=brierley-sm.

Prof Brierley is recognised by his peers as a leading international authority on the afferent pathways innervating our internal organs and how they relate to chronic visceral pain. His research comprises discovery and translational science investigating the causes and cures of chronic abdominal pain relevant to gastrointestinal disorders such as Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). These disorders are highly prevalent, affecting up to 15% of the Western population. In particular, his research focuses on the role of different afferent classes innervating tour internal organs, the channels underlying their function, the interaction of these channels with inflammatory and immune mediators, and how these processes change in acute and chronic pain. His recent research interests extends into other common causes for visceral pain including interstitial cystitis/painful bladder syndrome and endometriosis and how ‘cross-organ sensitisation' can potentially explain co-morbidities in these patients.