Meet the research leaders in gut disorders and obesity
Professor Geoffrey Davidson MBBS MD, FRACP
Professor Davidson is co-leader of the Gastroenterology Stream at the Children's Research Centre alongside Dr Taher Omari, and is a senior gastroenterologist in the Department of Gastroenterology at the Women's and Children's Hospital. He is also an Adjunct Professor in the Discipline of Paediatrics at the University of Adelaide.
Professor Davidson is an expert in gastro-oesophageal reflux disease, diarrhoeal disease, clinical nutrition and feeding disorders. Importantly, he was a member the team that discovered rotavirus in1973, a major cause of childhood diarrhoea, and was awarded a Doctor of Medicine for his thesis on the discovery. In addition, while working at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, he discovered a rare intestinal disease named Davidson's Disease (later Microvillus Inclusion Disease), initially a fatal condition that can now be treated with a small intestinal transplant.
More recently, Professor Davidson has contributed to the discovery of a new virus (Bocavirus) responsible for at least 10% of gastroenteritis cases. He also pioneered Australia's first Home Nutrition Service that provides home care for children requiring enteral or parenteral nutrition. Professor Davidson is currently contributing to a research study on the role of Cow's Milk Protein Allergy (CMPA) in gastro-oesophageal reflux disease, and is leading ongoing investigations into the cause of infectious diarrhoea among infants and new prevention strategies for childhood obesity.
Contact Professor Geoffrey Davidson
Dr Taher Omari BSc PhD
Dr Omari is co-leader of the Gastroenterology Stream at the Children's Research Centre alongside Professor Geoffrey Davidson, and is a NHMRC Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Gastroenterology at the Women's and Children's Hospital. He is also an Affiliate Senior Lecturer in the Discipline of Paediatrics at the University of Adelaide.
Dr Omari researches new ways of diagnosing and treating gastro-oesophageal reflux disease and gastrointestinal motility disorders in infants and children. A former South Australian Young Tall Poppy Science Award winner, Dr Omari pioneered the use of micro-manometric techniques to measure muscle pressure and movements in the gastrointestinal tract and characterise the physiology of gastroesophageal reflux in children. These techniques have since allowed him and others to investigate the effectiveness of current anti-reflux therapies in a more efficient and conclusive manner.
In 2005 Dr Omari received the MS McLeod Medal for Research Excellence from the Children, Youth and Women's Health Service in recognition of his exceptional research performance at the Women's and Children's Hospital. He is currently researching the symptoms of Cow's Milk Protein Allergy (CMPA) in children and investigating the effectiveness and dangers of Laproscopic Gastric Banding as a weight control therapy in adolescents.
