Professor Stuart Brierley

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. In 2024 he was named in the Stanford University / Elsevier World Top 2% Scientist Rankings. He was also a South Australian Tall Poppy Science Awardee in 2011.

Prof 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 the immune system, and how these mechanisms are changed during acute and chronic visceral pain.

Prof Brierley has 126 publications and a strong track record in coordinating and working in multi-faceted research programs for high impact publications in journals such as Nature (x4), Cell, Nature Communications, Gastroenterology (x6), Gut (x11), PNAS, JCI Insight (x3), Pain (x10), J Neuroscience (x2), and has invited reviews in Nature Reviews Gastroenterology Hepatology (x2), Annual Reviews of Physiology, Trends in Pharmacological Sciences, and Trends in Biomedical Sciences.

Prof Brierley has current collaborations with two Nobel Laureates: Prof David Julius (UCSF, USA) - the 2021 Nobel Laureate for Physiology and Medicine; and Prof David Baker (Uni Washington, USA) - the 2024 Nobel Laureate for Chemistry.

Prof Brierley has been awarded >$36 million in research funding, including four NHMRC Fellowships (Investigator; CDF-II; CDF-I; Peter Doherty ECF) and was CIA on an NHMRC Development Grant (2022-2024). He has been CI on 13 NHMRC Project Grants (since 2004), three NIH grants, and two ARC Discovery Grants.

Prof 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.

Prof 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.

Key Positions:

• NHMRC Investigator Fellow (2022-2026)
• Member, ROME V International Committee for Disorders of Brain-Gut Interaction
• President, Australasian Neurogastroenterology and Motility Association (ANGMA)
• Co-Chair, 2021 Federation of Neurogastroenterology and Motility (FNM), Adelaide
• NHMRC RD Wright Biomedical Fellow (CDF-II 2017-2020)
• NHMRC RD Wright Biomedical Fellow (CDF-I 2013-2016)
• NHMRC Australian Biomedical Fellow (2008-2012)

Key Awards:

• Senior Researcher of 2021, Flinders University College of Medicine and Public Health
• Mid-Career Researcher of 2018, Flinders University College of Medicine and Public Health
• 2017 NHMRC Research Excellence Award for being the top ranked CDF-II Fellow
• 2011 South Australian Tall Poppy