Krish Ragunath1-3, Jin Ye Yeo4
1Royal Perth Hospital, Perth, Australia; 2Curtin Medical School, Curtin University, Perth, Australia; 3School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, UK; 4TGH Editorial Office, AME Publishing Company
Correspondence to: Jin Ye Yeo. TGH Editorial Office, AME Publishing Company. Email: tgh@amegroups.com
This interview can be cited as: Ragunath K, Yeo JY. Meeting the Editorial Board Member of TGH: Prof. Krish Ragunath. Transl Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2024. Available from: https://tgh.amegroups.org/post/view/1730359203.
Expert introduction
Prof. Krish Ragunath (Figure 1) moved from Nottingham University, UK to Australia in May 2019 under the Global Talent initiative after being appointed as Professor of Medicine at Curtin University Medical School, and Consultant Gastroenterologist at Royal Perth Hospital, Western Australia. He is an executive committee member of the Endoscopy Faculty and Research Faculty of the Gastroenterology Society of Australia (GESA). He is also Fellow of the American and Japanese Society of GI Endoscopy. He has held various leadership positions that include: immediate past Director of Research, Curtin Medical School, immediate past chair of the World Endoscopy Organisation (WEO) Research committee, and advisor for National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) interventional procedures subgroup. Prof. Ragunath served as a core member and co-director of the International Working Group on Classification of Oesophagitis (IWGCO) Board 2014-18.
His clinical and research interests include advanced endoscopic imaging of the GI Tract, Endoscopic Ultrasound, Barrett’s oesophagus, minimally invasive endoscopic therapy of early GI neoplasia and recently taken a special interest in Green Endoscopy. He has co-edited the BSG Barrett's oesophagus guidelines, Quality standards in upper GI endoscopy, Guidelines for the management of gastric premalignant conditions and UK oesophageal dilatation guidelines. He is Associate Editor for “Digestive Endoscopy” journal, member of the Editorial Board for 'Endoscopy', 'Gastrointestinal Endoscopy', Translational Gastroenterology & Hepatology journals. He was the recipient of the BSG Hopkins Endoscopy Prize 2010. He has performed several live endoscopy demonstrations, endoscopy training in animal models and has lectured in national and international meetings. He delivered the Royal College of Physicians Edinburgh, Prof. Anne Ferguson lecture and recipient of the medal, 2017. Has authored / co-authored over 150 peer-reviewed publications and written 4 textbook chapters with 17397 citations, and H index 65.
Figure 1 Prof. Krish Ragunath
Interview
TGH: What inspired you to pursue a career in gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopy and gastroenterology?
Prof. Ragunath: As a medical student, I was always inspired by observing GI surgery and started my trainee career as a surgeon. But I soon realized that open surgery was not for me. My uncle and my mentor, late Prof. Rangabashyam, introduced me to the emerging field of fibreoptic endoscopy and predicted that the future will be minimally invasive. This was a turning moment in my life and I pursued my career training in gastroenterology and endoscopy in the UK.
TGH: Could you provide an overview of the recent publications in advanced endoscopic imaging for the GI tract? Are there any examples that stood out to you?
Prof. Ragunath: My recent publications have been in optical diagnosis, artificial intelligence (AI), and cost effectiveness of risk stratification-based surveillance in Barretts oesophagus. This is an emerging field and one can expect AI to have a big role to play in the way we deal with Barretts oesophagus.
TGH: Could you elaborate on your work with Barrett’s oesophagus, including any recent findings or developments that have emerged from your research?
Prof. Ragunath: Since my Research Fellowship in the year 2000 at Aintree University Hospital culminating in a thesis on Barretts oesophagus, I have been continually researching in this field. After my appointment as Consultant and Senior Lecturer in Nottingham University Hospital in 2003, I established a tertiary Barretts oesophagus endotherapy service in Nottingham, UK and a programme of clinical research with national and international collaborations. This resulted in key publications on the use of narrow-band imaging (NBI) in Barrett’s neoplasia diagnosis and radiofrequency ablation (RFA) treatment. Following my move to Australia in 2019, I have initiated the Western Australian Barretts Oesophagus Registry working from Curtin University and Royal Perth Hospital. We have a programme of research that includes epidemiology, biomarkers, clinical trials, health economics, and qualitative research. The current focus is on AI in Barretts being part of the BONS-AI consortium.
TGH: You have been involved in various international activities and organizations. How have these roles enhanced your understanding of global standards and practices in GI endoscopy?
Prof. Ragunath: Getting involved in international academic activities gives me a global perspective in exchanging best practices. It allows networking and collaboration that is always essential to keep myself and my institution at the forefront of research, innovation and clinical practice.
TGH: What impact do you hope to achieve through these roles?
Prof. Ragunath: I hope to ultimately contribute to the advancement in the field of endoscopy and Barretts oesophagus resulting in high-quality healthcare provision. I hope to one day see the decline in oesophageal adenocarcinoma which continues to be a lethal disease both in the West and East. I am also actively involved in pancreatic cancer research and hoping to see a decline in this killer disease with abysmal prognosis.
TGH: Can you discuss any recent lectures or presentations you have given, and their significance in the field?
Prof. Ragunath: Recently I was invited to speak on bowel cancer screening at the Malaysian Gastroenterology Society 2024 meeting. I had to do a literature search to understand bowel cancer in Asia and realized this is an emerging cancer killer in Malaysia. Training and quality standards in colonoscopy were a key discussion. More importantly, I soon realized that introduction of a screening programme is a challenge. This prompted me to facilitate best practice and link with other national GI societies including the British Society of Gastroenterology.
TGH: How has your experience been as an Editorial Board Member of TGH?
Prof. Ragunath: I really enjoy being an Editorial Board member of TGH. It allows me to facilitate and contribute to the advancement of the journal. I coordinated a special article series publication on image-enhanced endoscopy that was highly educational.
TGH: As an Editorial Board Member, what are your expectations for TGH?
Prof. Ragunath: I am glad that TGH now has an impact factor of 3.8. I am hoping this will improve and we will be able to publish some high-quality manuscripts.
Reference
- Fockens KN, Jong MR, Jukema JB, et al. A deep learning system for detection of early Barrett's neoplasia: a model development and validation study. Lancet Digit Health 2023;5(12):e905-e916.
- Ragunath K, Chiu P. A primer to image enhanced endoscopy. Transl Gastroenterol Hepatol 2022;7:1.
- Menon S, Norman R, Iyer PG, Ragunath K. Stratification of Barrett's esophagus surveillance based on p53 immunohistochemistry: a cost-effectiveness analysis by an international collaborative group. Endoscopy 2024;56(10):727-736.