Rebecca Burgell
Clinical Research Fellow

Rebecca is a gastroenterology trainee from Australia in the final year of her specialist training and currently undertaking her PhD within the Neurogastroenterology group. She completed her medical degree at Monash University where she was awarded the Royal Australiasia College of Physicians Victorian State Committee Prize in Clinical Medicine. She then trained at Monash Medical Centre and Boxhill Hospital both in Melbourne, Australia completing her specialist examinations in 2006. During her specialist gastroenterology training she developed an interest in functional gastrointestinal disorders and inflammatory bowel disease after observing the significant impact that these conditions have on patient’s health and quality of life.

Project: Rectal hyposensitivity: localized pelvic afferent nerve defect or pan gastrointestinal alteration in biomechanics of the gut wall? Pathophysiology and clinical implications in patients with chronic intractable constipation.

Rebecca is currently examining the relationship between constipation and disordered sensation of the bowel. Currently we know that reduced sensation of the rectum is associated with constipation however we have not, as yet, found a cause to account for this physiological finding. To this end, she will be collaborating with colleges at Aalborg University hospital, Denmark, examining the bowel to determine how it responds to stimuli both in the rectum and oesophagus as well as studying the neuronal pathways responsible for transmitting information from the gastrointestinal tract to the brain.