Professor Barbara Leggett

Staff Specialist in Gastroenterology and Hepatology, RBWH, and Professor of Medicine, School of Medicine, UQ

Professor Barbara Leggett is a Pre-eminent Staff Specialist in Gastroenterology and Hepatology and Professor of Medicine in the School of Medicine, University of Queensland.  She is a clinical researcher with an international reputation for expertise in the serrated pathway of colorectal carcinogenesis.  This is evidenced by over 200 publications predominantly in this field and numerous invitations to lecture nationally and internationally.  In particular, she was invited to write a heavily cited review on this topic in the leading subspecialty journal Gastroenterology and to give an invited lecture entitled “The serrated pathway of colorectal carcinogenesis” at the American Association of Cancer Research Single topic conference in the USA in 2016.  Prof Leggett’s contributions have led to Australia being at the forefront of the change in clinical practice of colonoscopy to recognise and remove serrated polyps and she authored the chapter on serrated polyps in the 2019 national guidelines for surveillance colonoscopy after polypectomy.

In addition to her interest in colorectal cancer, she has a research interest in the clinical aspects of liver disease particularly hepatocellular carcinoma and viral hepatitis.  The Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology has an active clinical trials unit with trials including non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, viral hepatitis and autoimmune liver disease.