Our Beginnings

The Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology Foundation [JGHF] was established in 2002 between the Trustees of JGHF, namely Professors G C Farrell [Australia], W F Doe [Australia], S K Lam [Hong Kong], Y-F Liaw [Taiwan], K Okuda [Japan], N Sato [Japan] and R K Tandon [India] and Blackwell Publishing Asia Pty Ltd. These two entities became joint owners of the Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology [JGH] with Blackwell responsible for administration and publishing while the Trustees managed editorial decisions and aspects of professional promotion. JGHF awards funds to support research, education and training in gastroenterology and hepatology in the Asia-Pacific region. The secretariat for JGHF was initially located in Hong Kong, and subsequently moved to Sydney and is currently located in Melbourne, Australia

Events that preceded the formation of JGHF included various organisations promoting gastroenterology in Asia and Oceania, the meeting of the World Congress of Gastroenterology in Sydney [1990] and cooperation between societies that led to the first Asia-Pacific Digestive Disease Week [APDW] in Sydney [2001]. The idea of a regional journal dedicated to gastroenterology and hepatology was first raised in 1984 and came to fruition as JGH in 1986 under the founding editors Professors S K Lam [Hong Kong], K Okuda [Japan], L W Powell [Australia] and D J Shearman [Australia]. A person central to the formation of JGHF was Professor Geoff Farrell, a hepatologist in Sydney, who was passionate about regional cooperation and served as convenor of the Sydney APDW as well as that of inaugural chairman of JGHF [2002-8] and Editor-in-Chief of JGH [2006-11].

JGHF ‘s initial support was largely focussed on the major meetings, namely APDW and the Asian Pacific Association for Study of the Liver [APASL]. By 2015, the contribution of JGHF to APDW included funding for keynote lectures [Okuda and Marshall-Warren], Emerging Leaders lectures, the Young Investigator Award (YIA), and some of the Travel Grants. Support for APASL initially included a Distinguished Lecture and Travel Grants but requests for funding subsequently declined as meetings became financially viable. In addition to support for major meetings, JGHF provided funds for special projects and short-term fellowships and joined the Asia Pacific Association of Gastroenterology [APAGE] in funding a clinician-scientist training fellowship.

Since 2015, a new initiative by JGHF at APDW is the inclusion of a Young Clinician Investigator Program(YCIP) as a pre-conference activity before the main meeting. The program, developed and led by Professor Rakesh Aggarwal [India], provides basic research methodology for recipients of Travel Grants and other young, aspiring clinician-scientists.

JGHF has always had a cordial and cooperative relationship with the publishing company, initially Blackwell Publishing Asia, subsequently Wiley-Blackwell and now Wiley [John Wiley and Sons Australia, Ltd]. In 2016, Wiley and JGHF developed an open-access journal as a junior partner for JGH, appropriately named JGH Open. The first issue was published in September 2017 with Professor K L Goh [Malaysia] as the Editor-in-Chief. Fortunately, JGH Open has continued to thrive despite the untimely death of Professor Goh in 2023.

Thus far, JGHF has made a significant contribution to the development of gastroenterology and hepatology in the Asia-Pacific region. JGHF has provided some support for the Australian and New Zealand Gastroenterology International Training Association [ANZGITA] as well as support for smaller meetings, often focussed on diseases that are of particular concern in South-East Asia.