Work

D. James B. St. John, AO , gastroenterologist, mentor and visionary

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: University of Melbourne.His family commented that full retirement never seemed to eventuate.Jim's career commenced with pioneering research into gastrointestinal bleeding and colorectal cancer screening.His early studies with Finlay Macrae and Graeme Young on aspirin-induced bleeding and haemoglobin degradation in the gut laid the groundwork for innovations in faecal occult blood testing.Some years later, after coming across the faecal immunochemical test (FIT), he recognised the rationale for using the more sensitive and specific FIT test for human haemoglobin in stool rather than the older guaiac test.Indeed, he participated in the research in which he and colleagues swallowed their own blood to test the specificity of this approach for the selective detection of bleeding from the large bowel, rather than the stomach.This exemplified his scientific rigour and curiosity.Jim's passionate advocacy for population-based organised colorectal cancer screening began in the

Source: Internal Medicine Journal

DOI: 10.1111/imj.70239

Authors: Graeme P. Young, Finlay A. Macrae, Geoffrey Hebbard, Alex Boussioutas

Institutions: Flinders University, The Royal Melbourne Hospital, The Alfred Hospital

Language: English

Topic: Colorectal Cancer Screening and Detection

Subfield: Oncology

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: bronze

Funder: Cancer Council Victoria