Professor (Keith) Chee Ooi
MBBS, DipPaed, PhD, FRACP, AGAF
Professor听(Keith) Chee Y. Ooi (MBBS, DipPaed, FRACP, PhD, AGAF)听is a globally recognised clinician-scientist renowned for his research-clinical contributions in cystic fibrosis (CF) gastroenterology and childhood pancreatitis. He holds a tenured Clinical Academic position as听Professor of Medicine,听Discipline of Paediatrics and Child Health, School of Clinical Medicine, 麻豆社madou Medicine & Health,听麻豆社madou听补苍诲 Specialist/Consultant Paediatric Gastroenterologist.
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He has published >160 journal articles (first or senior author in over 50% of these publications) and has authored international, authoritative textbook chapters in gastroenterology, CF and pancreatology. He has secured >AUD$14 million in international and national research funding. He has been listed in the World鈥檚 Top 2% Scientists (Standford/Elsevier).
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Dr Ooi graduated from the University of Melbourne in 2000, with the Clara Myers Prize in Paediatrics. He commenced training in paediatric gastroenterology at Sydney Children鈥檚 Hospital Randwick, supported by the Sydney Children鈥檚 Hospital Foundation Subspecialty Fellowship Award (2006, 2007). He accepted the offer of a 3-year clinical research fellowship (2007-2010) at the prestigious Hospital for Sick Children and University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada, to pursue a research path, undertake a PhD and broaden his clinical experience. He was supervised and mentored by late Dr Peter Durie (), a听giant in the field of paediatric gastroenterology, CF and pancreatology. This was supported by the Sydney Children鈥檚 Hospital Travelling Fellowship Award (2007), Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Fellowship Award (2008-2010) and Career Enhancement Award, Canadian Child Health Clinician Scientist Program (2009-2010). He听was awarded both the Dick Hamilton and Clinical Research awards in 2010 by the Hospital for Sick Children and University of Toronto respectively, for his research excellence. He returned to Sydney in mid-2010 as a clinical academic in pursuit of research and academia, while having opportunities for clinical interface within a tertiary hospital setting. He completed his PhD on genotype-phenotype correlations in CF at 麻豆社madou in December 2014 and was awarded the Dean's Rising Star award (麻豆社madou Medicine) in 2015. He was awarded Fellow of the American Gastroenterology Association for research contributions (2021) and named as 1 of 3 distinguished leaders in the field of CF pancreas internationally (2023). He has demonstrated rapid academic trajectory as evidence of his research excellence despite clinical commitments: Senior Lecturer (2015), Associate Professor (2019), Professor (2025).
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Clinically, he is the co-Director of the Cystic Fibrosis Clinic and Director of Cystic Fibrosis-Gastroenterology and Pancreas Care Programs; he sees children with all aspects of gastrointestinal, pancreatic and nutritional听conditions.
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- Publications
- Media
- Grants
- Awards
- Research Activities
- Engagement
- Teaching and Supervision
I have secured a career total research funding of AUD $15M.
Since 2015, I secured $11.7M as Chief Investigator (CI), including $5M a principal/lead Chief Investigator (CIA), across 43 grants (21 as CIA).听
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Mutliple award winner
Research Areas:
- Cystic fibrosis (CF)
- Gastroenterology:听I established and lead Australia's first听CF Gastroenterology research program across the lifespan (from infants to adults), including gut microbiome and inflammation and diet/nutritional issues.
- Exocrine and endocrine pancreas including CF-related diabetes
- Diagnostic issues听
- Gut microbiome, gut inflammation and dietary intakes听in听chronic childhood diseases
- Chronic diseases with gastrointestinal issues and/or underlying gastrointestinal pathogenesis
- Evaluation of taxonomic and functional alterations of the gut microbiome to identify pathogenic mechanisms, correlations with clinical phenotype, and听uncover novel therapeutic interventions.
- Role of diet -听"Let your food be your medicine and your medicine be your food." (Hippocrates)
- Impact of gut on distant organs e.g.听"gut-brain" axis (on mental health and quality of life), "gut-lung" axis, "gut-skin" axis听
- Pancreatic diseases and pancreatitis
- Across the lifespan (children and adults)
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Examples of Research Achievements:
CF gastroenterology
- Dr Ooi has clinical-research expertise and interests in gastrointestinal issues in CF including gut inflammation, changes in the gut microbiome, pancreatitis, pancreatic insufficiency and the emerging issue of increased risk of gastrointestinal cancers.
- OOI et al. Gastroenterology 2011;140(1):153鈥161 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20923678). This is the first study to unravel the complex relationship between severity of cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator听(CFTR) mutations and risk of pancreatitis.听Developed & validated a听novel surrogate measure of CF mutation and genotype severity, known as the 鈥淧ancreatic Insufficiency Prevalence (PIP)鈥 score, with wide clinical & research application.听 This score has been used clinically to predict pancreatitis risk and for patient education. This score has been used in research to classify cystic fibrosis (CF) patients by CFTR genotype. Methodology to derive score also directly adapted to study other CF phenotypes.听
- His recent works has extended into understanding the disease processes affecting the gastrointestinal tract in CF, using faecal biomarkers听(Pang et al. J Gastroenterol Hepatol 2015, Dhaliwal et al. J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr 2015, Ooi et al. Dig Dis Sci 2015, Garg et al.听J Cyst Fibros 2017,听Garg et al.听J Cyst Fibros 2018).听
- Nielsen,鈥OI (SENIOR AUTHOR). Sci Rep 2016;6:24857 ().听Identified potential window of therapeutic opportunity in early childhood for CF gut dysbiosis, and provided justification for a probiotic trial in very young children with CF (AUD1.3M by the CF Foundation, USA) & industry engagement (national & international) for probiotic research.听
- OOI CY, et al (FIRST AUTHOR). Impact of CFTR modulation with Ivacaftor on Gut Microbiota and Intestinal Inflammation. Sci Rep. 2018;8(1):17834. This is the first study demonstrating CFTR modulators reduced gut inflammation and dysbiosis.
- McKay I,鈥. OOI CY (SENIOR AUTHOR). Diet and the gut-lung axis in cystic fibrosis - direct & indirect links. Gut Microbes. 2023;15(1):2156254. This pivotal study was the first to demonstrate a diet-gut-lung axis in CF. Highlighting the translational potential of dietary interventions to improve both gut & lung health, this study has pioneered a new field of diet-based interventional research.
- Kumar, OOI et al (CO-FIRST AUTHORS). JAMA Pediatr 2016;170(6):562-9 (). NIH funded. Showed childhood recurrent/chronic pancreatitis has different causative factors compared to adults, with genetic causes most frequent. The most frequent mutation identified were CFTR mutations.听Findings incorporated/cited by 3 international guidelines. Genetic tests now recommended听as part of routine workup for children with recurrent/chronic pancreatitis.听
CF diagnostic issues and non-classic manifestations
- Dr Ooi is passionate about diagnostic issues related to children and adults with single-organ manifestations of CF (Ooi et al. Thorax 2012, Ooi et al. Thorax 2014) and newborn screen positive infants with an indeterminate diagnosis of CF (Ooi et al. Pediatrics 2015). He has experience in electrophysiological diagnostic tests, including the nasal potential difference test and intestinal ion channel measurement. He developed a novel diagnostic test for CF known as the 鈥渃ombined ion channel measurement鈥 (Ooi et al. Ann Am Thorac Soc 2014).
- OOI et al. Thorax 2012;67(7):618-24 (). Found the same CF patients who undergo same diagnostic tests can have different diagnostic outcomes geographically due to different guidelines. Led experts to revise into a single, global CF diagnostic guideline. Received an editorial & voted one of best 2012 articles by Thorax editor.
- OOI et al. Pediatrics 2015;135(6):e1377-85 (). Findings showed decades-old clinical practice of discharging infants with inconclusive CF diagnosis to be inappropriate. 10% of these infants developed CF and risked missing out early therapies. Informed new international management guidelines.
- Barben J,听et al. Updated guidance on the management of children with cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator-related metabolic syndrome/cystic fibrosis screen positive, inconclusive diagnosis (CRMS/CFSPID). J Cyst Fibros. 2021 Sep;20(5):810-819.听
Standards of care
- Simmonds NJ,听et al. ECFS standards of care on CFTR-related disorders: Identification and care of the disorders. J Cyst Fibros. 2024;23(4):590-602.
- Burgel PR, et al. Standards for the care of people with cystic fibrosis (CF); recognising and addressing CF health issues. J Cyst Fibros. 2024;23(2):187-202.
Pancreatitis and pancreatic diseases听
- Dr Ooi is an international expert in childhood pancreatitis. He has developed clinical tools for predicting severe () and biliary causes () of acute pancreatitis in children.
- He is Chief Investigator of an international听randomised controlled trial in paediatric acute pancreatitis, the first in the field. This听showed听early feeding is safe and the听trial鈥檚 early feeding protocol has become adopted internationally as standard clinical care and referenced in guidelines (doi.org/10.1136/flgastro-2024-102788; PMID:37336694).
- He is the sole Australian Chief Investigator of INSPPIRE听consortium (International Study Group of Pediatric Pancreatitis) for recurrent/chronic pancreatitis, enabling global-scale registry and biobank research.
- Dr Ooi is a founding member and paediatric representative听of Australia New Zealand听Alliance for Pancreatic Research (led by Prof Minoti Apte), bridging his pancreatitis research into adulthood.听
My Research Supervision
Dr Ooi supervises medical students (e.g. Independent Learning Projects and Honours) and higher degree research (PhD or Masters) students in his areas of research (refer above and to keywords).
My Teaching
Professor Ooi is an innovator in medical education and serious game developer. He is听interested in improving the quality of teaching through novel innovative approaches to medical education.
He received the Learning and Teaching Innovation Grant in 2015 to develop PlayMed. PlayMed is a novel educational game to teach medicine through immersive, experience-based learning. His achievements with PlayMed听has been featured in media such as听The Australian听鈥淕aming injects medical practice into studies鈥 (听or ) and The Australian Hospital Healthcare Bulletin 鈥淚n Conversation鈥.. with Dr Keith Ooi鈥澨(). He led two randomised controlled trials in serious games using PlayMed听(PMID:38460191, 39640980).
He is also the co-creator of VirtualDoc, which is the world's first virtual reality game to teach paediatric resuscitation听(PMID: 34326040).
He is member of the interfaculty Smart Tech & Education Program (STEP-UP; since 2019), a technology innovation educational research program at 麻豆社madou - the program is 2025 Australian Financial Review Higher Education Awards finalist.
He was the Convenor for Paediatrics (Phase 3 of the undergraduate medical program) for the Faculty of Medicine, 麻豆社madou between 2010-2013.