Dr Jeffrey Tu
MBBS (University of Sydney) · FRACP (Gastroenterology) · Specialist Gastroenterologist & Hepatologist
Dr Jeffrey Tu is a Sydney-based specialist gastroenterologist and hepatologist with more than two decades in clinical medicine — sixteen of those years in private practice on Sydney's Lower North Shore. He graduated from the University of Sydney in 2002 and obtained his Fellowship of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (FRACP) in Gastroenterology in 2010, completing a subsequent advanced therapeutic endoscopy fellowship at the Prince of Wales Hospital, Randwick.
He consults from The Mater Hospital (Wollstonecraft), East Sydney Private Hospital, Northern Beaches Hospital (Frenchs Forest), Freshwater Day Hospital, and the Centre for Digestive Diseases in Five Dock. He performs gastroscopy and colonoscopy at each of these accredited centres.
A CLINICAL FOCUS ON THE PATIENT WHO HASN'T GOTTEN BETTER
What animates Dr Tu's practice is the patient whose problem hasn't yielded to ordinary treatment — the constipation that has defeated every laxative, the inflammatory bowel disease that hasn't quite settled on biologics, the gut symptoms no one has been able to explain. These are the cases he actively seeks out, on the conviction that with patience, the right investigations, and access to therapies most clinicians don't routinely offer, there is almost always something more to try.
His clinical interests span the full breadth of luminal gastroenterology and hepatology — irritable bowel syndrome and disorders of gut–brain interaction, inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis), refractory Helicobacter pylori, parasitic gastrointestinal infections (Blastocystis hominis, Dientamoeba fragilis, Giardia), small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO), reflux and Barrett's oesophagus, coeliac disease, fatty liver disease (MASLD), viral hepatitis, and bowel cancer screening and surveillance.
WHAT SETS HIS PRACTICE APART
Beyond standard gastroenterology, Dr Tu offers access to therapies that few Australian practices provide. These include faecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) and microbiome-based treatments, structured functional gut testing, and trans-colonic antibiotic infusion for resistant intestinal parasitic infections.
As a Visiting Medical Officer at the Centre for Digestive Diseases — a world-renowned facility founded by the late Professor Thomas Borody (1950–2025) — Dr Tu is among the most experienced FMT practitioners in the Southern Hemisphere. He trained directly under Professor Borody and continues that lineage of work in microbiome therapeutics.
He also speaks fluent Mandarin and welcomes patients from Sydney's Chinese-speaking communities, as well as international referrals from Taiwan, Singapore, and the broader Asia-Pacific region.
ACTIVE RESEARCH AND PUBLICATIONS
Dr Tu is committed to advancing the field, not simply practising within it. His peer-reviewed and presented research includes:
1. Vonoprazan-based regimens for refractory Helicobacter pylori — the first Australian clinical experience Gunaratne AW, Hamblin H, Clancy A, Tu J, et al. Combinations of antibiotics and vonoprazan for the treatment of Helicobacter pylori infections — Exploratory study. Helicobacter. 2021;26(5):e12830. PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34247436/ Full text (PMC): https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8518953/ DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/hel.12830
2. Triple antibiotic therapy and faecal calprotectin in ulcerative colitis Tu J, et al. Does Triple Antibiotic Therapy Reduce Faecal Calprotectin Levels and Gastrointestinal Symptoms in Patients With Ulcerative Colitis? A Retrospective Study. Presented at Digestive Disease Week (DDW), 2019. Abstract 2930.
3. Antibiotic infusion for symptomatic Blastocystis hominis and Dientamoeba fragilis infections Tu J, et al. A Retrospective Review of Antibiotic Infusion for Symptomatic Parasitic Infections. Presented at the American College of Gastroenterology (ACG) Annual Scientific Meeting, 2018. Abstract S2091.
4. Occult hepatitis B in pregnancy — implications for antenatal screening Chang P, Tu J, et al. Development of occult hepatitis B viral infection in pregnancy: implications for antenatal screening in women from endemic areas. Obstetric Medicine. 2010;3(3):115–118. Full text (PMC): https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4989587/ DOI: https://doi.org/10.1258/om.2010.090057
CURRENT FRONTIERS
Dr Tu is currently helping bring two Australian-first innovations into routine clinical practice.
The first is confocal laser endomicroscopy (Cellvizio) for the in-vivo, real-time detection of food allergy and increased intestinal permeability ("leaky gut") at the cellular level — a diagnostic capability that until recently has only existed in research laboratories. The second is gastric microbiome transplantation as a novel approach to medication-refractory Helicobacter pylori, an increasingly common clinical problem driven by global antibiotic resistance.
QUALIFICATIONS AT A GLANCE
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Medical Degree: MBBS, University of Sydney (2002)
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Specialist Fellowship: FRACP in Gastroenterology, Royal Australasian College of Physicians (2010)
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Advanced Fellowship: Therapeutic Endoscopy, Prince of Wales Hospital, Sydney
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Professional Membership: Gastroenterological Society of Australia (GESA)
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Languages: English, Mandarin
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Hospital Appointments: The Mater Hospital (Wollstonecraft) · East Sydney Private Hospital · Northern Beaches Hospital · Freshwater Day Hospital · Centre for Digestive Diseases (Five Dock)