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Prof. John Olynyk

Associate Director and Professor
(Clinical Engagement)

Iron Man

Professor John Olknyk is an experienced clinical researcher with more than 35 years of expertise in clinical and laboratory research. His work has made major contributions to the understanding of iron metabolism, haemochromatosis and liver disease, spanning laboratory-based investigations through to large-scale epidemiological studies. He currently serves as Associate Director, Clinical Engagement at Curtin MRI and Translational Medicine and Research Partnerships Lead at the South Metropolitan Health Service. A Gastroenterologist and Hepatologist with over 30 years of specialist experience, Professor [Surname] has worked primarily within the Fiona Stanley Fremantle Hospital Group, where he served as Head of Gastroenterology from 2010 to 2020.  

About

Professor John Olynyk is deeply committed to education and mentorship, having supervised numerous PhD candidates and advanced trainees in gastroenterology. His career encompasses leadership roles in both public and private healthcare across Australia and internationally, including the development and implementation of state-wide and national clinical care pathways.

His research has been continuously supported by the NHMRC since 1999, focusing on the molecular mechanisms of iron overload disorders and the pathogenesis of chronic liver injury and cancer.

Career highlights include publications in The New England Journal of Medicine and Cell Genomics, the Distinguished Research Prize from the Gastroenterological Society of Australia (2016), an NHMRC Ten of the Best Award (2020), a Curtinnovation Award (2021) for the discovery of a predictive genomic biomarker for liver cancer, and Fellowship of the Gastroenterological Society of Australia (2022).

Professor Olynyk currently serves as Deputy Chair of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians Overseas Trained Physician Panel, assessing the qualifications and training of overseas-trained specialists seeking to practise in Australia.

 

EMAIL: John.Olynyk@curtin.edu.au
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Research Focus

Professor John Olynyk’s  research centres on iron metabolism, haemochromatosis and liver disease, with the liver disease component conducted in collaboration with Professor Nina Tirnitz-Parker’s research team. His work spans laboratory-based investigations through to large-scale clinical and epidemiological studies, aiming to understand the mechanisms of iron overload disorders, the pathogenesis of chronic liver injury, and the development of liver cancer.

 

Publications

Carlessi, R., T. J. Kendall, J. K. Olynyk, B. J. Dwyer, M. C. Wallace, J. A. Fallowfield, and J. E. Tirnitz-Parker. 2026. Disease-associated hepatocytes are predictive of outcomes and survival in MASLD beyond fibrosis staging.Gut 75 (3): 668-670.
ABSTRACT

Background and Aims
In women in their reproductive years, metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) are the most common chronic liver and endocrine disorders, respectively. MASLD and PCOS are associated with longer-term risk of cardiometabolic complications. We aimed to determine whether PCOS coexisting with MASLD (PCOS + MASLD) predicts greater risk of future cardiometabolic adverse parameters than either condition alone after 10 years in a longitudinal study of adolescents in the Raine Study.

Method
A total of 199 community-based female adolescents participating in the Raine Study had assessments for both PCOS and MASLD, including anthropometry, blood tests, and pelvic and abdominal ultrasound. Using updated diagnostic criteria, diagnoses of PCOS at age 14 years and MASLD at age 17 years, were retrospectively determined. At age 27 years, 148 participants had further anthropometry and cardiovascular and fasting blood assessments.

Results
At age 17 years, 37 (18.6%) had MASLD, 32 (16.1%) had PCOS, 20 (10.1%) had PCOS without MASLD, and 142 (71.4%) had neither. Among adolescents with PCOS, 12/32 (37.5%) had PCOS + MASLD, associated with obesity, higher serum remnant lipoprotein cholesterol, and free and total testosterone, but lower SHBG, compared with those with only MASLD, PCOS, or neither (P < .05 for all). By age 27 years, those with PCOS + MASLD (10/148) during adolescence were more insulin resistant and had higher serum remnant lipoprotein cholesterol and triglyceride/high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio (P < .05 for all), compared with those with only PCOS or MASLD or neither. PCOS without MASLD or obesity in adolescence did not predict future insulin resistance.

Conclusion
PCOS + MASLD in adolescents, but not PCOS alone, increases the likelihood of obesity, insulin resistance and an adverse cardiometabolic phenotype during adulthood.

Ayonrinde, O. T., T. A. Mori, L. A. Adams, L. J. Beilin, J. K. Olynyk, and R. Hart. 2026..MASLD coexisting with PCOS increases cardiometabolic risk.. J Clin Endocrinol Metab

Therapy to prevent hepatocellular carcinoma in people with liver cirrhosis

Prof. John Olynyk

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