Jakob Begun completed his MD and PhD in genetics at Harvard Medical School and his gastroenterology training at Massachusetts General Hospital. He is a consultant gastroenterologist at Mater Hospital Brisbane, where he treats adolescent and adult patients with Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). He also practices gastroenterology privately at Mater Private Hospital Brisbane. Jake is a renowned leader in clinical trials and clinical research focussed around improving clinical care and effectiveness of current therapies in IBD. His translational research areas of interest include functional genetics of IBD, the role of innate immunity and the microbiome in gut inflammation, and developing novel treatments of IBD.

Jake is the IBD Group Leader at the Mater Research Institute and the clinical lead in IBD at Mater Hospital. He has a basic and translational laboratory at the Translational Research Institute in Brisbane investigating causes and treatments of gut inflammation.

He is an Associate Professor at the University of Queensland School of Medicine where is involved in medical student education, and is the supervisor of multiple PhD students.

Current appointment:
Australia New Zealand IBD Consortium – Chair
Gastroenterological Society of Australia – Board Member
Gastroenterological Society of Queensland – President Elect
Gastroenterology Network of Intestinal Ultrasound – Treasurer
Australia and New Zealand Human Microbiome Research Network – Committee member