Associate Professor John Dixon
MBBS, PhD, FRACGP, FRCP Edin.
Email: john.dixon@monash.edu
Associate Professor John Dixon is an academic general practitioner
with a clinical background in rural general practice prior to taking a
research interest in obesity in 1997. In 2009 he was awarded a
prestigious NHMRC Senior Research fellowship. His major interests are
in exploring the many dimensions of the obese state, translating
findings into practice and advocating for better services for those
with this chronic disease.
Known internationally for his research and education programs,
his background in primary care has enabled a diverse examination of
the problems and diseases related to severe obesity. His generalist
approach has enabled research across specialist boundaries and he is a
respected leader nationally and internationally in endocrine, liver,
respiratory, obstetric, psychological and other research into obesity
and the effects of weight loss on these related conditions. His
research is valued by both surgeons and physicians alike, bridging the
gap in communication between advances in surgery for weight loss,
metabolic research, clinical practice and evidence base medicine. He
has championed a multidisciplinary approach to the assessment and
management of these important conditions. He has published widely and
has over 120 peer reviewed journal articles. These include the first
randomized controlled trial of bariatric surgery for weight loss in
diabetes published in JAMA in 2008 and a citation classic published in
Gastroenterology in 2001 on the predictors of non-alcoholic
steatohepatitis and liver fibrosis in the severely obese. He is an
editor of the Handbook of Obesity Surgery: Current Concepts and
Therapy of Morbid Obesity and Related Diseases, published in 2010.
A study demonstrating the effects of gastric banding on satiety
stimulated his interest in exploring the mechanisms of action of
bariatric surgery in animal models and has led to projects with the
Department of Physiology at Monash University and collaborations with
global researchers.
John is the immediate past president of the Australian and
New Zealand Obesity Society, an executive member of the Obesity
Surgeons Society of Australia and New Zealand and is on both the
scientific and program committees of American Society for Metabolic and
Bariatric Surgery as a physician member. He is one of the 20-member
International Diabetes Surgery Task Force (IDSTF), a nonprofit
organization with diverse expertise in diabetes, obesity surgery,
gastroenterology and clinical trials development. He is an associate
editor of both Obesity Surgery and SOARD.
Senior clinical scientist, Human Neurotransmitters Laboratory,
Vascular & Hypertension Unit, Baker IDI Heart & Diabetes
Institute.
Selected publications since 2005
MBBS, PhD, FRACGP, FRCP Edin.
Email: john.dixon@monash.edu
Associate Professor John Dixon is an academic general practitioner
with a clinical background in rural general practice prior to taking a
research interest in obesity in 1997. In 2009 he was awarded a
prestigious NHMRC Senior Research fellowship. His major interests are
in exploring the many dimensions of the obese state, translating
findings into practice and advocating for better services for those
with this chronic disease.
Known internationally for his research and education programs,
his background in primary care has enabled a diverse examination of
the problems and diseases related to severe obesity. His generalist
approach has enabled research across specialist boundaries and he is a
respected leader nationally and internationally in endocrine, liver,
respiratory, obstetric, psychological and other research into obesity
and the effects of weight loss on these related conditions. His
research is valued by both surgeons and physicians alike, bridging the
gap in communication between advances in surgery for weight loss,
metabolic research, clinical practice and evidence base medicine. He
has championed a multidisciplinary approach to the assessment and
management of these important conditions. He has published widely and
has over 120 peer reviewed journal articles. These include the first
randomized controlled trial of bariatric surgery for weight loss in
diabetes published in JAMA in 2008 and a citation classic published in
Gastroenterology in 2001 on the predictors of non-alcoholic
steatohepatitis and liver fibrosis in the severely obese. He is an
editor of the Handbook of Obesity Surgery: Current Concepts and
Therapy of Morbid Obesity and Related Diseases, published in 2010.
A study demonstrating the effects of gastric banding on satiety
stimulated his interest in exploring the mechanisms of action of
bariatric surgery in animal models and has led to projects with the
Department of Physiology at Monash University and collaborations with
global researchers.
John is the immediate past president of the Australian and
New Zealand Obesity Society, an executive member of the Obesity
Surgeons Society of Australia and New Zealand and is on both the
scientific and program committees of American Society for Metabolic and
Bariatric Surgery as a physician member. He is one of the 20-member
International Diabetes Surgery Task Force (IDSTF), a nonprofit
organization with diverse expertise in diabetes, obesity surgery,
gastroenterology and clinical trials development. He is an associate
editor of both Obesity Surgery and SOARD.
Current Appointments
Associate Professor, Department of General Practice, School of Primary Health Care, Monash UniversitySenior clinical scientist, Human Neurotransmitters Laboratory,
Vascular & Hypertension Unit, Baker IDI Heart & Diabetes
Institute.
Selected publications since 2005
- O'Brien PE, Sawyer SM, Laurie C, Brown WA, Skinner S, Veit
F, Paul E, Burton PR, McGrice M, Anderson M, Dixon JB. Laparoscopic
Adjustable Gastric Banding in Adolescents: A Randomised Trial JAMA
2010 Feb; 303(6):519-526
- Hayden MJ, Dixon ME, Dixon JB, Playfair J, O'Brien PE. Perceived Discrimination and Stigmatisation against Severely Obese Women: Age and Weight Loss Make a Difference. Obes Facts. 2010;3(1):7-14. Epub 2010 Feb 11.
- Dixon JB, Hayden MJ, Lambert GW, et al. Raised CRP Levels in
Obese Patients: Symptoms of Depression Have an Independent Positive
Association. Obesity (Silver Spring); 16:2010-5
- Dixon JB, O'Brien PE, Playfair J, Chapman L, Schachter LM,
Skinner S, Proietto J, Bailey M, Anderson M: Adjustable gastric
banding and conventional therapy for type 2 diabetes: a randomized
controlled trial. JAMA 299:316-323,
- Dixon JB, Dixon ME, Anderson ML, Schachter L, O'Brien P E.
Daytime sleepiness in the obese: not as simple as obstructive sleep
apnea. Obesity (Silver Spring). Oct; 15(10): 2504-2511.
- Dixon JB, Strauss BJ, Laurie C, O'Brien PE. Smaller hip
circumference is associated with dyslipidemia and the metabolic syndrome
in obese women. Obes Surg. Jun; 17(6): 770-777.
- Dixon JB, Strauss BJ, Laurie C, O'Brien P E. Changes in body
composition with weight loss: obese subjects randomized to surgical
and medical programs. Obesity (Silver Spring); 15:1187-98.
- Colles SL, Dixon JB, Marks P, Strauss BJ, O'Brien P E.
Preoperative weight loss with a very-low-energy diet: quantitation of
changes in liver and abdominal fat by serial imaging. Am J Clin Nutr
2006;84:304-11.
- Dixon JB, Bhathal PS, O'Brien PE. Weight loss and
non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: falls in gamma-glutamyl transferase
concentrations are associated with histologic improvement. Obes Surg.
Oct; 16(10): 1278-1286.
- Dixon JB, Dixon ME, O'Brien P E. Birth outcomes in obese
women after laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding. Obstetrics and
Gynecology; 106(5): 965-72.
