Dr Purnima Bhat

Dr Purnima Bhat was awarded her medical degree from the University of Queensland. She then specialized in gastroenterology and hepatology, training at the Austin Hospital in Melbourne. She further trained in balloon-assisted enteroscopy in Sydney and Oslo, Norway. Dr Bhat holds a PhD in liver disease from the University of Melbourne.

She is a Staff Specialist in the Gastroenterology and Hepatology Unit at the Canberra Hospital. Dr Bhat is also a Senior Researcher at the Australian National University where she studies immune cells in gut diseases and develops new accessible tests and treatments for use in developing countries.

Dr Bhat has contributed significantly to the field of gastroenterology through many scientific publications, and regularly speaks at national and international conferences. She is also a Committee Member for international organisations including the World Endoscopy Association, the European Society for Gastroenterology, and national organisations including the Australian Society of Hepatitis and HIV. Furthermore, she is on the Editorial Board of the Scandinavian Journal of Gastroenterology.

Dr Bhat grew up in the suburbs of sunny Brisbane and now resides in the cooler climes of Canberra with her family and beloved moodle, Snowy.

Dr Bhat sees patients in consultation at Canberra Gastroenterology, Deakin, and performs gastroscopy, colonoscopy and balloon-assisted enteroscopy in different hospitals around Canberra.