Pran Yoganathan: Evolutionary Perspectives of The Human Gut

Pran graduated from medicine from Otago University in New Zealand and completed his advanced training in gastroenterology here in Sydney. He is a fellow of the Royal Australian College of Physicians and a member of the Gastroenterology Society of Australia. Pran’s approach to gastroenterology is considered and broad. His attitude towards the human gut is informed by evolutionary principals and the vast and important contexts that surround the function of the gut. He is not steeped in dogmatism and continually seeks to expand his understanding regarding the role of the human gastrointestinal tract in health and disease. I had a wonderful conversation with Pran. He is so clearly aware of the unknown unknowns in medicine and speculates only when there is an evolutionary basis for his ideas. He is very forward thinking in a field that can be so far behind the research. While we both agreed that this field is very much in its infancy, we discussed the evolutionary basis for the development of our unique gut.