A/Professor Andrew Kornberg
contact details
A/Professor Andrew Kornberg
Neuroscience Research
Murdoch Children's Research Institute
Royal Children's Hospital
Flemington Road
Parkville Victoria 3052
T +61 3 9345 5641
F +61 3 9345 5977
E judy.murphy@rch.org.au
epilepsy.program@rch.org.au
research focus & interest
Advanced MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) techniques are being
used to obtain detailed structural, metabolic, and functional
information on newborn infants. This data will help us understand
and ultimately prevent brain injury, particularly in premature
babies.
Functional MRI is being used to study expressive language in
children with brain abnormalities and in normal children. Work
continues on defining neurological syndromes based on
autoantibodies found in blood serum. We aim to identify the cause
of, and to refine treatments for, immunological disorders of
peripheral nerves.
Research into the genetics of epilepsy (with the Epilepsy Research
Institute at the Austin and Repatriation Medical Centre) has
characterised many familial epilepsies and discovered several genes
responsible for seizure disorders. Pharmaceutical
industry-sponsored clinical trials of new anti-epileptic
medications are being performed. Prospective studies of the
outcomes of surgical treatment for refractory epilepsy began, with
new imaging techniques and surgical procedures being
investigated.
Neuromuscular research (with the Neuromuscular Research Institute,
S Vincent's Hospital) involves attempts to repair damaged genes in
Duchenne and Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophies. Results to date
are encouraging.