Professor David Thorburn is co-Group Leader of Brain & Mitochondrial Research at the Murdoch Children's Research Institute and an Honorary Professorial Fellow in the Department of Paediatrics at the University of Melbourne. He is also a National Health & Medical Research Council Principal Research Fellow and leads the Victorian Clinical Genetics Services Mitochondrial Diagnostic Laboratory.
His group is primarily involved in researching the genetic basis of mitochondrial energy generation disorders. They were among the first to use Next Generation Sequencing technologies to identify mutations in known and novel disease genes. This subsequently expanded into multi-omic approaches incorporating transcriptomics and proteomics to identify candidate genes and provide functional validation of genomic variants. His team has identified pathogenic mutations in >600 patients in >100 genes, including 13 mitochondrial DNA genes and 30 novel nuclear disease genes.
As co-lead of the Australian Genomics Mitochondrial Flagship (2017-20) and Lead of the Medical Research Future Fund-supported MitoMDT project (2021-25), he has developed national networks seeking to incorporate genomic and multi-omic testing into Australian healthcare. He is a member of the executive of RDNow, whose vision is to enable all children seen on the Royal Children’s Hospital campus with a rare disease to receive an accurate diagnosis, care, and available therapy within one year of coming to medical attention. As a Director of the Mito Foundation, he was the academic/research Lead for the Foundation’s campaign to legalise mitochondrial donation, culminating in Maeve’s law being legislated in 2022.
Professor David Thorburn is co-Group Leader of Brain & Mitochondrial Research at the Murdoch Children's Research Institute and an Honorary Professorial Fellow in the Department of Paediatrics at the University of Melbourne. He is also a National...
Professor David Thorburn is co-Group Leader of Brain & Mitochondrial Research at the Murdoch Children's Research Institute and an Honorary Professorial Fellow in the Department of Paediatrics at the University of Melbourne. He is also a National Health & Medical Research Council Principal Research Fellow and leads the Victorian Clinical Genetics Services Mitochondrial Diagnostic Laboratory.
His group is primarily involved in researching the genetic basis of mitochondrial energy generation disorders. They were among the first to use Next Generation Sequencing technologies to identify mutations in known and novel disease genes. This subsequently expanded into multi-omic approaches incorporating transcriptomics and proteomics to identify candidate genes and provide functional validation of genomic variants. His team has identified pathogenic mutations in >600 patients in >100 genes, including 13 mitochondrial DNA genes and 30 novel nuclear disease genes.
As co-lead of the Australian Genomics Mitochondrial Flagship (2017-20) and Lead of the Medical Research Future Fund-supported MitoMDT project (2021-25), he has developed national networks seeking to incorporate genomic and multi-omic testing into Australian healthcare. He is a member of the executive of RDNow, whose vision is to enable all children seen on the Royal Children’s Hospital campus with a rare disease to receive an accurate diagnosis, care, and available therapy within one year of coming to medical attention. As a Director of the Mito Foundation, he was the academic/research Lead for the Foundation’s campaign to legalise mitochondrial donation, culminating in Maeve’s law being legislated in 2022.
Top Publications
Mimaki, M, Wang, X, McKenzie, M, Thorburn, DR, Ryan, MT.
Understanding mitochondrial complex I assembly in health and disease..
Biochim Biophys Acta
1817(6)
:
851 -862
2012
view publication
McKelvie, P, Marotta, R, Thorburn, DR, Chin, J, Punchihewa, S, Collins, S.
A case of myelopathy, myopathy, peripheral neuropathy and subcortical grey matter degeneration associated with recessive compound heterozygous POLG1 mutations..
Neuromuscul Disord
22(5)
:
401 -405
2012
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Ke, B-X, Pepe, S, Grubb, DR, Komen, JC, Laskowski, A, Rodda, FA, Hardman, BM, Pitt, JJ, Ryan, MT, Lazarou, M, et al.
Tissue-specific splicing of an Ndufs6 gene-trap insertion generates a mitochondrial complex I deficiency-specific cardiomyopathy..
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
109(16)
:
6165 -6170
2012
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Pfeffer, G, Majamaa, K, Turnbull, D, Thorburn, D, Chinnery, PF.
P65 Systematic review of controlled trials in the treatment of mitochondrial disorders.
Neuromuscular Disorders
22:
s25
2012
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