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Details

Role Group Leader / Snr Princ Research Fellow
Research area Genomic Medicine

Contact

Phone +61 (0)3 8341 6235
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

  • Lee, RG, Balasubramaniam, S, Stentenbach, M, Kralj, T, McCubbin, T, Padman, B, Smith, J, Riley, LG, Priyadarshi, A, Peng, L, et al. Deleterious variants in CRLS1 lead to cardiolipin deficiency and cause an autosomal recessive multi-system mitochondrial disease.. Hum Mol Genet 31(21) : 3597 -3612 2022
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  • Andzelm, MM, Balasubramaniam, S, Yang, E, Compton, AG, Millington, K, Zhu, J, Anselm, I, Rodan, LH, Thorburn, DR, Christodoulou, J, et al. Expansion of the clinical and neuroimaging spectrum associated with NDUFS8-related disorder.. JIMD Rep 63(5) : 391 -399 2022
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  • Stutterd, CA, Vanderver, A, Lockhart, PJ, Helman, G, Pope, K, Uebergang, E, Love, C, Delatycki, MB, Thorburn, D, Mackay, MT, et al. Unclassified white matter disorders: A diagnostic journey requiring close collaboration between clinical and laboratory services.. Eur J Med Genet 65(9) : 104551 2022
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  • Cloney, T, Gallacher, L, Pais, LS, Tan, NB, Yeung, A, Stark, Z, Brown, NJ, McGillivray, G, Delatycki, MB, de Silva, MG, et al. Lessons learnt from multifaceted diagnostic approaches to the first 150 families in Victoria's Undiagnosed Diseases Program.. J Med Genet 59(8) : 748 -758 2022
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  • Wu, Y, Balasubramaniam, S, Rius, R, Thorburn, DR, Christodoulou, J, Goranitis, I. Genomic sequencing for the diagnosis of childhood mitochondrial disorders: a health economic evaluation.. Eur J Hum Genet 30(5) : 577 -586 2022
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