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Role Director
Group Director's Office
Professor Kathryn North AC BSc(Med) MBBS MD DMedSc FRACP FAHMS

Professor Kathryn North AC is Director of the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute and the David Danks Professor of Child Health Research at the University of Melbourne.

Professor North is trained as a physician, neurologist and clinical geneticist and in 1994, was awarded a doctorate for research in neurogenetics. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the Harvard Genetics Program.

Professor North is a national and international leader in Genomic medicine. In 2014, Professor North was appointed as Co-Chair of the Global Alliance for Genomics and Health - a collaborative network of over 500 organisations across over 100 countries funded by the NIH and the Wellcome Trust (genomicsandhealth.org). Commencing in 2016, she leads an NHMRC-funded national network of over 80 institutions - the Australian Genomics Health Alliance (AGHA). The goal of AGHA is to provide evidence and practical strategies for the implementation of genomic medicine in the Australian health system.

Professor North chaired the National Health and Medical Research Council Research Committee from 2012-2018, and has chaired the International Advisory Board of the Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health (UK) since 2015. She is a member of the Board of the Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre. In 2014, she was appointed as a Foundation fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Science, and in 2020 joined the Academy’s Board. In 2020, she joined the Board of the Association of Australian Medical Research Institutes (AAMRI) as President-Elect.

Professor North has received a number of awards including the GSK Australia Award for Research Excellence (2011), the Ramaciotti Medal for Excellence in Biomedical Research (2012) and Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for service to medicine in the field of neuromuscular and neurogenetics research (2012). In 2019, Professor North was appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC), for eminent service to genomic medicine internationally, to medical research in the field nationally and of genetics, neurology and child health, and as a mentor and role model.
Professor Kathryn North AC BSc(Med) MBBS MD DMedSc FRACP FAHMS

Professor Kathryn North AC is Director of the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute and the David Danks Professor of Child Health Research at the University of Melbourne.

Professor...
Professor Kathryn North AC BSc(Med) MBBS MD DMedSc FRACP FAHMS

Professor Kathryn North AC is Director of the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute and the David Danks Professor of Child Health Research at the University of Melbourne.

Professor North is trained as a physician, neurologist and clinical geneticist and in 1994, was awarded a doctorate for research in neurogenetics. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the Harvard Genetics Program.

Professor North is a national and international leader in Genomic medicine. In 2014, Professor North was appointed as Co-Chair of the Global Alliance for Genomics and Health - a collaborative network of over 500 organisations across over 100 countries funded by the NIH and the Wellcome Trust (genomicsandhealth.org). Commencing in 2016, she leads an NHMRC-funded national network of over 80 institutions - the Australian Genomics Health Alliance (AGHA). The goal of AGHA is to provide evidence and practical strategies for the implementation of genomic medicine in the Australian health system.

Professor North chaired the National Health and Medical Research Council Research Committee from 2012-2018, and has chaired the International Advisory Board of the Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health (UK) since 2015. She is a member of the Board of the Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre. In 2014, she was appointed as a Foundation fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Science, and in 2020 joined the Academy’s Board. In 2020, she joined the Board of the Association of Australian Medical Research Institutes (AAMRI) as President-Elect.

Professor North has received a number of awards including the GSK Australia Award for Research Excellence (2011), the Ramaciotti Medal for Excellence in Biomedical Research (2012) and Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for service to medicine in the field of neuromuscular and neurogenetics research (2012). In 2019, Professor North was appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC), for eminent service to genomic medicine internationally, to medical research in the field nationally and of genetics, neurology and child health, and as a mentor and role model.

Top Publications

  • Morris, SM, Acosta, MT, Garg, S, Green, J, Huson, S, Legius, E, North, KN, Payne, JM, Plasschaert, E, Frazier, TW, et al. Disease Burden and Symptom Structure of Autism in Neurofibromatosis Type 1: A Study of the International NF1-ASD Consortium Team (INFACT). JAMA Psychiatry 73(12) : 1276 -1284 2016
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  • Papadimitriou, ID, Lucia, A, Pitsiladis, YP, Pushkarev, VP, Dyatlov, DA, Orekhov, EF, Artioli, GG, Guilherme, JPLF, Lancha, AH, Ginevičienė, V, et al. ACTN3 R577X and ACE I/D gene variants influence performance in elite sprinters: a multi-cohort study. BMC Genomics 17(1) : 285 2016
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  • O’Grady, GL, Best, HA, Sztal, TE, Schartner, V, Sanjuan-Vazquez, M, Donkervoort, S, Neto, OA, Sutton, RB, Ilkovski, B, Romero, NB, et al. Variants in the Oxidoreductase PYROXD1 Cause Early-Onset Myopathy with Internalized Nuclei and Myofibrillar Disorganization. American Journal of Human Genetics 99(5) : 1086 -1105 2016
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  • Bello, L, Flanigan, KM, Weiss, RB, Project, D, Investigators, U, Dunn, DM, Swoboda, KJ, Gappmaier, E, Howard, MT, Sampson, JB, et al. Association Study of Exon Variants in the NF-κB and TGFβ Pathways Identifies CD40 as a Modifier of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. American Journal of Human Genetics 99(5) : 1163 -1171 2016
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  • O'Grady, GL, Verschuuren, C, Yuen, M, Webster, R, Menezes, M, Fock, JM, Pride, N, Best, HA, Benavides Damm, T, Turner, C, et al. Variants in SLC18A3, vesicular acetylcholine transporter, cause congenital myasthenic syndrome. Neurology 87(14) : 1442 -1448 2016
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