Kathryn Nance North is a

paediatric Pediatrics ( also spelled ''paediatrics'' or ''pædiatrics'') is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, paediatrics covers many of their youth until the ...

physician,

neurologist Neurology (from el, νεῦρον (neûron), "string, nerve" and the suffix -logia, "study of") is the branch of medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of conditions and disease involving the brain, the spinal c ...

, and clinical

geneticist A geneticist is a biologist or physician who studies genetics, the science of genes, heredity, and variation of organisms. A geneticist can be employed as a scientist or a lecturer. Geneticists may perform general research on genetic processe ...

. In 2013, she was appointed Director of the

Murdoch Childrens Research Institute The Murdoch Children's Research Institute (MCRI) is an Australian paediatric medical research institute located in Melbourne, Victoria, affiliated with the Royal Children's Hospital and the University of Melbourne. The institute has six researc ...

and was named the David Danks Professor of Child Health Research at the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

. In 2012, North was appointed Chair of the

National Health and Medical Research Council The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) is the main statutory authority of the Australian Government responsible for medical research. It was the eighth largest research funding body in the world in 2016, and NHMRC-funded rese ...

Research Committee. In 2014, she was appointed Vice Chair of the

Global Alliance for Genomics and Health (GA4GH) The Global Alliance for Genomics and Health (GA4GH) is an international consortium that is developing standards for responsibly collecting, storing, analyzing, and sharing genomic data in order to enable an "internet of genomics". GA4GH was founde ...

and Co-Chair of its Clinical Working Group. North received a doctorate in

neurogenetics Neurogenetics studies the role of genetics in the development and function of the nervous system. It considers neural characteristics as phenotypes (i.e. manifestations, measurable or not, of the genetic make-up of an individual), and is mainly bas ...

in 1994 from

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

and later completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the Genetics Program at

Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the graduate medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is one of the oldest medical schools in the United States and is consi ...

. North's laboratory research is focused on the molecular and genetic basis of inherited muscle disorders including muscular dystrophies and congenital myopathies, and of elite athletic performance. Her clinical research is focused on cognitive deficits in

neurofibromatosis type 1 Neurofibromatosis (NF) is a group of three conditions in which tumors grow in the nervous system. The three types are neurofibromatosis type I (NF1), neurofibromatosis type II (NF2), and schwannomatosis. In NF1 symptoms include light brown sp ...

and intervention strategies for children with learning disabilities and inherited

myopathies In medicine, myopathy is a disease of the muscle in which the muscle fibers do not function properly. This results in muscular weakness. ''Myopathy'' means muscle disease (Greek : myo- ''muscle'' + patheia '' -pathy'' : ''suffering''). This meani ...

Awards

* The Sunderland Award from the Australian Neuroscience Society (2000) * The Sutherland Lecturership by the Human Genetics Society of Australasia (2008) * The

Glaxo Smith Kline GSK plc, formerly GlaxoSmithKline plc, is a British Multinational corporation, multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company with global headquarters in London, England. Established in 2000 by a Mergers and acquisitions, merger of Gl ...

Australia Award for Research Excellence (2011) * The Ramaciotti Medal for Excellence in Biomedical Research (2012) * Member of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

(AM) for service to medicine in the field of neuromuscular and neurogenetics research for "service to medicine in the field of neuromuscular and neurogenetics research, paediatrics and child health as a clinician and academic, and to national and international professional associations." (2012) * Foundation fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Science (2014) *Doctor of Medical Science ''honoris causa'' (2017) from the

. * Companion of the

(AC) (2019) for "eminent service to genomic medicine nationally and internationally, to medical research in the fields of genetics, neurology and child health, and as a mentor and role model." * Peter Wills Medal from Research Australia (2019), "recognising an outstanding, long-term contribution to building Australia’s international reputation in areas of health and medical research and fostering collaboration for better health."

References

External links

Australasian Neuroscience Society

Human Genetics Society of Australasia
{{DEFAULTSORT:North, Kathryn Australian neurologists Women neurologists Australian paediatricians Women pediatricians Australian geneticists Living people Members of the Order of Australia Companions of the Order of Australia University of Melbourne faculty University of Melbourne women University of Sydney alumni Australian medical researchers Medical geneticists Australian clinical geneticists Fellows of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences Year of birth missing (living people)