Governor
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, University of Melbourne.
Kathryn is a clinician-scientist, trained as a paediatrician, neurologist and geneticist. At MCRI, Kathryn leads a diverse team of over 1500 researchers with a dedicated focus on improving the health and well-being of children and their families.
Kathryn is a national and global leader in genomic medicine. She led Australian Genomics (2016-2025), a network of over 100 institutions around Australia, with the goal of embedding genomic medicine in the Australian health system.
She is Vice Chair of the Global Alliance for Genomics and Health, a collaborative network across 100 countries, focused on the responsible sharing of clinical and genomic data.
In 2019, she was awarded one of Australia’s highest honours, Companion (AC) of the Order of Australia, in recognition of her eminent service to genomic medicine.
Kathryn is also head of the Australian Medical Research Advisory Board (AMRAB), the independent panel of experts that sets the strategy and priorities for the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF). She is Chair of Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health (UK) International Advisory Board and is a member of the Scientific Advisory Boards of the Singapore National Precision Medicine Program and Toronto Sick Kids Research Institute.