Kathryn Burdon, PhD

Professor Kathryn Burdon was awarded her PhD in the genetics of childhood cataract from the University of Tasmania. Following the completion of her thesis in 2003, she spent two years as a post-doctoral fellow at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in North Carolina, USA, working on complex disease genetics, primarily the cardiovascular and renal complications of diabetes mellitus. On her return to Australia in 2005 she joined the Department of Ophthalmology at Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia where she ran a research group focused on the identification of genes for blinding diseases, including glaucoma, keratoconus, diabetic retinopathy and cataract. In early 2014 she returned to the University of Tasmania to join the Menzies Institute for Medical Research where she now heads up the Genetics and Cancer Theme. Her own research remains focused on the genetics of eye disease. Over the last 15 years she has identified many genes related to the risk of blindness, including some of the first common genes linked to Primary Open Angle Glaucoma. She aims to apply state-of-art technology to discovering genes that cause blindness as well as working closely with health care providers to apply genetic knowledge to the treatment and management of eye disease.