The Australian Government today announced the appointment of the Human Genetics Advisory Committee (HGAC) of the National Health and Medical Research Council to provide national leadership in responding to developments in human genetics.
The Human Genetics Advisory Committee has a continuing role in providing expert advice to government on current and emerging issues in human genetics and related technologies, particularly the expected impacts on human health and healthcare.
In NHMRC’s current triennium the Committee will play an important part in advising on the ethical, legal and social implications arising from developments in human genetics and in leading community debate on these topics.
Rapid developments in human genetics and related technologies are likely to present substantial health benefits to the community. The Committee will offer advice on how these new technologies might best help all Australians.
HGAC will serve a three-year term to 30 June 2012 and will be chaired by Professor Ron Trent, Professor of Molecular Genetics at the University of Sydney, who has been appointed for a second term.
He will be joined by 11 other committee members including Professor John Christodoulou, bringing expertise in medical practice and paediatrics; and Natasha Mitchell, an expert in communicating with the community about human genetics.
Committee members have been involved with health, medical and community groups and appreciate the impact human genetic technology may have in a wide range of applications from healthcare to risk.
The newly appointed HGAC will provide advice to NHMRC’s CEO, Professor Warwick Anderson.
The Australian Government thanks the outgoing members of HGAC for their contribution and commitment over the past three years.
Media Contact
Parliamentary Secretary’s Office: Lisa Sedgwick, 02 6277 4414
NHMRC: Carolyn Norrie, Tel 02 6217 9342 Mob 0422 008 512 Email carolyn.norrie@nhmrc.gov.au
2009-2012 Human Genetics Advisory Committee (HGAC) members
Chair
Professor Ron Trent
Professor Trent is Professor of Molecular Genetics at the University of Sydney and Director of the Department of Molecular and Clinical Genetics at Sydney’s Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. He is a nationally recognised leader in the field of human molecular genetics who has pioneered many developments in this area, including DNA testing facilities and education of postgraduates in laboratory genetics.
Members
Associate Professor Kristine (Kris) Barlow-Stewart
Associate Professor Barlow-Stewart was appointed Foundation Director of NSW Health’s Centre for Genetics Education at Royal North Shore Hospital in 1989. Her career has focused on addressing the information and support needs of the community, the education and training needs of professionals and the societal impact of the rapidly developing field of genetics technology. She has contributed widely to developing policies in this area and is a member of a number of national and state organisations advising peak bodies and governments such as NSW Health’s Genetics Services Advisory Committee.
Associate Professor Ngiare Brown
Associate Professor Ngiare Brown is from Yuin and Dharawal country on the South Coast of NSW. She is among the first cohort of Aboriginal medical graduates in Australia, has postgraduate qualifications in public health and clinical training in primary care and emergency medicine. Her interests focus on human rights, law, systems reform and international Indigenous affairs. She is a founding member, and was Foundation CEO, of the Australian Indigenous Doctors’ Association; a founding member of the Pacific Region Indigenous Doctors’ Congress; Assistant Director at the Menzies School of Health Research in Darwin; and is currently Director of Bullana, the Poche Centre for Indigenous Health at the University of Sydney. Other appointments include the Australian Social Inclusion Board for the Deputy PM and the board of community-focused role modelling and mentoring initiatives for Aboriginal youth.
Mr Shane Burdack
Mr Burdack is Chief Underwriter of the Munich Reinsurance Company of Australasia Limited. He has held senior positions in several life insurance industry bodies and is a past President of the Senior Underwriters Risk Forum in Sydney and the Life and Disability Risk Assessment Group in Melbourne. He has served on the Australian Life Underwriters and Claims Association national executive and the Investment and Financial Services Association (IFSA) Life Risk Management Board committee. He currently chairs the IFSA Genetics Working Group. Mr Burdack is a Senior Associate of the Australian New Zealand Institute of Insurance and Finance, a Certified Insurance Professional, an Associate member of the Academy of Life Underwriting in North America and holds a Diploma in Health Counselling.
Professor John Christodoulou
Professor Christodoulou, a medical graduate of the University of Sydney, trained initially in paediatrics and subsequently qualified as a medical geneticist. His clinical practice is in the management of children with inborn errors of metabolism, and his research interests include Rett syndrome, phenylketonuria (PKU) and the mitochondrial respiratory chain disorders. He is currently the Director of the Western Sydney Genetics Program, The Children’s Hospital at Westmead, Sydney, and Professor in the disciplines of Paediatrics and Child Health and Genetic Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Sydney. He is a former past President of the Human Genetics Society of Australasia.
Associate Professor Jane Halliday
Associate Professor Halliday is an NHMRC Senior Research Fellow and head of Public Health Genetics at the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute in Melbourne. She is an experienced epidemiologist with more than 110 peer-reviewed publications. Her current research interests include evaluation of aspects of genetic health service provision including uptake of new genetic technologies, prenatal diagnosis and screening for birth defects, and possible causes of birth defects such as alcohol, Vitamin D and epigenetic effects. She is also leading research into the health and wellbeing of infants, children and young adults conceived by assisted reproductive technologies.
Ms Natasha Mitchell
Ms Mitchell is a science and health journalist, and host of All in the Mind on ABC Radio National and Radio Australia. Her work has received accolades internationally, including the Grand Prize and four Gold World Medals at the New York Radio Festivals, among other awards. In 2005 she was the recipient of a prestigious Knight Journalism fellowship at MIT/Harvard. She is a current board member of the World Federation of Science Journalists. Ms Mitchell originally trained as an engineer and has been a broadcaster for over a decade. She also regularly hosts popular public events and fora, and her writing appears in Australian newspapers and magazines.
Professor Margaret Otlowski
Professor Otlowski is Professor of Law at the University of Tasmania and Deputy Director of the Centre for Law and Genetics. She has longstanding experience in health law and bioethics, publishing extensively in the field, and has been engaged by Commonwealth and state governments and agencies as a consultant and member for various committees, working parties and tribunals (currently the Anti-Discrimination Tribunal). She has practical experience in ethics; serving on the Royal Hobart Hospital Ethics Committee, chairing the University of Tasmania Social Sciences Ethics Committee and the subsequent State-wide Committee, and is currently on the Royal Hobart Hospital’s Clinical Ethics Committee.
Professor Andrew Sinclair
Professor Sinclair is an NHMRC Principal Research Fellow and a Professor at the University of Melbourne’s Department of Paediatrics. He is also Director of the Early Development and Disease division at the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute in Melbourne. Professor Sinclair leads an NHMRC Program focusing on the molecular genetics of gonad development and its impact on human disorders of sex development. He is also a chief investigator on an ARC National Centre of Excellence focusing on male infertility and testicular cancer. In 2005 he was appointed to the Australian Biotechnology Advisory Council and has chaired the NHMRC Grant Review Panel for Genetics since 2007.
Ms Sharon Van der Laan
Ms Van der Laan has worked in the Non Government Organisation sector for more than 25 years in a broad range of activities including community development, education and advocacy. She is Executive Director of the Genetic Support Council WA Inc, an organisation that promotes awareness and understanding of genetic disorders, encourages service delivery by genetic support groups and provides support and advocacy to families and individuals living with a genetic condition. She is a consumer representative on the WA Genetics Council and the Telethon Institute Child Health Research Consumer Advisory Committee, a committee member of People with Disabilities (WA), a member of the Australasian Genetic Alliance, Consumer Health Forum of Australia and Health Consumers Council WA.
Emeritus Professor David Weisbrot AM
Professor Weisbrot is President of the Australian Law Reform Commission, chairing national inquiries into the protection of human genetic information (the Essentially Yours report), gene patenting and human health (Genes and Ingenuity) and health privacy (For Your Information). He is an Emeritus Professor of Law and an Honorary Fellow in Medicine at the University of Sydney; a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Law; a member of the first NHMRC Human Genetics Advisory Committee; and a member of the Scientific Advisory Board for a cluster of genetic research projects at the University of British Columbia. He has particular interests in genetic privacy and discrimination; the ethical oversight of human genetic research; the use of genetic testing and information in sport; and the governance of biobanks.
Professor Ingrid Winship
Professor Winship is the Professor of Adult Clinical Genetics at the University of Melbourne and the Royal Melbourne Hospital. She is also the Executive Director of Research of Melbourne Health. She is a clinical geneticist with an interest in adult onset genetic disorders, especially the inherited predisposition to cancer. As a dermatologist, her area of special expertise in is inherited disorders of the skin.