SYSTEMS GENETICS TO DETERMINE RISK OF DEVELOPING DIABETES COMPLICATIONS
Emeritus Professor Grant Morahan, Professor of Diabetes Research, University of Western Australia Centre for Medical Research (affiliated with the Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research), Perth, Australia & Honorary Professor, Baker Department of Cardiometabolic Health, University of Melbourne, Australia
RESEARCHER PROFILE
Filmed in Perth, Australia | December 2025
Professor Morahan invented the term “Systems Genetics” for the science field that examines how genetic variants can affect whole networks of genes and whole systems; there are now several laboratories and institutes of systems genetics around the world. He also developed the next-generation genetic resource, The Gene Mine, the most powerful of its type in the world, used globally in rapid mapping and identification of genes. Collaborators nationally and internationally have tested The Gene Mine for traits and diseases in which they specialise.
As a member of the Steering Committee of the Type 1 Diabetes Genetics Consortium, he worked to design the global study recruiting and characterising T1D genetics, which resulted in identification of over 40 T1D risk genes. The culmination of this program, for which Prof Morahan was PI of the Asia-Pacific Network, was published in Nature Genetics (41:703-707) and has been cited 1579 times.
Currently, he is a member of the Steering Committee of the Environmental Determinants of Islet Autoimmunity (ENDIA) Study, the only study in the world investigating T1D families to follow at-risk babies from pregnancy through childhood. Completing recruitment in 2020, the study already has 40 publications.
His latest discovery involves next-generation algorithms that are able to predict whether a person will be genetically high/low risk of developing a number of complex genetic diseases. Professor Morahan is working toward commercialising these genetic tests so they can benefit the public and the healthcare system.
During his career, Prof Morahan has supervised 23 postgraduate students and mentored nine postdoctoral positions. Since 2003, Prof Morahan has applied for and received close to $20 million in research funds, both nationally and internationally. He has 299 academic publications, 17,0744 citations and has an h-index of 60.
Source: Supplied
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8562-7325
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Using Gut Microbes to Reduce Blood Pressure
Professor Francine Marques is an National Health and Medical Research Council Emerging Leader, Viertel Charitable Foundation, and National Heart Foundation Fellow.
She leads the Hypertension Research Laboratory at Monash University and has published more than 120 peer-reviewed papers in journals such as Nature Reviews Cardiology, Nature Medicine, Nature Cardiovascular Research, and Circulation.
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Impact of NextSense Institute Research in the field of sensory disabilities
NextSense has a 165 year history of providing services and education for individuals with sensory impairments. With the support of donations, NextSense provides vital support for children and adults, more cochlear implants than any other service in Australia, and is a world leader for research, technology and professional education in the fields of visions and hearing loss.
NextSense clinicians are actively involved in a number of leading research projects—both independently and in collaboration with local and international organisations. The NextSense Institute, part of NextSense is Australia’s leading centre for research and professional education in the field of sensory disabilities.
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Brain ageing, dementia and psychiatric disorders
Professor Perminder Sachdev graduated from the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, in 1978 and completed his MD in Psychiatry there in 1983. Following time in New Zealand, he relocated to Australia, where he completed psychiatric training and a PhD at UNSW in 1991. His doctoral work examined ethnopsychological concepts in Māori culture. His early research focused on drug-induced movement disorders, including akathisia, tardive dyskinesia and neuroleptic malignant syndrome, while his later work has centred on dementia and pre-dementia syndromes, particularly neuroimaging, biomarkers and risk factors.
