Grant Robert Sutherland

Grant Robert Sutherland (born 2 June 1945) is a retired Australian human geneticist and cytogeneticist. He was the Director, Department of Cytogenetics and Molecular Genetics, Adelaide Women's and Children's Hospital for 27 years (1975-2002), then became the Foundation Research Fellow there until 2007. He is an Emeritus Professor in the Departments of Paediatrics and Genetics at the University of Adelaide.

He developed methods to allow the reliable observation of fragile sites on chromosomes. These studies culminated in the recognition of fragile X syndrome as the most common familial form of intellectual impairment, allowing carriers to be identified and improving prenatal diagnosis. Clinically, his book on genetic counselling for chromosome abnormalities has become the standard work in this area. He is a past President of the Human Genetics Society of Australasia and of the Human Genome Organisation.

Early life and education Sutherland was born in Bairnsdale, Victoria, on 2 June 1945. His father had served as a soldier in World War II and qualified for the soldier settlement farm scheme; as such, when Grant was 12, the family moved to a dairy farm at Numurkah. As a teenager, he bred budgerigars, which he credits for starting his interest in genetics. After completing at Numurkah High School, he left home and moved to Melbourne.

He studied at the University of Melbourne, graduating in 1967 with a BSc major in genetics and a sub-major in zoology. During vacations, he worked at the CSIRO as a technician, in the team that was developing a vaccine for contagious bovine pleuropneumonia. Still at the University of Melbourne, he went on to graduate with a MSc in 1971. He undertook his doctoral studies at the University of Edinburgh, graduating with a PhD in 1974 and a DSc in 1984, presenting the thesis Studies in human genetics and cytogenetics

The proposal of prenatal testing to diagnose genetic diseases has sometimes been controversial for Sutherland, because it raises the question of what to do if problems are detected.

Service to professional organisations Sutherland was the president of the Human Genome Organization (HUGO) from 1996 to 1997, and he was involved in establishing the professional body in 1977, which grew into the Human Genetics Society of Australasia, and he served as its president from 1989 to 1991.

Recognition In the 1998 Australia Day Honours, Sutherland was appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) for service to science and in 2001, he was awarded a Centenary Medal.

Other significant awards include: 1983 - Fulbright Senior Scholar 1998 - Australia Prize (later renamed the Prime Minister's Prize) for Science (joint winner with three others in the field of genetics) 2001 - Macfarlane Burnet Medal and Lecture, Australian Academy of Science 2001 - Ramaciotti Medal for Excellence in Biomedical Research 2004 - Included in "The Magnificent Seventeen, Giants of Australian research" having the most highly cited papers across all fields 2013 - Honorary Doctor of Medicine awarded by the University of Adelaide 2013 - The Australian National Health and Medical Research Council named him an "all-time high achiever"

Since 1994 he has been an Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia. and the Australian Academy of Science (1997). In 2005, the Human Genetics Society of Australasia introduced the annual "Sutherland Lecture" in his honour, allowing outstanding mid-career researchers to showcase their work.

Publications

Journal articles

Scopus lists 458 documents by Sutherland, and calculates his h-index as 83.

Books