Scientific Advisory Board

Professor Victor J. Dzau is the President of US National Academy of Medicine (NAM) and Vice Chair of US National Research Council. He is Chancellor Emeritus and James B. Duke Distinguished Professor of Medicine at Duke University and former CEO of the Duke University Health System. Previously, Dr. Dzau was Hersey Professor and Chairman of Medicine at Harvard Medical School as well as Bloomfield Professor and Chairman of Medicine at Stanford University.

He is an internationally acclaimed leader and physician scientist who has made a significant impact through his seminal research in cardiovascular medicine and genetics. His important work on the renin angiotensin and vascular biology paved the way for the contemporary understanding of cardiovascular disease. He pioneered gene therapy for vascular disease and was the first to introduce DNA decoy molecules as gene therapy in humans.

Professor Dzau serves as the inaugural president of NAM and led its transition from the Institute of Medicine. At NAM, he leads a strategy of innovation, action and equity. He designed and led important initiatives such as the Global Health Risk Framework; Human Genome Editing; Emerging Science, Technology and Innovation; and the Grand Challenge in Climate Change and Human Health & Equity; and Redefining Academic Medicine.

Professor Dzau has served on the Advisory Committee to the NIH Director and as former chair of the Cardiovascular Disease Advisory Committee. Currently, he chairs the NHLBI Progenitor Cell Translational Consortium. He has played a critical role in initiating the Qatar Genome Project and recently Qatar Precision Medicine Institute serving as the chair of the Scientific Advisory Boards. He also serves on Precision Medicine Scotland Expert Advisory Group and Steering Group for the Science & Innovation Audit. Previously, he chaired the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Precision Medicine, and served on the Institute of Medicine Roundtable on Genomics and Precision Health.

Professor Dzau has been actively involved with Singapore, having led the formation of Duke NUS School of Medicine in 2005. He serves on the International Advisory Council of Health and Biomedical Sciences and the Academic Medicine Advisory Council of SingHealth and Duke NUS. He has served on the Board of Singapore Health Services Pte Ltd. In 2019, he was named an Honorary Citizen of Singapore.

Professor Kathryn North AC is Director of the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute and the David Danks Professor of Child Health Research at the University of Melbourne.

Professor North trained as a paediatrician, neurologist and clinical geneticist and was awarded a research doctorate in neurogenetics. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the Harvard Genetics Program. She is one of Australia’s most influential clinician scientists, dedicated to driving Australian medical research towards real improvement in human health. At MCRI, Professor North leads a diverse team of over 1500 researchers focussed on improving the health and wellbeing of children and their families. MCRI’s overarching research strategy encompasses genomics, stem cell medicine, population health, global health, computational biology and clinical translation.

Professor North is a national and global leader in genomic medicine. Since 2016, she has led Australian Genomics, a national 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 of over 600 organisations across 100 countries focused on the responsible sharing of clinical and genomic data. In 2022 Professor North was appointed by the Australian government as the inaugural Chair of Genomics Australia, a new health agency established to support and accelerate genomic technologies into clinical practice.

Professor North is President of the Australian Association of Medical Research Institutes, a Board member of the Academy of Health and Medical Sciences and a member of Victorian Government Health and Medical Research Strategic Advisory Committee. 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. Professor North also served as Chair of the National Health and Medical Research Council’s Research Committee from 2012-2018.

Professor North has received several awards and distinctions for her outstanding achievements and contributions, including the GSK Australia Award for Research Excellence (2011), the Ramaciotti Medal for Excellence in Biomedical Research (2012), and the Peter Wills Medal (2019) (in recognition of her long-term contribution to building Australia’s international reputation in health and medical research). In 2014 she was appointed as a Foundation Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences, and 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.

Masayuki Yamamoto was graduated from Tohoku University School of Medicine in 1979 and Graduate School of Medicine in 1983. In 1983-1986, Yamamoto was a postdoctoral fellow at Northwestern University with Professor Engel. During his doctoral and postdoctoral studies, he proved the presence of erythroid-specific isozyme of 5-aminolevulinate synthase in the heme biosynthetic pathway through molecular cloning.

In 1989, Yamamoto revisited the Engel laboratory and in collaboration identified the GATA family of transcription factors, which are now widely studied as one of the prototype transcription factor families regulating lineage commitment and cell differentiation. In 1991, Yamamoto returned to Japan and starts analyses of the Gata1 and Gata2 genes. He identified hematopoietic enhancer of Gata1, leukemia due to Gata1 knockdown, and established the notion GATA1-related leukemia. In 1995, Yamamoto started a series of analyses on CNC-sMAF family of transcription factors and in 1997, he identified and established the KEAP1-NRF2 system regulating the cellular response against electrophilic and oxidative stresses. Since then, he has been addressing many questions related to this important regulatory pathway.

Yamamoto has received many prizes, including Thomson Scientific Research Front Award (2004), Nissan Science Prize (2008), Leading Edge in Basic Science Award (SOT, 2011), Uehara Prize (2012), Medal of Honor with Purple Ribbon (The Emperor of Japan, 2012), Japan Academy Prize (2014), Award for Research Excellence (FAOBMB, 2020), and Lester Packer Award (2021). He also has established the Tohoku Medical Megabank organization in 2012 aiming to support constructive regeneration of the tsunami devastating area from the Great East Japan Earthquake and has been serving as an Executive Director.