Professor Ingrid Scheffer

Laureate Professor Ingrid Scheffer AO is a physician-scientist whose work as a paediatric neurologist and epileptologist at the University of Melbourne and Austin Health has led the field of epilepsy genetics over more than 20 years, in collaboration with Professor Samuel Berkovic and molecular geneticists. Professor Scheffer has described many novel epilepsy syndromes and refined genotype–phenotype correlation of many disorders. She is a core collaborator in the genetics of speech and language disorders team, contributing to the neurodevelopmental assessment of participants. Ingrid also works in the genetics of autism spectrum disorders, cortical malformations and intellectual disability. She has received many awards. In 2014, she was elected as a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science, and also as Vice-President and Foundation Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences. In 2018, she was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society. She is past President-Elect of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences.