Professor Angela Morgan

Professor Angela Morgan is a national Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Dame Elizabeth Blackburn Fellow at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI). Angela is also a Dame Kate Campbell Professorial Fellow of the University of Melbourne. Angela is Director of the NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence – Translational Centre for Speech Disorders which builds on the previous NHMRC CRE in Speech and Language which she also led. In addition, she leads the Speech and Language group at MCRI. Angela has over 26 years of clinical-research experience across Australia and the United Kingdom (University College London Institute of Child Health and Great Ormond Street Hospital).

Angela’s current research program focuses on: (i) identification of new gene pathways leading to child speech and language disorders, (ii) conducting genotype-speech phenotype studies for rare genetic syndromes leading to more targeted therapies, and (iii) elucidating the neurobiology of speech and language disorders using quantitative brain imaging techniques. In recent years, Angela and team have demonstrated the relevance of genetic causes for speech disorders by identifying over 30 genes number of novel genes not previously associated with severe speech disorder.

Her team have also characterised speech and language abilities in children with a number of genetic conditions, including: FOXP2-related speech and language disorders, CDK13-related syndrome, Kabuki syndrome, Floating Harbor syndrome, 16p11.2 deletion, Koolen de Vries syndrome, GRIN2A-related speech disorder, KAT6A-syndrome, FOXP1-related syndrome, NRXN1 deletion, Phelan McDermid syndrome, SETBP1-haploinsufficiency disorder, Dravet Syndrome and Klinefelter syndrome.