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Logan WalkerResearch Professor

MSc(Hons) (University of Canterbury), PhD (University of Otago)

Associate Dean of Research (University of Otago, Christchurch)
Co-Director, University of Otago Research Centre – Genetics Otago
Co-ordinator, New Zealand Familial Breast Cancer Study

Email logan.walker@otago.ac.nz
Tel +64 3 244 1121
LinkedIn

Research interests

Professor Logan Walker's research is focused on understanding the impace of genetic changes on our health. Professor Walker leads the New Zealand Familial Breast Cancer Study, which has contributed to international consortia, including the Evidence-based Network for the Interpretation of Germline Mutant Alleles (ENIGMA) Consortium, and the Consortium of Investigators of Modifiers of BRCA1/2 (CIMBA). He has led international multi-site studies to understand how DNA copy number variants contribute to cancer risk, particularly in breast, ovarian and endometrial cancer.

He is a member of multiple international groups tasked with adapting the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG) and the Association for Molecular Pathology (AMP) framework for classifying variants in disease susceptibility genes. Professor Walker has also co-developed international guidelines to standardise RNA-based genetic testing, improving diagnostic accuracy and equity in genetic health.

Publications

Canson, D. M., Wiggins, G. A. R., Walker, L. C., & Spurdle, A. B. (2026). Correspondence on “Genome sequencing reveals the impact of pseudoexons in rare genetic disease” by Pitsava et al. Genetics in Medicine, 28(1), 101636. doi: 10.1016/j.gim.2025.101636 Journal - Research Other

Walker, L. (2025, March). Preparing for the future of genetic health. University of Otago, Christchurch, New Zealand. [Inaugural Professorial Lecture]. Other Research Output

Johnatty, S. E., Tudini, E., Parsons, M. T., Michailidou, K., Zanti, M., Canson, D. M., … Walker, L. C., … Spurdle, A. B. (2025). BRCA1-, BRCA2-, and PALB2-related Fanconi anemia: Scope to expand disease phenotypic features and predict breast cancer risk in heterozygotes. American Journal of Human Genetics. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1016/j.ajhg.2025.10.007 Journal - Research Article

Stylianou, C. E., Wiggins, G. A. R., Lau, V. L., Dennis, J., Shelling, A. N., Wilson, M., Sykes, P., … Pearson, J., & Walker, L. C. (2024). Germline copy number variants and endometrial cancer risk. Human Genetics, 143, 1481-1498. doi: 10.1007/s00439-024-02707-9 Journal - Research Article

Parsons, M. T., de la Hoya, M., Richardson, M. E., Tudini, E., Anderson, M., Berkofsky-Fessler, W., … Wiggins, G. A. R., … Walker, L. C., … Spurdle, A. B. (2024). Evidence-based recommendations for gene-specific ACMG/AMP variant classification from the ClinGen ENIGMA BRCA1 and BRCA2 Variant Curation Expert Panel. American Journal of Human Genetics, 111(9), 2044-2058. doi: 10.1016/j.ajhg.2024.07.013 Journal - Research Article

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