Programme Leader, MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge

Kate is a Programme Leader at the MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge. She is also an Honorary Consultant in Clinical Genetics at Cambridge University Hospital, and an affiliate PI of the Academic Department of Medical Genetics. Prior to this she completed her medical and research training at Oxford, UCL and Cambridge.

Kate’s research programme on Genomic Disorders and Cognitive Development uses cognitive theory and innovations in neuroscience to understand and improve mental wellbeing across the lifespan in rare conditions. Until recently, finding the genetic cause of neurodevelopmental disorders was difficult, expensive and time-consuming. The majority of individuals did not receive a diagnosis, and the cause of their lifelong differences remained a mystery. With technological advances and major health service investment, genetic diagnosis is becoming the norm. However, finding a genetic diagnosis leads to new questions and potentially new solutions, which motivate the research work of Dr Baker's group