Photo: Flying high at UNSW: Rachael with her partner Erin on her graduation day in November.
We are pleased to share the exciting news that Rachael Birch, a 3DN researcher, recently graduated with a Doctor of Philosophy degree (PhD) for her research focusing on male carriers of fragile X. Rachael’s thesis examined the relationships between thinking and motor skills, brain volumes, and the fragile X gene. Her PhD was supervised by Professor Julian Trollor from 3DN, Dr Darren Hocking from La Trobe University, and Professor Kim Cornish from Monash University.
Rachael said: “I would like to thank all of the families who helped us with our research. We hope to continue this work and to raise the awareness of physical and mental health problems experienced by some carriers of fragile X. It is clear to us that there is a lack of information available to families about the types of things that can affect carriers’ health and wellbeing. We are currently seeking funding so that we can expand our study and use the findings to develop much-needed health information resources for fragile X families and health practitioners”.