Perpetual has distributed over $1.6 million in funding to Australian biomedical researchers on behalf of the Ramaciotti Foundations.

Professor Katherine North AM, the researcher responsible for discovering the ‘gene for speed’ has been awarded the prestigious Ramaciotti Medal for Excellence in Biomedical Research and a $50,000 grant.

Professor North is the Douglas Burrows Professor of Paediatrics and Child Health at the University of Sydney and Head of the Institute for Neuroscience and Muscle Research at the Children’s Hospital, Westmead. The Ramaciotti Medal recognises Professor North’s outstanding contribution to biomedical research in three key areas: neuromuscular disorders, neurofibromatosis, and the study of genes that influence athletic performance.

Professor North received worldwide recognition for leading the team that discovered a skeletal muscle gene (ACTN3) linked to athletic muscle performance and function, dubbed ‘the gene for speed’. Professor North’s research showed that although one in five Australians are deficient in α-actinin-3, no Olympic sprint athletes have ever been found deficient in the gene.

She hopes to use the discovery to unlock new neuromuscular genetic information, which will help children and adults prevent, isolate or better manage muscular diseases in the future.

Twenty-two other researchers across Australia will also be awarded grants of up to $75,000 each tonight to support their biomedical research.

The Ramaciotti Foundations were established in 1970 with $6.7 million in funds. Since then, the charitable trusts have donated more than $52.5 million to biomedical research.