Professor Michelle Farrar

Professor Michelle Farrar

Professor

MBBS (Hons) FRACP PhD

Medicine & Health
School of Clinical Medicine

Michelle Farrar is Professor of Paediatric Neurology at UNSW Sydney and specialist child neurologist at Sydney Children’s Hospital, leading the rare neurological diseases clinical and research programs.

Michelle’s team is focused on developing and translating innovative ways of providing the best possible care from the time of diagnosis, through treatment and beyond to people with rare neurological conditions, including neuromuscular, neurodegenerative and genetic diseases. The research p...

Phone
(02) 9382 1799
E-mail
m.farrar@unsw.edu.au
Location
Level 3, Sydney Children's Hospital High Street Randwick NSW 2013

2021-2027        NRMRC Investigator Grant: Improving health outcomes for neurological diseases in children with genomic technologies

2022-2027       MRFF: A national functional diagnostic program for therapy development in congenital muscle disease

2022-2026       MRFF: NEWBORN GEN SEQ TRAIL: NEWBORN GENomic SEQuencing in screening: Therapy Ready And Information for Life

 

  • Michelle Beets Memorial Silver Award (2018) NSW Health and Humpty Dumpty Foundation for improving health outcomes for children
  • Leonard Cox Award, Australian and New Zealand Association of Neurologists (2017) for contributions to Australian neuroscience

https://med.unsw.edu.au/news/michelle-farrar-recognised-leonard-cox-award

  • School of Women’s and Children’s Health, UNSW Sydney Best publication award (2017)
  • Dean’s Rising Star Award, UNSW Medicine, UNSW Sydney (2016)
  • Asian Oceanian Myology Centre Fellowship award for outstanding presentation (2016)
  • James Lance Young Investigator Award, Australia and New Zealand Association of Neurologists (2010)

Prof Farrar is a leading researcher in paediatric neuromuscular and rare neurogenetic disorders, successfully translating research to improve health practice and outcomes for patients, their families and the community. Her multidisciplinary team of researchers and clinicians lead projects to:

  • Improve early diagnosis and advance genomics in screening
  • Improve health outcomes for children
  • Apply genetic technologies for the discovery of novel biomarkers for clinical translation
  • Develop and implement new therapies
  • Develop the clinical and translational capability of paediatric precision medicine in neurology
  • Improve the understanding of patient and family experiences of new and emerging health technologies
  • Improve the understanding of the ethical and social issues related to emerging health technologies
  • Rapidly translate evidence into clinical practice and health policy

To undertake this work, Michelle’s team uses a variety of research designs and technologies including:

  • International multicentre clinical trials
  • Prospective cohort studies
  • Cross-sectional studies
  • In depth qualitative analyses
  • Systematic reviews of the literature
  • Implementation science evaluations
  • Economic evaluations and cost effectiveness analyses
  • Clinical and neurophysiological assessments
  • Cutting-edge high-throughput genomic sequencing

Michelle’s team also applies their clinical research approach to other neurological conditions, such as neurodevelopmental disorders, epilepsy and neuro-oncology and are passionate about creating an environment where people affected by these disorders are actively involved across all stages and types of research.

Michelle also has a strong commitment to improving the practice of medicine, thus connecting her research achievements to her activities in medical education and community and consumer engagement. As a regular contributor to the media, Professor Farrar is raising awareness in the community about early diagnosis and treatment of paediatric neuromuscular disorders and possibilities for carrier screening to allow couples to make reproductive choices.