Grant Robert Sutherland
Grant Robert Sutherland (born 2 June 1945) is a retired Australian human geneticist and celebrated cytogeneticist. He was the Director, Department of Cytogenetics and Molecular Genetics, Adelaide Women's and Children's Hospital for 27 years (1975-2002), then became the Foundation Research Fellow there until 2007. He is an Emeritus Professor in the Departments of Paediatrics and Genetics at the University of Adelaide. He developed methods to allow the reliable observation of fragile sites on chromosomes. These studies culminated in the recognition of fragile X syndrome as the most common familial form of intellectual impairment, allowing carriers to be identified and improving prenatal diagnosis. Clinically, his book on genetic counselling for chromosome abnormalities has become the standard work in this area. He is a past President of the Human Genetics Society of Australasia and of the Human Genome Organisation. Early life and education Sutherland was born in Bairnsdale, Victoria, on 2 June 1945. His father had served as a soldier in World War II and qualified for the soldier settlement farm scheme, so when Grant was 12 the family moved to a dairy farm at Numurkah. As a teenager he bred budgerigars, which he credits for starting his interest in genetics. After