Associate Professor Kim Hemsley

Associate Professor

College of Medicine and Public Health

kim.hemsley@flinders.edu.au

Flinders Medical Centre

GPO Box 2100, Adelaide 5001, South Australia

Since establishing the Childhood Dementia Research Group in 2002, I have dedicated my research career to the study of disease pathogenesis in, and treatment of, brain disease in large and small animal models of Sanfilippo syndrome, a neurodegenerative lysosomal storage disorder that causes childhood dementia.

Here is a recent media interview that explains what childhood dementia means for families: https://9now.nine.com.au/a-current-affair/childhood-dementia-aussie-kids-suffering-from-cruel-disease-families-want-awareness/07da92b7-2a79-415f-bed7-f608b3ea22bc

I presently lead and coordinate a multi-disciplinary team and a comprehensive, innovative translational research program that is seeking to develop tools for predicting the rate of symptom-onset/disease-progression in Sanfilippo syndrome, elucidate the basis of neurogenic disease thereby providing a cogent target for therapies, evaluate novel treatments and provide biomarkers for monitoring therapeutic efficacy.

Our goal is to enable the implementation of existing technologies for newborn screening for all neurodegenerative LSDs in Australia and beyond, therapeutic intervention at the earliest possible stage and thus the greatest improvement in patient quality and quantity of life to be achieved.

**** An Honours scholarship ($5000) is available for full-time mid-year Honours (2021-2022).

Please see https://www.flinders.edu.au/scholarships-system/index.cfm/scholarships/display/ad1de20

**** Two Honours scholarships ($5000 each) are available for full-time Honours in 2022.

Please see https://www.flinders.edu.au/scholarships-system/index.cfm/scholarships/display/a61dd1a

Lab website: https://www.childhooddementiaresearch.wordpress.com

Qualifications

PhD (2000), Flinders University

B. App. Sci. (1991), University of South Australia

Honours, awards and grants

2018 - SAHMRI Translation and Impact Award – Childhood Dementia Research Group (team award)

2017 - University of Adelaide Alice Davey Award – Childhood Dementia Research Group (team award)

Key responsibilities

Head, Childhood Dementia Research Group

Supervisory interests

Neurodegeneration

Higher degree by research supervision

Current

Principal supervisor: Childhood Dementia (2)

Associate supervisor: Childhood Dementia (1)

Completion

Principal supervisor: Childhood Dementia (3), Huntington's disease (1)

Associate supervisor: Alzheimer's disease (1)

Higher degree by research student achievements

Andrew Shoubridge

Dean's Commendation - MAR 2021

Professional engagement

Professional/Research Leadership

Scientific Advisory Board Member – US National MPS Society (2015 – present)
Associate Chair, US National MPS Society Scientific Advisory Board (Sept 2020 – Dec 2021)
Chair, US National MPS Society Scientific Advisory Board (Jan 2022 – Dec 2024)
Scientific Advisory Board Member - Sanfilippo Children’s Foundation (Australia) (2017 – present)
Member, Scientific & Medical Advisory Committee, Childhood Dementia Initiative (July 2021 - present)
Member, Scientific Organising Committee, 16^th International Symposium on MPS and Related Diseases (July 2020)
Associate Member, European Study Group on Lysosomal Storage Disorders (2021-present)
Member, 40^th Australasian Neuroscience Society Meeting Programming Committee (2020 – present)

Academic Leadership

Member, Flinders University Human Research Ethics Committee (2020 – present)

Member, Gender, Inclusion, Diversity & Equity Committee, College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University (2020 – present)

Co-convenor, Leadership & Promotions Working Party (2020 – present)
Member, Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Working Party (2020 – present)
Member, COVID-19 Working Party (2020 – present)

Member, Flinders Health & Medical Research Institute (FHMRI) Honours Committee, Flinders University (2020 – present)
Member, FHMRI HDR Committee, Flinders University (2020 – present)