Rate My Professor Logan Walker

Professor Logan Walker is a Research Professor in the Department of Pathology and Biomedical Science at the University of Otago, Christchurch, where he serves as Associate Dean of Research. He is also Co-Director of Genetics Otago and Coordinator of the New Zealand Familial Breast Cancer Study. Walker earned an MSc(Hons) from the University of Canterbury and a PhD from the University of Otago. After completing postdoctoral training in Australia, he returned to the University of Otago, supported by the Sir Charles Hercus Health Research Fellowship from 2012 to 2016 and the Rutherford Discovery Fellowship from 2016 to 2021. His career includes leading cancer genomics efforts in the Mackenzie Cancer Research Group and contributions recognized by the University of Otago Early Career Award for Distinction in Research in 2016 and the Eli Lilly Award from the New Zealand Society for Oncology in 2003. In 2025, he received the prestigious HRC Liley Medal for his work on RNA splicing in genetic health.

Walker's research centers on understanding the impact of genetic changes on health, with a focus on cancer genetics, including breast, ovarian, and endometrial cancers. He leads the New Zealand Familial Breast Cancer Study, contributing to international consortia such as the Evidence-based Network for the Interpretation of Germline Mutant Alleles (ENIGMA), Consortium of Investigators of Modifiers of BRCA1/2 (CIMBA), and Endometrial Cancer Association Consortium (ECAC). As a member of multiple ClinGen working groups and expert panels, including those for hereditary breast, ovarian, and pancreatic cancers, he has co-developed international guidelines for RNA-based genetic testing and ACMG/AMP variant classification in BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes. His leadership in multi-site studies has identified germline copy number variants associated with cancer risk. Key publications include 'BRCA1-, BRCA2-, and PALB2-related Fanconi anemia: Scope to expand disease phenotypic features and predict breast cancer risk in heterozygotes' (2025, American Journal of Human Genetics), 'Germline copy number variants and endometrial cancer risk' (2024, Human Genetics), and 'Evidence-based recommendations for gene-specific ACMG/AMP variant classification from the ClinGen ENIGMA BRCA1 and BRCA2 Variant Curation Expert Panel' (2024, American Journal of Human Genetics). Walker delivered his Inaugural Professorial Lecture, 'Preparing for the future of genetic health,' in March 2025.