88 | Professor Stephen Robertson on 'Lifting of the mākutu' & paediatric clinical genetics

Professor Stephen Robertson is the Curekids Professor of Paediatric Genetics. He was educated at the University of Otago graduating in Medicine in 1990. He specialized in Paediatrics and Clinical Genetics after training in Auckland and Melbourne. He was the Nuffield Medical Fellow at Oxford University and now heads the Clinical Genetics Group. Some of his work was highlighted in a documentary in 2005 ‘Lifting of the Mākutu’.

In this episode, we discuss his journey into paediatrics and clinical genetics, the making of the documentary, equity in clinical genetics, volunteering with Curekids, day-to-day routines of clinical genetics, genetic counselling, controversies with 23andMe and ancestry testing, and the future of genetics.

You can find the documentary here: https://www.otago.ac.nz/clinical-genetics/news-opportunities-media/lifting-of-the-makutu/
Further information on Professor Robertson: https://www.otago.ac.nz/bhrc/staff/otago115051.html 

NB: my recording software started glitching towards the end of the interview and was unfortunately out of my control. I apologise sincerely for any negative listening experience towards the end of this show.

Chapters

• 0:00 Stephen Robertson
• 1:18 Finding medicine
• 4:00 Finding clinical genetics and paediatrics
• 7:29 Stumbling into clinical genetics
• 9:05 Lifting of the makutu
• 20:53 Common conditions in clinical genetics
• 22:12 Referrals to clinical genetics
• 25:44 Clinical genetics vs genetic counsellors
• 27:58 Day-to-day in clinical genetics
• 31:03 Lab work for clinical geneticists?
• 33:00 23andMe
• 35:42 Ancestry testing
• 37:29 Training in clinical genetics
• 41:38 Future of genetics
• 47:10 Equity in clinical genetics
• 50:14 Curekids