Lara Menzies MB BChir, PhD

Dr. Lara Menzies is a Clinical Geneticist doctor with a special interest in Neurogenetics and genetics research, in particular regarding the translation of research outcomes to clinical care. She has co-authored a number of publications describing new genetic conditions and phenotypes. Lara was awarded the Royal College of Pathology 2020 Trainee Research Silver Medal for her work on neurovascular abnormalities in Floating-Harbor syndrome, a rare chromatin disorder.

Lara works closely with rare disease charities such as Unique and Medics4RareDiseases to translate research findings into meaningful information for families. During the Covid19 pandemic, Lara worked on behalf of the British Society of Genomic Medicine and the UK Clinical Genetics Society to produce patient information resources about Covid19 and rare diseases, a rare disease Covid19 clinician risk grid and an online patient interactive Covid19 risk assessment tool. Lara teaches genomics regularly at the Master's and postgraduate levels. She is also the national trainee representative for the UK Clinical Genetics SAC.

Prior to specialising in genetics Lara trained as a paediatric SpR in North London. She received a Distinction for her medical degree and completed a Ph.D. in neuroimaging phenotypes at the University of Cambridge. Lara has also completed Postgraduate Certificates in Advanced Paediatrics and Genomics. Her Ph.D. was awarded a British Neuroscience Association prize for contribution to neurosciences. She has also published widely in neuroimaging, with a number of first-author papers. Her research has been cited >5000 times.