Professor Sulev Kõks is an internationally recognised physician-scientist and genomic medicine researcher investigating mechanisms driving neurodegeneration and complex disease. He leads the Genetic Epidemiology Group at the Perron Institute and the Medical Genomics Laboratory at Murdoch University’s Personalised Medicine Centre.

Trained in medicine and biomedical research, Professor Kõks joined Perron from the University of Tartu in Estonia in 2018 after postdoctoral genomics training at King’s College, London. His work spans genetics and computational genomics across Parkinson’s disease, motor neurone disease, mood and rare disorders, psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis, osteoporosis, osteoarthritis and osteosarcoma.

His research examines the genomic “dark matter” missed by conventional genetic analysis. His team studies transposable elements, structural variation and transcriptomic signatures to uncover contributors to disease risk and progression. Integrating patient cohorts with advanced sequencing, bioinformatics, artificial intelligence and preclinical models, they aim to identify predictive biomarkers and new therapeutic targets.

His work draws on Murdoch University’s NATA- and ASHI-accredited medical genomics capability, including high-throughput automation, long-read and single-cell sequencing, spatial transcriptomics and proprietary analytical systems. The facility supports more than 100 active projects with partners worldwide.

Professor Kõks contributes to national and international programs in neurodegeneration and genomic medicine. Recent funding supports research into retrotransposons in motor neurone disease and a high-performance computing and nanopore sequencing platform for personalised drug development. Through leadership, global collaboration and mentorship, he is helping move genomic discovery towards earlier prediction, more precise treatments and better outcomes for people living with neurodegenerative disease.

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