Rate My Professor Andreas Zankl

Andreas Zankl is a Clinical Professor in the Faculty of Medicine and Health at the University of Sydney and Professor of Medical Genetics. He qualified with an MD, FMH specialist title from Switzerland, FRACP fellowship, and Postgraduate Certificate in Bioinformatics. His academic career began in Switzerland, where he worked at the Institute of Medical Genetics, University of Zurich, contributing to studies on growth charts and dysmorphic features, and at the Division of Molecular Paediatrics, CHUV Lausanne, investigating skeletal dysplasias such as spondyloperipheral dysplasia. He subsequently held a position at the Centre for Clinical Research, University of Queensland in Brisbane, before joining the University of Sydney and The Children’s Hospital at Westmead, where he provides clinical genetic services.

Zankl's research specializations encompass genetics, genomics, bioinformatics, bone dysplasias, and skeletal dysplasias, with a focus on rare genetic disorders affecting skeletal development. He applies whole genome sequencing to undiagnosed cases, as demonstrated in projects funded by the Sydney Genomic Collaborative involving 70 families. Key publications include the identification of POP1 mutations as the cause of a novel skeletal dysplasia (PLoS Genetics, 2011), mutations in MAFB causing multicentric carpotarsal osteolysis (American Journal of Human Genetics, 2012), consensus guidelines for vosoritide in achondroplasia (2024), Australian guidelines for achondroplasia management (2023), and contributions to the Human Phenotype Ontology, Mondo disease ontology, and GA4GH Phenopacket schema. He leads the Bone Dysplasia Clinic at The Children’s Hospital at Westmead, offering diagnosis, multidisciplinary management for adults and children, and transitional planning to adult services. Zankl initiated the Skeletal Dysplasia community at WikiPathways and has advanced biomarker identification, such as chondroitin sulfate disaccharide for mucopolysaccharidosis type IVA (2020), impacting clinical diagnostics and precision medicine for rare bone diseases.