Laureate Professor Ingrid Scheffer AO
Laureate Professor Ingrid Scheffer AO is a physician-scientist whose pioneering research has transformed the understanding and treatment of epilepsy.
Her work as a paediatric neurologist and epileptologist at The University of Melbourne has led the field of epilepsy genetics over more than 30 years, in collaboration with Laureate Professor Samuel Berkovic and molecular geneticists. Her PhD from The University of Melbourne resulted in identification of the first epilepsy gene and many genes subsequently. She initially completed her Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery degrees at Monash University.
Professor Scheffer has described many novel epilepsy syndromes. She is a world expert in the most severe group of epilepsies, the developmental and epileptic encephalopathies, which are caused by more than 950 genes. Through precision diagnosis and development of precision therapies, her work is highly translational, focusing on improving the lives of children and adults living with epilepsy. Her research has ended the diagnostic odyssey for many families, opening the door to therapies tailored to the underlying genetic cause.
Professor Scheffer’s influence extends far beyond epilepsy. Her work has transformed the classification of epilepsy worldwide – as Chair of the International League Against Epilepsy Classification Commission, she led the first revision in nearly three decades, integrating scientific discoveries into a clinically relevant framework that continues to shape diagnosis and treatment across the globe today.
Professor Scheffer was the founding Vice-President (2014 to 2019) and second President (2019 to 2023) of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences (AAHMS). She served on the National Health and Medical Research Council for two triennia (2015 to 2021), and on government Expert Committees on medical cannabis and the COVID-19 pandemic.
She is a renowned leader in mentoring the next generation of clinician-scientists, supervising more than 90 higher-degree students and international fellows, many of whom have gone on to senior leadership roles around the world. In Australia, she founded the AAHMS Flagship Mentorship Program and the national “Life as a Clinician Scientist” initiative; both have influenced thousands of emerging health and medical researchers. Her trainees have developed into independent researchers and leaders who are driving the field of health and medical sciences forward. She believes that building a strong pipeline of clinician-scientists is vital to ensuring that discovery continues to translate into better health outcomes.
She has received 82 awards, including 30 named orations at Harvard University, Washington University, University of Toronto, Mayo Clinic, British Neurological Association, American Academy of Neurology and the Australia and New Zealand Association of Neurologists, among others. Professor Scheffer was awarded a four-year Einstein Fellowship from the Charité Universitätsmedizin, Germany and a five-year grant from Shenzhen Children’s Hospital, China.
In 2014, Professor Scheffer was awarded the honour of Officer of the Order of Australia (AO); elected as a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science and was co-recipient of the Australia Prime Minister’s Prize for Science. She was the 2012 L’Oréal-UNESCO Women in Science Laureate for the Asia-Pacific region, and elected Fellow of the Royal Society (2018). In 2025, she received the Outstanding Female Researcher Award from the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences.