Kirsty Donald

Kirsty Donald a Professor in Paediatric Neurology with an interest in developmental disabilities as they manifest in resource-limited settings, such as South Africa. She has a permanent faculty appointment leading the Division of Developmental Paediatrics in the Department of Paediatrics and Child Health at the Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital and is also Deputy Director of the Neuroscience Institute at the University of Cape Town. In the last four years, roles which speak to her involvement in broader global issues focussed on brain health include membership of BMGF neurodevelopment advisory board, contributor to WHO symposium and position paper on optimizing global brain health, UNICEF expert-panel for global standard-setting in early childhood development and most recently as chair of the steering group which designed and led the Advancing Neuroscience in Africa meeting and subsequent report. Specific research interests include understanding the early life determinants of brain health and development, with a particular focus on children in the African region.