Heidi Sutherland studies genes and genomic variations that contribute to complex human traits with a particular focus on migraine and other neurogenetic disorders. After completing a PhD with Prof Emma Whitelaw at the University of Sydney studying the role of epigenetic modifications in the expression mouse transgenes, she did a postdoc with Prof Wendy Bickmore at the Human Genetics Unit in Edinburgh, identifying novel nuclear proteins, including those that either write or read epigenetic marks, during mouse development. She is currently a Senior Research Fellow with Prof Lyn Griffiths in the Genomics Research Centre at Queensland University of Technology, and involved in a range of projects using sequencing and array technologies to identify genomic factors that contribute to migraine and related neurogenetic disorders, as well as memory and cardiovascular disease risk traits.