Cristina Dias
Consultant clinical geneticists
Biography
Cristina Dias trained in medical genetics in Porto, Portugal, where she developed an interest in developmental disorders. She went on to work as a consultant in Canada, also qualifying in medical genetics with the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.
Cristina maintains her interest in investigating the role of gene regulation in early neurodevelopment. She was appointed clinical senior lecturer in the Department of Medical and Molecular Genetics at King’s College London in 2016. She was awarded a prestigious Wellcome Clinical research Career Development Fellowship which she took up in 2018, seconded at the The Francis Crick Institute. Here, Cristina is working with neurodevelopmental biologist Dr Francois Guillemot to determine the role of BAF swi/snf chromatin regulation in early brain development, and the mechanisms underpinning abnormal neurodevelopment in human cellular models.
As a clinician and researcher, her ultimate objective is to make a significant contribution to the development of translational research in neurodevelopmental disorders and thereby improve the health care of children and their families.
Education and training
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PhD, Biological Sciences, University of Cambridge, 2017
- Fellow of the Canadian College of Medical Geneticist, 2012
- Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, Fellow in Medical Genetics and Genomics, 2011
- Specialist in Medical Genetics, Portugal, 2009
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MD (Medical Degree, Licenciatura em Medicina), University of Porto, 2001
Awards
Honours and awards
- British Columbia Clinical Genomics Network. BCCGN travel award, 2012
- University of British Columbia Medical Genetics Research Day – senior poster prize, 2011
- British Columbia Clinical Genomics Network Physician Fellowship, 2010
- University of British Columbia Medical Genetics Research Day – senior poster prize, 2010
- European Society of Human Genetics 2008 Conference Fellowship Award, 2008
- Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation for Science Scholarship, 2007
- Portuguese Society of Human Genetics 2007 Clinical Research Award, 2007
- Silva Araújo Research Award, University of Porto, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas Abel Salazar, 2001
Fellowships
- Wellcome Clinical Research Career Development Fellowship, 2018-2021
- Wellcome Trust PhD Programme for Clinicians Fellowship, 2012-2015
- Canadian Child Health Clinician Scientist Program Doctoral Award, 2011-2012
- BC Child and Family Research Institute Clinician Investigator Fellowship, 2010- 2011
Contact
Phone: 020 7188 1364
Specialist interests
- Intellectual development disorders
- Inherited diseases of epigenetic regulation
- Aicardi syndrome
Last updated: February 2023