Allison Matthews

BSc, PhD

Investigator and Genomic Specialist, BC Children's Hospital

Dr. Matthews is part of a larger, highly collaborative team which combines the expertise of clinicians, bioinformaticians and basic science researchers to help diagnose patients with rare genetics diseases. When conventional analysis is unable to find the cause of a patient's disease, the team uses whole genome and exome sequencing to search for what could be a mistake as small as one letter in the 3 billion letters that make up the genome. As a bioinformation, Dr. Matthews's role is to use computers to help sort through the data and then to apply genetics to prioritize potential causes for each patients. Dr. Matthews has a focus on disease on the X chromosome as well as patients with intellectual disability, metabolic disorders and atypical cerebral palsy.