Kavitha Kothur

Dr. Kavitha Kothur is an NHMRC Senior Research Fellow at the University of Sydney's Faculty of Medicine and Health, affiliated with the Brain and Mind Centre and Children's Hospital at Westmead. She is a paediatric neurologist specializing in genetic testing for refractory epilepsy, functional genomics, and improving outcomes after epilepsy surgery. Her research focuses on biomarkers, neuroinflammation, and personalized medicine in epilepsy.

• Member of the Brain and Mind Centre
• Clinical specialty: Neurology

Research interests include genetic epilepsies, cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers, neuroinflammatory pathways, and the psychosocial impact of genetic testing. She leads projects on epilepsy in cerebral palsy and the clinical utility of genome sequencing in refractory epilepsy.

Recent articles highlight biomarkers like neopterin and quinolinic acid in neuroinflammation, genetic variants in epilepsy syndromes (e.g., SETD1B, GABRA1), and functional neurological disorders linked to psychological stressors like the pandemic. Her work bridges molecular genetics, clinical neurology, and pediatric health.

• Scientific awards: NHMRC Investigator Grant, NHMRC Senior Research Fellowship

Collaborations include A/Prof Bruce Bennett (molecular genetics), Prof Patrick Kwan (genomics), and Prof Mary Collins (GABA receptor research). She has contributed to over 30 peer-reviewed publications since 2012, with recent focus on precision medicine strategies in pediatric epilepsy.