Griffiths graduated with a bachelor's degree in science in 1978 from the
University of New South Wales. After subsequently completing her honours degree, she was awarded an
NHMRC Biomedical Postgraduate Scholarship to undertake her
PhD at
Sydney University. She went on to spend time as a post-doctoral researcher at the
University of Sydney, before moving to
Griffith University on the
Gold Coast, Queensland. There, she worked her way up to become Professor and Dean of Research (Griffith Health) and Director of the Griffith Health Institute (now called Menzies Health Institute Queensland). In 2013, she relocated her laboratory to the
Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation at
Queensland University of Technology, where she took up the role of Executive Director. When the Institute was disbanded in 2020, she was appointed to the position of Inaugural Director of QUT's Centre of Genomics and Personalised Health.[2][3]
Research
Prof. Griffiths’ research has led to diagnostic breakthroughs for several neurogenetic disorders, including familial migraine, ataxia, epilepsy and hereditary stroke. Her research has appeared in more than 400 peer-reviewed international journals, including Nature, the American Journal of Human Genetics, and Nature Neurology.[4][5]
Publications
Journal articles
Google Scholar lists over 500 documents by Griffiths, which have been cited in excess of 16,000 times, and calculates her
h-index as 67.[6]
Book chapters
Morris, B. J. & Griffiths, L. R. (1999). Chapter 1: Genes for essential hypertension: the first decade of research. In P. M. Frossard (Ed.), Genetic, Immune and Molecular Predisposition to Hypertension. (pp. 1–45). Utrecht, Netherlands: VSP.
Carless, M. A., Ashton, K. J., & Griffiths, L. R. (2006). Chapter 6: Cytogenetics of basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinomas. In J. Reichrath (Ed.), Molecular Mechanisms of Basal Cell and Squamous Cell Carcinomas. (p49-57). New York, USA: Springer.
ISBN0-387-26046-3.
Colson, N. J., Lea, R. A., Fernandez, F., & Griffiths, L. R. (2007). Chapter 1: The genetics of migraine. In L. B. Clarke (Ed.), Migraine Disorders Research Trends. (pp. 5–34). New York, USA: Nova Science Publishers.
ISBN978-1-60021-553-7.
Carless, M. A. & Griffiths, L. R. (2009). Cytogenetics of melanoma and nonmelanoma skin cancer. In J. Reichrath (Ed.), Sunlight, Vitamin D and Skin Cancer. (pp. 227–240). New York, USA: Springer.
ISBN978-0-387-77573-9.
Green, M. R., Camilleri, E., Gandhi, M. K., & Griffiths, L. R. (2009). Genetic susceptibility to complex traits: moving towards informed analysis of whole-genome screens. In A. Matsumoto & M. Nakano (Eds.), The Human Genome: Features, Variations and Genetic Disorders. (pp. 167–180). New York, USA: Nova Science Publishers.
ISBN978-1-607-41695-1
Carless, M. A. & Griffiths, L. R. (2011). Cytogenetics of primary skin tumors. In M. J. Murphy (Ed.), Chapter 4: Molecular Diagnostics in Dermatology and Dermatopathology. (pp. 57–72). New York, USA: Springer.
ISBN978-1-60761-170-7.
Menon, S., & Griffiths, L. R. (2013). Nutraceuticals in migraine treatment. In H. C. Diener (Ed.), Novel Approaches in Migraine Treatment. (pp. 134–145) London, UK: Future Medicine Ltd.
ISBN178084235X.
Carless M. And Griffiths L. R. (2014). Cytogenetics of melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancer. In Sunlight, Vitamin D and skin-cancer – 2nd Edition. Springer New York.
doi:
10.1007/978-1-4939-0437-2_9ISBN978-1-4939-0436-5.
Gasparini, C. F., Smith, R. A., & Griffiths, L. R. (2016). Chapter 4: Migraine and Glutamate – Modulators of Glutamatergic Signalling as Potential Treatments of Neuropsychiatric Disorders. In Z. M. Pavlovic (Ed.), Modulators of Glutamatergic Signalling as Potential Treatments of Neuropsychiatric Disorders. Nova Science Publishers, Inc. New York.
ISBN978-1-63483-493-3 (ebook).
Service to professional organisations
Distinguished Professor Griffiths has contributed significantly to her profession. She serves as Chair, Board of Censors for Diagnostic Genomics with the
Human Genetics Society of Australasia.[7] Additionally she has served on a number of boards to various bodies including the
National Heart Foundation of Australia (Queensland Division),[8]
2020 Life Sciences Queensland Limited (LSQ) - the Globally Engaging Networking Event (GENE) Awards: Life Sciences QIMR Berghofer Women of Influence Award
2020 Medical Technology Association of Australia: 2020 Outstanding Achievement Award
2023 Appointed Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in the
2023 Australia Day Honours for "significant service to genetics, and to research into neurological disorders".[11]