About Us

In 2007 we became aware of the need for an Australian support group for patients and families affected by Alport Syndrome, a genetic kidney disease.

In August 2008 the Alport Foundation of Australia, a non profit organisation, was formed. This site is designed for the patients and their families affected by Alport Syndrome.

Our goal is to spread the word through this website and brochures distributed to doctor’s surgeries, hospitals and treatment centres throughout Australia.

We hope a greater number of people with Alport Syndrome will become aware of their condition years sooner than they might otherwise have been. This will not only give those people the opportunity to take health promotion steps to slow down their decline, but will also give them access to information on any emerging preventative treatments, under the guidance of our board which includes several eminent and highly qualified Australian clinicians and researchers.

We hope that you find this website useful and informative. We welcome your comments and suggestions, and greatly appreciate your support!

Our Objectives

Supporting Australian Patients and their families with his genetic kidney disease

Funding Quality Research into treatments and a cure

Raising Awareness of this under diagnosed illness in Australia

Chairman’s Message

Dr David Blatt

Chairman

In 2007 five members of our family were simultaneously diagnosed with Alport Syndrome. Some had been unwell for years while others had no symptoms.

Please Read On…

Our Board of Directors

The Alport Foundation of Australia is grateful for the generous support and expertise offered by the Board of Directors.

Dr David Blatt – Chairman
PhD Physics.
Professor Meredith Makeham – Secretary
Associate Dean, Community and Primary Health Care. Faculty of Medicine and Health.The University of Sydney.
Mrs Elizabeth Blatt – Treasurer
BSc Pharmacy.
Dr Alison Blatt – Board Member
Urologist, Newcastle
Dr John Makeham – Board Member
Radiologist PhD in Neurosciences (University of Sydney).
Mr Bryson Vaughan – Board Member
Board Member of Cystic Fibrosis NSW. He has held a variety of positions including President and Vice President. Company Director of technology companies, and has considerable expertise in helping charities better engage with their communities.
Professor Rodney J Scott – Board Member
Phd, DSc, FRCPath, FHGSA, FFSc(RCPA)
Rodney is the Director of the Division of Molecular Medicine at Pathology North, Newcastle, and the Professor of Medical Genetics at the University of Newcastle. He leads a team of researchers examining the genetics of common diseases and a team of scientists engaged in the diagnosis of inherited predispositions to disease.Head of School of Biomedical Sciences
Professor Judy Savige – Board Member
MB BS FRCP FRACP FRCPA PhD MSc Dip Mgmt
Professor of Medicine, University of Melbourne Judy is a clinician-researcher at the Royal Melbourne Hospital and the Northern Hospital. she has worked on Alport syndrome for more than 20 years. Her lab’s current interests are in developing new treatments for Alport syndrome such as chaperones, and stem cell therapy and correcting the gene mutations. We are also interested in describing further eye features of Alport syndrome.
Mrs Dianne Shearman – Board Member
Patient and family representative
Mr Paul Shearman – Board Member
Family representative