Kathryn L. Franko

Research Fellow
BSc Cornell University; PhD, University of Cambridge
Cornell Presidential Research Scholar
Gates Cambridge Scholar

Contact details

Phone: +64 9 923 3450
Email: k.franko@auckland.ac.nz

Key research interests

• Life course epidemiology
• developmental origins of health and disease
• economics of health
• international development
• international health policy.

For her PhD, Kate studied the glucogenic consequences across the life course of stress in utero in animal models. Transitioning into a policy-based approach to life course health, she is now managing a project concerning the economic consequences of a poor start to life in low, middle and high income countries.

The International Healthy Start to Life Project: a collaboration between researchers at the Liggins Institute; University of Southampton; University of Pennsylvania; World Bank; King Edward Medical College of Lahore, Pakistan; National University of Singapore; Tropical Metabolism Research Institute of the University of the West Indies; University of Sao Paulo; Sitaram Bhartia Institute of Science and Research and Sundar Lal Jain Hospital of Delhi, India.

Franko KL, Gluckman PD, Law CA, Beedle AS, Morton SMB. Low birth weight and optimal fetal development: A global perspective. In Wieland Kiess (ed): Small for gestational age: causes and consequences. Basel. Karger, 2009.

Franko KL, O'Connor KC, Morton SMB. The Economics of DOHaD: Maximizing the Benefit of a Healthy Start to Life. In Newnham JP, Ross MG (eds): Early Life Origins of Human Health and Disease. Basel. Karger, 2009.