Professor Baird obtained his PhD from the University of London, UK in microbial molecular biology. This was followed by postdoctoral fellowships at the Institute of Child Health, London in paediatric cancer genetics and haematopoiesis at the Hanson Centre for Cancer Research, Adelaide, Australia. Since 1996, he has worked in ocular genetics firstly at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, Melbourne and then at the Centre for Eye Research Australia. He is an Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Senior Research Fellow and heads the Ocular Genetics Laboratory in the Ophthalmology Department and is an Adjunct Professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

His interests are in the study of the genetics of eye diseases, particularly age-related macular degeneration (AMD), myopia and keratoconus and how genetics can be used to improve prediction models and treatment outcomes for patients through the use of big data and artificial intelligence in precision medicine. He has over 180 publications and is on the editorial board of a number of international journals. He has been on the organising and program committees of multiple national and international meetings, symposia chair and frequent keynote and plenary lecturer. He was awarded the Golden Eye Award by the Association of Community Ophthalmologists of India in 2011, a Senior Australia India Fellowship from the Australian Academy of Science in 2013 and a Distinguished Scholar Scheme awardee from the Chinese University of Hong Kong in 2017. He is on the executive of the International AMD Gene Consortium and the Consortium for Refractive Error and Myopia (CREAM) and initiated the Keratoconus International Consortium. He is Vice President of the Global Eye Genetics Consortium (GEGC, http://gegc.org) which is aimed at promoting eye research across the Asia Pacific region and developing world with an emphasis on research, education and training.

Terms of Appointment: May 2019 – Apr 2021; Mar 2021 - Feb 2023