Inspired to know 'why a disease had occurred' and 'how it could be anticipated and prevented', Danks trained with pioneers of human genetics in London and Baltimore from 1959.
Danks was appointed Professor of Paediatrics at the Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne in 1974.
[1] Professor Danks established the Murdoch Institute for Research into Birth Defects together with Dame Elisabeth Murdoch DBE AC, where he could fully implement his vision of unfettered basic scientific research wedded to clinical practice and services to public health.
He applied his entrepreneurial flair to the development of a brilliant multi-disciplinary research team focussed on the identification of genetic diseases affecting newborns and their treatment in the clinic.
Since 2013, the Danks Chair has been held by Professor Kathryn North AC, when she also took over as Director of Murdoch Children's Research Institute.