Our people and structure
How our organisation is structured, and the people behind it.
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Executive Committee
Professor Brendan Crabb AC
Director and Chief Executive Officer
Professor James Beeson
Deputy Director, Research Strategy
Hilary Bolton
Chief Operating Officer
Professor Heidi Drummer
Scientific Director for Research Translation
Geoff Drenkhahn
Chief of Funding Growth
Professor Margaret Hellard AM
Deputy Director, Programs
Professor Caroline Homer AO
Deputy Director, Gender Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
Chad Hughes
Deputy Director, International Operations
Leanne Lawrence
Chief of People, Planning and Governance
Di Lloyd
Chief of Public Affairs
Mary-Ann Nicholas
Head, International Program Quality and Effectiveness
Clinton Orr
General Counsel and Company Secretary
Paul Rathbone
Chief of Staff
Monica Zhang
Chief Financial Officer (Interim)
Board of Directors
Mary Padbury
BA, LLB(Hons). Chair since 2019. Director since 2011.
Robin Bishop
LLB(Hon), BCom, BA. Director 2012-2021, 2022-present.
Professor Brendan Crabb AC
PhD, BSc. Director and Chief Executive Officer since 2008.
Robin Davies
BA(Hons). Director since 2023.
Professor Sandra Eades AO
PhD, FTSE, FASSA, FAHMS. Director since 2020.
Professor Helen Evans AO
BA, BSocAdmin. Director since 2015.
James Flintoft
LLB, BSc, MBA. Director since 2023.
Kate Galvin
LLB, BEcon, GAICD. Director since 2024.
Dr Andrew Nash
PhD. Director since 2025.
Dr Serge Scrofani
BSc(Hons), PhD, MBA, MAICD. Director since 2019.
Michael Ziegelaar
LLB(Hons), BEc, LLM. Director since 2015.
Independent Scientific Advisory Committee (iSAC)
Professor Alan Cowman AC
Chair
Independent Scientific Advisory Committee
Professor Brendan Crabb AC
Member
Independent Scientific Advisory Committee
Professor Nancy Baxter
Member
Independent Scientific Advisory Committee
Professor Sandra Eades AO
Director, Burnet Institute
Adeeba Binti Kamarulzaman
Member
Independent Scientific Advisory Committee
Professor John Reeder
Member
Independent Scientific Advisory Committee
Dr Shivaprasad S Goudar
Member
Independent Scientific Advisory Committee
Country representatives
Dr Fredrick Charles
Country Director, Papua New Guinea
Dr Phone Myint Win
Country Representative, Myanmar
Kali Ameara
Country Representative, Vanuatu
Our core programs
Interdisciplinary health programs are at the heart of our daily decision-making. Our ‘core programs’ are:
- Disease Elimination
- Health Security and Pandemic Preparedness
- Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health.
Program directors and deputies
Disease Elimination
Professor Paul Dietze
Co-Program Director, Disease Elimination
Associate Professor Anna Hearps
Co-Program Director, Disease Elimination
Professor Joseph (Joe) Doyle
Deputy Program Director, Disease Elimination
Associate Professor Megan SC Lim
Deputy Program Director, Disease Elimination
Associate Professor Michelle Boyle
Deputy Program Director, Disease Elimination
Dr Caroline van Gemert
Deputy Program Director, Disease Elimination
Health Security and Pandemic Preparedness
Professor Leanne Robinson
Program Director, Health Security and Pandemic Preparedness
Associate Professor Suman Majumdar
Deputy Program Director, Health Security and Pandemic Preparedness
Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health
Dr Elissa Kennedy
Co-Program Director, Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health
Professor Joshua Vogel
Co-Program Director, Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health
Associate Professor Lindi Masson
Deputy Program Director, Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health
Our disciplines
Burnet has technically diverse experts across 3 key disciplines:
- Life Sciences
- Public Health
- International Development.
Some staff and students work directly with communities experiencing or at risk of health challenges. Many of our staff work in our laboratories or office environments in Australia and internationally.
Discipline heads and deputies
Professor Gilda Tachedjian
Head, Life Sciences
Associate Professor Paul Gilson
Deputy Head, Life Sciences
Professor Mark A Stoové
Head, Public Health
Associate Professor Alisa Pedrana
Deputy Head, Public Health
Chad Hughes
Head, International Development
Milena Dalton
Deputy Head, International Development
Our flagship initiatives
Burnet invests in institute-wide initiatives that sit outside of working groups. These include:
- Burnet Diagnostics Initiative (BDI)
- Eliminate Hepatitis C Australia (EC Australia)
- Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies (HMHB)
- Know-C19.
Our working groups
Our working groups bring together experts across our programs and disciplines to work on common goals. These goals can range from eliminating hepatitis C to developing next-generation health diagnostics. Our multidisciplinary working groups enable research to turn into real health solutions that work.
Professional services and operations
Our work is supported by professional services staff in areas including partnerships, finance, legal, IT, operations, administration, fundraising, communication, and commercialisation.
Professional services heads
Hilary Bolton
Chief Operating Officer
Geoff Drenkhahn
Chief of Funding Growth
Leanne Lawrence
Chief of People, Planning and Governance
Di Lloyd
Chief of Public Affairs
Independent Scientific Advisory Committee (iSAC)
The Committee plays a key role in providing opinion and challenging specific questions raised by the CEO and Executive related to research direction, goals and objectives.
Patrons and ambassadors
View Burnet's patrons and ambassadors.