Since the commencement of the COVID-19 pandemic, Burnet has been proactively contributing to the response through public health and laboratory-based research, advocacy and in the provision of high-level advice to State and Federal governments.

The Institute’s key programs - Disease Elimination, Behaviours and Health Risks, Health Security, and Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health - are home to researchers with significant expertise and longstanding collaborations and networks that are critical to the local, national and global response to COVID-19.

Burnet’s expertise in virology, rapid diagnostics, and in assessing and developing antiviral agents is well recognised internationally. Combined with our public health expertise in epidemiology, modelling, disease elimination and understanding human behaviours, Burnet is well positioned to provide a significant ongoing contribution to the COVID-19 response in Australia and overseas.

In addition, 360biolabs (a Burnet majority owned Contract Research Organisation) is Australia’s first commercially focused ISO accredited laboratory to offer virology and immunology testing for COVID-19 vaccine development, and laboratory testing of new antivirals and biologics.

Another Burnet spinoff company, Nanjing BioPoint Diagnostics Technology, will supporting proof-of-concept and validation studies for rapid point-of-care diagnostics for COVID-19 being developed at Burnet.

Our efforts are focused on how we can pivot our resources and expertise to support the Australian and global research and public health efforts.

• VACCINE DEVELOPMENT

Burnet’s Viral Entry and Vaccines Group led by Professor Heidi Drummer and Dr Andy Poumbourios is developing and evaluating novel candidate vaccine antigens and serological assays to understand the immune response to COVID-19 in humans.

• POINT-OF-CARE DIAGNOSTIC

Our Global Health Diagnostic Development Group, led by Associate Professor David Anderson, is developing a rapid point-of-care test to identify people who have been infected and cleared the virus enabling them to safely return to work post-infection. This will be critical for key services, in particular the health sector who are disproportionately exposed to infection.

Bringing together some of Australia’s smartest minds, Burnet is also co-leading a Victorian Consortium, with Doherty Institute, to lead a collaborative research approach to tackling COVID-19. Start-up funding provided by the Victorian State Government is recognition of the many decades which we have been building capacity, the complementary nature of each institute’s technical expertise, and the unique role we can play in the response to this virus.

• PUBLIC HEALTH AND SOCIAL IMPACT RESEARCH

Professor Margaret Hellard AM, is leading Burnet’s COVID-19 Public Health and Social Impact research. Current priorities include a series of studies to:

• Assess how to reduce ongoing transmission of COVID-19.
• Assess the impact of the broader social and economic impact of the mitigation efforts (including self-isolation) introduced by the government and identify ways to reduce negative consequences of these mitigation efforts.

HOW YOU CAN HELP US FIGHT COVID-19

While we possess the technical capacity and have received initial funding we are reaching out to the philanthropic sector to boost funding to accelerate research into life saving outcomes.

We are seeking general donations to the Burnet Institute COVID-19 Research Program. This will give us the flexibility to adapt our research focus to where we see the greatest opportunity for impact.

Your support will ensure we have the capacity to meet the immediate and longer-term challenges of the social, economic and health impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Donate today!