Dr Anna Wilkinson

Senior Research Fellow

Taking students

Working groups

anna.wilkinson@burnet.edu.au

Background

Anna is a postdoctoral researcher and biostatistician specialising in the epidemiology and surveillance of blood-borne viruses and sexually transmissible infections. They have more than 10 years of research experience, building from more than 10 years of clinical experience as a nurse. Anna has expert skills in epidemiology and biostatistics, including complex analysis using Stata and R, and experience in large multidisciplinary research teams. Anna has experience mentoring and supervised junior staff and students, and teaching research skills nationally and internationally.

The purpose of Anna’s research is to generate epidemiological evidence for evaluation, identify gaps in the public health response, and highlight new opportunities to intervene, to achieve the aim of eliminating these infections as public health threats. Anna is passionate about integrity in research and improving the quality of science, through teaching and training to elevate the skill level of all researchers.

Anna's key research in infectious diseases epidemiology includes:

monitoring and evaluation of the response to blood borne viruses and sexually transmissible infections, using data from the ACCESS project
indicators and metrics for evaluating public health policy
surveillance systems and use of surveillance data including administrative data for evaluation and monitoring.

Qualifications

2021: Master of Biostatistics, Monash University
2016: PhD in Public Health (Epidemiology), Monash University, Australia
2010: Master of Public Health, University of Melbourne, Australia
2001: Bachelor of Nursing, Griffith University, Australia

Appointments

2022–present: Accredited doctoral supervisor, Monash University
2017–present: Adjunct Lecturer, Monash University School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine
2021–present: Honorary (Fellow), University of Melbourne School of Population and Global Health

Positions

2018–present: Senior Research Fellow, Disease Elimination

Reports and other work

2022: Australia’s progress towards hepatitis C elimination annual report

The fourth national report on Australia’s progress towards hepatitis C elimination. It collates national data, highlights knowledge gaps and informs future directions.
2022: Australia’s progress towards hepatitis C elimination annual report
2021: Australia’s progress towards hepatitis C elimination annual report

The third national report on Australia’s progress towards hepatitis C elimination. It collates national data, highlights knowledge gaps and informs future directions.
2021: Australia’s progress towards hepatitis C elimination annual report
The Optimise Study: A rapid survey examining frequency, impacts of long COVID and associated concerns. (PUBLIC HEALTH REPORT)

Long COVID is estimated to be costing the Australian economy $3.6 billion annually.1 Partly because of the variation in the definition of long COVID
The Optimise Study: A rapid survey examining frequency, impacts of long COVID and associated concerns. (PUBLIC HEALTH REPORT)

The Optimise Study: COVID-19 vaccine intention, and adherence to isolation and quarantine recommendations. (PUBLIC HEALTH REPORT)
The Optimise Study: COVID-19 vaccine intention, and adherence to isolation and quarantine recommendations. (PUBLIC HEALTH REPORT)
2019: Australia’s progress towards hepatitis C elimination annual report

Hepatitis C poses a significant public health concern in Australia, with over 170,000 individuals estimated to be living with chronic hepatitis C infection as of the beginning of 2017. Until the availability of direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) for all Medicare-eligible Australians with hepatitis C infection on March 1st, 2016, there was a growing population of individuals living with hepatitis C. This trend was accompanied by an increasing burden of liver disease, rising rates of liver cancer, and premature deaths attributed to long-term hepatitis C infection.
2019: Australia’s progress towards hepatitis C elimination annual report
2024: Australia’s progress towards hepatitis C elimination annual report
2024: Australia’s progress towards hepatitis C elimination annual report
The Optimise Study: A rapid survey examining the influence of potential cessation of the Victorian pandemic declaration. (PUBLIC HEALTH REPORT)
The Optimise Study: A rapid survey examining the influence of potential cessation of the Victorian pandemic declaration. (PUBLIC HEALTH REPORT)
The Optimise Study: COVID-19 testing, test positivity and contacts over time. (PUBLIC HEALTH REPORT)
The Optimise Study: COVID-19 testing, test positivity and contacts over time. (PUBLIC HEALTH REPORT)
COVID-19 testing in schools and attitudes and concerns about the current state of the pandemic. (PUBLIC HEALTH REPORT)

The Optimise Study has followed a cohort of over 700 Victorians since September 2020. A rapid survey was conducted between 28 October and 4 November 2021 to assess optimise participants' views about the best ways to implement COVID-19 testing in schools.
COVID-19 testing in schools and attitudes and concerns about the current state of the pandemic. (PUBLIC HEALTH REPORT)
The Optimise Study: A rapid survey examining concerns about children returning to school in 2022. (PUBLIC HEALTH REPORT)

The Optimise Study has followed a cohort of around 700 Victorians since September 2020. A rapid survey was conducted between 4 and 14 March 2022 to assess Optimise participants' concerns about children returning to school, COVID-19 testing in schools, views about COVID-19 prevention measures taken in schools, and the acceptability of closing schools under certain circumstances.
The Optimise Study: A rapid survey examining concerns about children returning to school in 2022. (PUBLIC HEALTH REPORT)

Burnet publications

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09 Dec 2024

A longitudinal study of alcohol consumption among adults in Victoria, Australia during the COVID-19 pandemic

PLoS ONE

Tianhui Ke, Zhang Yan-qin, Damian Pavlyshyn, Aimée Altermatt, Alexander Thomas, Thi Nguyen, Shelley Walker, Alisa Pedrana, Mark Stoové, Margaret Hellard

Open access

30 Nov 2024

Phenotyping people with a history of injecting drug use within electronic medical records using an interactive machine learning approach

npj Digital Medicine

Carol El‐Hayek, Thi Nguyen, Margaret Hellard, M. David Curtis, Rachel Sacks‐Davis, Jason Asselin, Anna L. Wilkinson, Victoria Polkinghorne

Open access

01 Nov 2024

Association between albuminuria and glomerular filtration rate with incident frailty

Kidney International Reports

Anna L. Wilkinson

Open access

Current projects

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Open to students

Eliminate Hepatitis C Australia (EC Australia)

Partnering to eliminate hepatitis C as a public health threat by 2030.

Impact of hepatitis C cure on hepatitis C related liver morbidity and mortality

Describing the impact of universal access to hepatitis C treatment on hepatitis C-related cirrhosis and liver cancer.

Advancing global knowledge of the drivers of fatal and non-fatal overdose

Work investigating non-fatal and fatal overdose among people who use drugs in Australia is important within the context of changing drug markets.

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Past projects

The elimination of hepatitis C as a global public health threat

This project addresses critical knowledge gaps in Australian and global efforts to eliminate hepatitis C as a public health threat by 2030.

The Optimise Study: Optimising Isolation, Quarantine and Distancing for COVID-19

This project aims to find out how Victorians are experiencing COVID-19 and responding to the measures introduced to stop the spread of the virus.

Eliminate C (EC) Victoria partnership

A partnership aimed at increasing hepatitis C treatment uptake among people who inject drugs (PWID) using nurse-led models of care in community and prison settings.

Health themes

Projects

Published research

Careers

Study at Burnet

About us

Where we work

Dr Anna Wilkinson

Senior Research Fellow

Background

Qualifications

Appointments

Positions

Reports and other work

2022: Australia’s progress towards hepatitis C elimination annual report

2021: Australia’s progress towards hepatitis C elimination annual report

The Optimise Study: A rapid survey examining frequency, impacts of long COVID and associated concerns. (PUBLIC HEALTH REPORT)

The Optimise Study: COVID-19 vaccine intention, and adherence to isolation and quarantine recommendations. (PUBLIC HEALTH REPORT)

2019: Australia’s progress towards hepatitis C elimination annual report

2024: Australia’s progress towards hepatitis C elimination annual report

The Optimise Study: A rapid survey examining the influence of potential cessation of the Victorian pandemic declaration. (PUBLIC HEALTH REPORT)

The Optimise Study: COVID-19 testing, test positivity and contacts over time. (PUBLIC HEALTH REPORT)

COVID-19 testing in schools and attitudes and concerns about the current state of the pandemic. (PUBLIC HEALTH REPORT)

The Optimise Study: A rapid survey examining concerns about children returning to school in 2022. (PUBLIC HEALTH REPORT)

Reveal more

Burnet publications

A longitudinal study of alcohol consumption among adults in Victoria, Australia during the COVID-19 pandemic

Phenotyping people with a history of injecting drug use within electronic medical records using an interactive machine learning approach

Association between albuminuria and glomerular filtration rate with incident frailty

Current projects

Eliminate Hepatitis C Australia (EC Australia)

Impact of hepatitis C cure on hepatitis C related liver morbidity and mortality

Advancing global knowledge of the drivers of fatal and non-fatal overdose

Past projects

The elimination of hepatitis C as a global public health threat

The Optimise Study: Optimising Isolation, Quarantine and Distancing for COVID-19

Eliminate C (EC) Victoria partnership

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