Contacts

Professor Heidi Drummer

Co-Program Director, Disease Elimination; Scientific Director, Burnet Diagnostics Initiative; Principal Investigator, Burnet Vaccine Initiative; Co-Head, Viral Entry and Vaccines Group

Background

Professor Heidi Drummer is Program Director for Disease Elimination and co-Head of the Viral Entry and Vaccines research group at Burnet Institute. In 2021, she was appointed as Scientific Director of the Burnet Diagnostics Initiative, a new Burnet Initiative to progress diagnostics through to human health solutions. She also leads the Hepatitis C Vaccine development stream of the Burnet Vaccine Initiative.

Heidi is an inventor on numerous granted patents and is internationally recognised as a leader in viral glycoprotein structure and function. She has developed multiple point of care diagnostic assays to measure immunity to COVID-19 and established clinical studies to examine immune response generated by SARS-CoV-2 vaccines.

Heidi has extensive experience in industry engagement and commercialisation of diagnostic assays and the translation of vaccines through pre-clinical studies into clinical trials.

Listen to Professor Drummer on Episode 2 of our How Science Matters podcast.


Appointments

  • 2017: Program Director, Disease Elimination, Burnet Institute
  • 2014: Deputy Head, Centre for Biomedical Research, Burnet Institute
  • 2010: Adjunct Associate Professor, Department of Microbiology, Monash University, Victoria, Australia
  • 2009: Honorary Senior Lecturer, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
  • 2008: Burnet Institute Principal Fellow, Victoria, Australia
  • 2005: Co Head Viral Fusion Laboratory-HCV studies. Macfarlane Burnet Institute for Medical Research and Public Health Ltd.

Positions

  • 2009: Member of the Burnet Institute PhD Committee, Victoria, Australia
  • 2009: Burnet Institute Honours program coordinator (co-Associate Professor Paul Gorry), Australia
  • 2008: Elected Treasurer Australian Centre for Hepatitis Virology
  • 2001: Principal Investigator, Australian Centre for Hepatitis and HIV Virology Research

Qualifications

  • 1989: BSc (Hons), University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
  • 1993: PhD, University of Melbourne, Australia

Awards

  • 2009: Gust McKenzie Award
  • 1990: Australian Postgraduate Research Award

Projects (13)

Current (11)

  • ACE2 inhibitors for treatment of COVID-19

  • Burnet COVID-19 Vaccine | Burnet Vaccine Initiative (BVI)

  • COVID-19 antigens for PoC test development

  • COVID-19 Vaccine Development

  • Development of a universal prophylactic vaccine for Hepatitis C

  • HepSeeVax: Proof-of-concept study of an HCV vaccine candidate

  • Neutralising antibody assays for COVID-19

  • Social Networks and the Hepatitis C Virus

  • Understanding how HCV evades the immune system

  • Understanding the correlates of protection for hepaciviruses

  • What drives hepatitis C reinfection?

Publications (106)

2023 (2)

2022 (5)

2021 (8)

2020 (9)

2019 (3)

2018 (4)

2017 (3)

2016 (5)

2015 (4)

2014 (4)

2013 (4)

2012 (4)

2011 (4)

2010 (3)

2009 (2)

2008 (2)

2007 (10)

2006 (2)

2005 (1)

2004 (2)

2003 (2)

2002 (1)

2001 (5)

2000 (1)

1999 (4)

1998 (3)

1997 (1)

1996 (1)

1995 (2)

1994 (2)

1993 (2)

1989 (1)

News Articles (68)

2023 (1)

2022 (7)

2021 (16)

2020 (7)

2019 (4)

2018 (2)

2017 (9)

2016 (11)

2015 (2)

2014 (3)

2013 (2)

2012 (2)

2011 (2)