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  5. Heidi Drummer

Professor Heidi Drummer

Scientific Director for Research Translation; Scientific Director, Burnet Diagnostics Initiative; Principal Investigator, Burnet Vaccine Initiative; Co-Head, Viral Entry and Vaccines Group

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Professor Heidi  Drummer

Background

Professor Heidi Drummer is Scientific Director for Research Translation 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.

Qualifications

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

Appointments

  • 2024–present: Scientific Director for Research Translation
  • 2021–present: Scientific Director, Burnet Diagnostics Initiative (BDI)
  • 2017–2024: 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.

Awards

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

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

Reports + Policy Briefs

2021 (5)

2020 (1)

  • The most promising vaccines for COVID-19. (Updated 17.6.2020) Cunningham A, Chappell K, Copolov D, Crabb B, Cuthbertson A, Doherty P, Drummer H, Foley C, Godfrey D, Halton J, Kelleher A , Majumdar S, McDonald C, Munro T, Purcell D, Young P. Rapid Research Information Forum - Australian Academy of Sciences. May, 2020.

Past projects

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Novel Point-of-care Testing for Diagnosis of Active Syphilis in Pregnant Women and Infants in Fiji

Novel Point-of-care Testing for Diagnosis of Active Syphilis in Pregnant Women and Infants in Fiji

Congenital syphilis (CS), caused by mother-to-child transmission of spirochete bacterium Treponema Pallidum (TP), is a major global health problem associated with substantial morbidity and mortality in children. Without adequate treatment CS causes significant developmental, neurological and musculoskeletal disability in children, and many infected infants will die within the first year of life. In 2016, estimated global incidence for CS was 473 (385-561) cases per 100,000 live births with a total of 661,000 (538,000-784,000) cases, including 355,000 (290,000-419,000) adverse birth outcomes (143,000 stillbirths; 61,000 neonatal deaths; 41,000 preterm/low- birth weight births; and 109,000 infants with clinical CS). Treatment of syphilis is simple, effective and inexpensive; however, definitive diagnosis of active syphilis requires confirmatory testing which requires laboratory facilities, and not always available in many low-resource settings in low and middle-income countries (LMICs). In 40 of the 81 LMICs which account for more than 95 per cent maternal deaths and more than 90 per cent of deaths in children under five years old, 74 per cent of pregnant women who had at least four antenatal care visits were not tested for syphilis. A combination of treponemal and non-treponemal tests is required for diagnosis of active syphilis but there is no point-of-care test (POCT) that can effectively distinguish between past/treated and active syphilis. There is no POCT for diagnosis of CS available on the market.

Social Networks and the Hepatitis C Virus

Social Networks and the Hepatitis C Virus

This project found that people who'd cleared an hepatitis C infection were more likely to acquire a second virus than those who had never been infected.

Hepatitis C and injecting networks

Hepatitis C and injecting networks

The project studied the transmission and natural history of the hepatitis C virus in a social network of young people who inject drugs.

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