Professor Heidi Drummer

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.

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

• 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.

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

• 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

2021

• COVID-19 Global Trends and Analyses Volume 2:- Vaccine and Viral Variants Update. (PUBLIC HEALTH REPORT)Toole M, Drummer H, Tachedjian G, Umali S, Majumdar S. Know-C19 Public Health Report. July, 2021.
• COVID-19 Global Trends and Analyses, Volume 2: Vaccines and Viral Variants Update June (PUBLIC HEALTH REPORT) Toole M, Drummer H, Tachedjian G, Umali S, Majumdar S. Know-C19 Public Health Report. July, 2021. 
• COVID-19 Global Trends and Analyses Volume 2:- Vaccine and Viral Variants Update. May. (PUBLIC HEALTH REPORT) Toole M, Drummer H, Tachedjian G, Umali S, Majumdar S. Know-C19 Burnet Institute. May, 2021.
• COVID-19 Global Trends and Analyses Volume 2:- Vaccine and Viral Variants Update. April. (PUBLIC HEALTH REPORT) Toole M, Drummer H, Tachedjian G, Umali S, Majumdar S. Know-C19 Burnet Institute. April, 2021.
• COVID-19 Global Trends and Analyses Volume 2:- Vaccine and Viral Variants Update - COVID-19 Global Snapshots. (PUBLIC HEALTH REPORT) Toole M, Drummer H, Tachedjian G, Umali S, Majumdar S. Know-C19 Burnet Institute. March, 2021.

2020

• 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.