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
Working groups
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 and policy briefs
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.
Burnet publications
View 95 moreTwelfth scientific biennial meeting of the Australasian Virology Society: AVS12 2024
Journal of Virology
Ebony A. Monson et al
Induction of Fc-dependent functional antibodies against different variants of SARS-CoV-2 varies by vaccine type and prior infection
Communications Medicine
Alexander W. Harris et al
Utilising integrated bio-behavioural surveillance (IBBS) to investigate declining hepatitis C antibody prevalence among people who inject drugs in the Australian Needle and Syringe Program Survey
International Journal of Drug Policy
Lisa Maher et al
Current projects
View 7 moreProfiling immune responses in paediatric and high-risk populations to the COVID-19 virus (PROPHECY)
This study will evaluate immune responses after COVID-19 infection or vaccination in healthy and vulnerable people.
Development of a HCV vaccine candidate
No hepatitis C vaccine exists due to the virus's genetic diversity, a critical gap in global health. We aim to develop a vaccine that overcomes these hurdles.
Immunity to SARS-CoV-2 post-vaccination and infection in people who are immunosuppressed
The aim of this project is to profile the immune response to COVID-19 vaccination in people who are immunosuppressed.
Past projects
View 3 more
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
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
The project studied the transmission and natural history of the hepatitis C virus in a social network of young people who inject drugs.
