As a Policy Analyst in the science team, Heather focuses on strategic evaluation and evidence-informed policy development. Her work focuses on implementation of genomic technologies, shifting nature of diagnostics, and equitable delivery of health innovations.
Heather previously worked in the NHS supporting patient reporting from the 100,000 Genomes Project. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she gained insight into the diagnostics sector and regulatory approvals as part of a clinical trials unit. She has an MPhil in Genomic Medicine from the University of Cambridge and a BSc in Medical Science (Human Genomics) from the University of Exeter.
Key skills are:
- Genomic technology assessment
- Applied evaluation and policy-focused research
- Genomic healthcare integration
- Clinical pathway implementation
- Infectious disease genomics
- How can genomics inform the public health response to the threat of Meningococcal Disease?
- Addressing sepsis requires speedy solutions: enter rapid diagnostics
- Rethinking sepsis: why research should pivot to early diagnosis
- Building the case for polygenic scores: what is the evidence for cost-effectiveness?
- Delivering diagnosis for prenatal medicine – lessons from implementation of a national service
- Metagenomic sequencing in public health – can long read sequencing be used to tackle antimicrobial resistance?
- Gene therapies and AI – is this the next phase of genomic medicine?
- Rapid metagenomics looks promising to reduce AMR and sepsis in ICU
- Host genomics beyond the pandemic
- Host genomics and COVID-19: where are we now?
- Babb de Villiers C, Plans-Beriso E, Erady C, Blackburn L, Wilson H, Turner H, Kuhn I, Barahona-López C, Diez-Echave P, Hernández OR, et al. Biomarkers for Personalised Primary or Secondary Prevention in Cardiovascular Diseases: A Rapid Scoping Review. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 2025; 26(19):9346.
- Biomarkers for personalised prevention of chronic diseases: a common protocol for three rapid scoping reviews. Syst Rev 13, 147 (2024). Plans-Beriso, E., Babb de Villiers, C., Petrova, D. Turner, H., Blackburn, L. et al. https://doi.org/10.1186/
s13643-024-02554-9
