Dr Bethany Horsburgh

Dr Bethany Horsburgh is an early career researcher with a passion for understanding the genomes of viruses important to human health. She completed her Bachelor of Science (Advanced) with Honours in 2016 at the University of Sydney, majoring in Immunobiology and Biology, and her PhD in 2020 at the Westmead Institute for Medical Research. She currently leads the viral sequencing component of a $6.2 million MRFF pathogen genomics grant (H2Seq), working with diagnostic laboratories across Australia to implement newly developed methods of viral sequencing to help track the HIV and hepatitis C (HCV) epidemic, supporting the WHO 2030 elimination goals.

Bethany’s research leads to real-world impact: her identification of a novel Hendra virus variant (Annand, Horsburgh et al. 2022) led to changes in diagnostic procedure, which in turn resulted in the identification of the most southerly case of Hendra virus infection in Australia (Taylor et al. 2022). In 2025 her work as part of H2Seq led to the implementation of routine HCV sequencing in NSW, and underpins a newly established national Quality Assurance Program.

Bethany is the current Secretary for the Australian Centre for Hepatitis Virology, a founding member of the Kirby Institute Early and Mid-Career Academic Network (KEMCAN), and a member of ally@UNSW and the Mental Health Network at UNSW.