Dr Amy Heffernan

Dr Amy Heffernan is a Field Applications and Market Development Specialist at SCIEX, ANZ; and an Honorary Research Fellow at the Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences, University of Queensland. She holds a PhD in environmental chemistry and specialises in analytical chemistry and mass spectrometry method development for a range of applications including biological and environmental monitoring for human biomonitoring and environmental forensics. She has a special interest in high resolution mass spectrometry for unknown compound identification in omics applications.  

Dr Heffernan’s early research developed analytical techniques for environmental and health monitoring of common chemicals including pesticides, plasticisers and flame retardants in the Australian population, and much of this research partnered with Government authorities to inform national policy. Dr Heffernan was an NHMRC Research Fellow at the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health from 2016-18, where she explored the role of metal-binding proteins in neurodegenerative disease. She is a strong advocate of evidence-based policy and public engagement with science, and participates regularly in science outreach.

Dr Heffernan partners with QAEHS researchers to provide mass spectrometry training and application support, and for collaborative research projects on the use of pooled urine samples for human biomonitoring in the general Australian population, childhood chemical exposures, and the use of specialised non-target analysis of human and environmental samples.