Associate Professor Azure Hermes is the Deputy Director of the National Centre for Indigenous Genomics at the Australian National University (ANU). A proud Gimuy Walubara Yidinji woman from the Cairns region in Queensland, Hermes has a distinguished career spanning 16 years in the public service, including roles with the Department of Defence, Department of Human Services, and the Commonwealth Ombudsman. She joined the National Centre for Indigenous Genomics in 2015 as the Community Engagement Coordinator, later becoming Deputy Director in 2020. In 2021, she was appointed to co-lead ANU’s Indigenous Health and Wellbeing Grand Challenge, managing a $10 million grant to improve Indigenous health outcomes.

Associate Professor Hermes has secured over $37 million in research funding, including multiple MRFF and NHMRC grants. She has published in high-impact journals, including two articles in Nature, and is internationally recognized as a leader in Indigenous genomics. Hermes has given 70 invited presentations worldwide and serves on 10 Indigenous advisory committees, including the Department of Health Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Advisory Group on Genomics and the Global Alliance for Genomics and Health.

Her interdisciplinary research engages Indigenous communities and stakeholders to improve health outcomes. Notable projects include the Indigenous Australian Reference Genome, the Galiwin’ku Repatriation Project, and the development of culturally safe genomic resources for Indigenous Australians. Hermes' work has earned her multiple accolades, including the ANU Vice Chancellor’s Award for her contribution to the repatriation of historical blood samples in 2019.