The Institute of Environmental Science and Research (ESR) will be changing its name to the New Zealand Institute for Public Health and Forensic Science (PHF Science) on 1 July 2025. The new website address will be www.phfscience.nz as of this date. Visitors will automatically be redirected to the new address, but we would appreciate you checking and updating any links and bookmarks after this change.

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Kirsten Beynon

With a background in public health leadership, Kirsten Beynon brings valuable expertise to her role as General Manager Health Security.

About

Kirsten Beynon was appointed as the GM Health Security at ESR in March 2025. Kirsten brings extensive experience in pathology and laboratories leadership, and in recent years public health laboratory science and surveillance systems. She has held senior roles at Canterbury Health Laboratories (CHL), the COVID-19 Directorate and the Public Health Agency (PHA), Manatū Hauora: Ministry of Health. Kirsten was Chief Advisor Laboratory Science within the Intelligence, Surveillance and Knowledge group at the PHA prior to joining ESR. Kirsten's early scientific career was in virology and molecular microbiology, and she has held scientific leadership and management roles including General Manager CHL where she was a member of the Canterbury District Health Board executive leadership team. While at CHL – a leading tertiary level clinical and reference pathology and laboratory service – Kirsten was integral to establishing strategic partnerships the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Health to establish national services, and was pivotal in leading pathology and laboratory service responses to emergencies of national significance including the Canterbury earthquakes, Christchurch mosque shootings and COVID-19.