Francis Allan Plummer OC OM FRSC (2 December 1952 – 4 February 2020) was a Canadian scientist, academic and HIV/AIDS researcher.
He was "a recognized specialist in infectious diseases whose work influenced public health policy in Canada and abroad".
[3] On returning to Canada in 1999, he became senior scientific advisor to the Public Health Agency of Canada, director general of the Centre for Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, and scientific director general of the National Microbiology Laboratory,[2][4] where he remained for 13 years, leading the Canadian laboratory response to SARS and the H1N1 pandemic and overseeing the development of the successful VSV EBOV vaccine for Ebola viral hemorrhagic fever.
[3][5] Among his other research, Plummer discovered a human parvovirus that causes a disease resembling erythema infectiosum, which has played an important role in development of adeno-associated virus gene therapy.
[1] In 2009, he was made a Member of the Order of Manitoba in recognition for being "an internationally renowned physician-scientist and expert in infectious diseases who has significantly contributed to global health".