Former assistant secretary of the Department of Health Erica Kneipp has been tapped to join the board of Medical Research Commercialisation Fund as the pandemic supercharges an opportunity to boost Australia's biotech capabilities.

Ms Kneipp, head of health and medical research strategy at the Australian National University, was at the centre of the creation of the federal government's $20 billion Medical Research Future Fund, and the $500 million Biomedical Translation Fund.