Immunisation for Health and Life

Speaker: Dr Rodney Pearce AM

Dr Rodney Pearce AM is a country and city GP and Medical Officer of Health for the Eastern Health Authority (HA), Adelaide. Dr Pearce became a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) on Australia Day 2012. He received the award for his long-standing service to medicine as a General Practitioner, through contributions to national medical organisations and to education. He is the current Chair of the Immunisation Coalition.

Speaker: Dr Rodney Pearce AM

Dr Rodney Pearce AM is a country and city GP and Medical Officer of Health for the Eastern Health Authority (HA), Adelaide. Dr Pearce became a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) on Australia Day 2012. He received the award for his long-standing service to medicine as a General Practitioner, through contributions to national medical organisations and to education. He is the current Chair of the Immunisation Coalition.

Speaker: Dr Leanne Jones

Dr Jones is a General Practitioner at the Windmill Hill Medical Centre, Launceston and a Director of the Immunisation Coalition  (IC).

As a GP with more than 35 years’ experience, Dr Jones has an in-depth knowledge of the health issues facing Tasmanians. Dr Jones was a Board Member of the General Practice North where she served for two years as its Chair, and was a Board member of General Practice Tasmania for eight years. She has a special interest in immunisation and sits on various immunisation advisory and reference groups. She was also the Media Advisor and GP Advisor on Immunisation, and was  the Tasmanian Medicare Local spokesperson on Immunisation.

Dr Jones graduated with a BMedSc and MBBS from the University of Tasmania.

She is involved with education of General Practitioners with Primary Health Tasmania and   undergraduate medical students at the University of Tasmania.

Speaker: Crystal Barbedo

A registered nurse for over 20 years and a nurse immuniser for 15 years, Crystal is passionate about public and community health, education, and communicable diseases. Crystal has been fortunate enough to gain experience in varying positions throughout her career ranging from aged care, ward nursing, management, international humanitarian aid missions, remote nurse practitioner, higher education sector, General Practice, COVID-19 Serge workforce, and currently working with Eastern Melbourne PHN as a HealthPathways specialist.

Speaker: Dr Leanne Jones

Dr Jones is a General Practitioner at the Windmill Hill Medical Centre, Launceston and a Director of the Immunisation Coalition  (IC).

As a GP with more than 35 years’ experience, Dr Jones has an in-depth knowledge of the health issues facing Tasmanians. Dr Jones was a Board Member of the General Practice North where she served for two years as its Chair, and was a Board member of General Practice Tasmania for eight years. She has a special interest in immunisation and sits on various immunisation advisory and reference groups. She was also the Media Advisor and GP Advisor on Immunisation, and was  the Tasmanian Medicare Local spokesperson on Immunisation.

Dr Jones graduated with a BMedSc and MBBS from the University of Tasmania.

She is involved with education of General Practitioners with Primary Health Tasmania and   undergraduate medical students at the University of Tasmania.

Speaker: Dr Catherine Streeton

Dr Catherine Streeton is a Public Health Physician and General Practitioner with specialist training in public health, vaccinology and infectious diseases. She also has a Masters in Applied Epidemiology (MAppEpid) from the Australian National University. She is a Public Health Physician at North Eastern Public Health Unit (NEPHU). Before moving to NEPHU she served in a couple of roles in the Department of Health during the response to the Covid-19 pandemic, including as Senior Medical Advisor and Deputy Public Health Commander, Pathology and Infection control. She is also a Consultant Physician of the Abortion and Contraception Services at the RWH and works in private clinical practice in CBD, Melbourne.  She has clinical expertise in preventative medicine, family planning, sexual health & all aspects of travel medicine and has been working in travel medicine for nearly 30 years. She is currently based in Melbourne.

She also has experience in vaccine research and development (clinical trial design, implementation, and evaluation), and health outcomes research including quality use of medicines. She has published peer-reviewed papers including on the topic of vaccine development and travel medicine.

She sits as the RACP representative on the Code of Conduct Committee, Medicines Australia and is a Board Member of the Travel Health Advisory Group (THAG).

Speaker: A/Prof Paul Griffin

Associate Professor Paul Griffin is the Director of Infectious Diseases at Mater Health Services in Brisbane and Head of the Mater Clinical Unit and Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Queensland School of Medicine. He has fellowships in Infectious Diseases from the Royal Australasian College of Physicians, in Clinical Microbiology from the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia and from the Australasian College of Tropical Medicine.

Paul was until recently the Medical Director of a specialized contract research organisation specializing in early phase clinical trials. He maintains an active interest in clinical trials now at the Mater predominantly in infectious diseases and has been the principal investigator on in excess of 125 clinical trials predominantly in Infectious Diseases including novel vaccines and Malaria human challenge studies. This includes eight vaccines for COVID-19 and a number of COVID-19 therapies.

As a Clinical Microbiologist he maintains an active interest in diagnostic microbiology with a focus on clinical applications of faecal microbiome metagenomic sequencing.

Speaker: Prof Gary Grohmann

Gary Grohmann is a virologist and a former Director of Immunobiology (a WHO Essential Regulatory Laboratory) at the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) in Australia (1997- 2015), responsible for vaccine testing and registration.  Prior to working for the TGA he worked for the University of Sydney in the Faculty of Veterinary Sciences as Reader/Associate Professor working on public health and environmental issues where he also was engaged by the NSW EPA and the Auckland Regional council as an independent expert witness on a number of important landmark environmental court cases (1996-00).  He is currently an independent consultant with Environmental Pathogens based in Canberra, a consultant with Biointelect and a board member/director of the Immunisation coalition in Australia; his interests are in the areas of Virology, Vaccination and control of infectious diseases, pandemic planning, influenza, regulatory issues, environmental virology, electron microscopy and gastrointestinal viruses. He became a Fellow of the Australian Society for Microbiology in 1989. He has recently joined the executive board of AVM Biotechnology in the USA, advising on projects involving dexamethasone treatments.

Speaker: Dr Sarah McGuinness

Sarah McGuinness is an infectious diseases clinician and researcher based at Alfred Health and Monash University in Melbourne. Her research focuses on improving ways to prevent infectious diseases in at-risk populations. She has a special interest in travel and tropical medicine and leads the hospital-based travel clinic at the Alfred Hospital. She is a co-author of the Manual of Travel Medicine (4th edition) and co-facilitates an annual Travel Medicine Masterclass for Australasian travel health providers. She is an editorial board member of the Journal of Travel Medicine and an active member of the Australasian College of Tropical Medicine and International Society of Travel Medicine, serving on various committees and frequently presenting on travel medicine topics.

Speaker: Dr Deborah Mills

Dr Deborah Mills is the Medical Director of a full time specialised Travel Medicine clinic in Brisbane, Australia. She has worked in the area of travel medicine since 1988. She is the founder of a network of travel medicine clinics across Australia: the Travel Medicine Alliance (www.travelmedicine.com.au).

Her book ‘Travelling Well’  is now in its 21st edition with over 210,000 copies in print (travellingwell.com.au).

As part of a research collaboration with academic groups from Australian Universities (crestma.com.au) she has published 28 times; largely clinic based research that has influenced travel medicine guidelines in Australia and internationally.  Her current research interests are intradermal vaccines (especially Rabies and Japanese Encephalitis), sexually transmitted diseases, TB, vaccine side effects, smartphone apps, and presenting to varied audiences to encourage safer travel.

Speaker: Lynne Addlem

Ms Lynne Addlem has worked at the Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH) Melbourne for over 18 years in various nursing roles including many years in the RCH Emergency department. She joined the Immunisation Service in 2017 and has progressed to the role of an endorsed nurse practitioner where she is the current clinical lead.

She has interests in management of the needle phobia patient- including sedation methods, vaccine hesitancy, travel vaccination and vaccination for those at risk.​

Outside of RCH, Lynne manages her own travel vaccination business specialising in tuberculosis vaccination (BCG) for young children travelling internationally.

Speaker: Dr Anita Muñoz

MBBS (Hons), FRACGP, Grad Cert Clin Teach, MPH, GAICD

Anita worked as a Clinical Editor and Clinical Advisor for 6 years with North Western Melbourne PHN through which a passion for health system improvement, innovation, sustainability, and equity emerged. She sees general practice as the key to a rational health system that produces better outcomes for patients and practitioners alike. Anita Muñoz is a GP in private practice in Melbourne’s CBD and has a dedication to evidence-based medicine, lifelong learning, and promoting the role of general practice in the health of patients, communities and in public health more broadly.

Anita has held advisory positions with Better Care Victoria and Safer Care Victoria and has been a medical educator for over 9 years. She is particularly preoccupied with the wellbeing and experience of general practice registrars, and of securing a high-quality general practice workforce for the future.

Speaker: Dr Deborah Mills

Dr Deborah Mills is the Medical Director of a full time specialised Travel Medicine clinic in Brisbane, Australia. She has worked in the area of travel medicine since 1988. She is the founder of a network of travel medicine clinics across Australia: the Travel Medicine Alliance (www.travelmedicine.com.au). 

Her book ‘Travelling Well’  is now in its 21st edition with over 210,000 copies in print (travellingwell.com.au).

As part of a research collaboration with academic groups from Australian Universities (crestma.com.au) she has published 28 times; largely clinic based research that has influenced travel medicine guidelines in Australia and internationally.  Her current research interests are intradermal vaccines (especially Rabies and Japanese Encephalitis), sexually transmitted diseases, TB, vaccine side effects, smartphone apps, and presenting to varied audiences to encourage safer travel.

Speaker: Dr Jennifer Sisson

Dr Jennifer Sisson is the Chief Medical Officer of The Travel Doctor TMVC. After original training in General Practice, she has worked mainly in the areas of Travel, Occupational and Tropical Medicine for over 20 years. 

Jennifer obtained a Masters in Public Health and Tropical Medicine from James Cook University.  She is a fellow of both RACGP and ACTM (Australian College of Tropical Medicine), and is the Dean of the Faculty of Travel Medicine (ACTM). Recently she gained a Fellowship of the Faculty of Travel Medicine, Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons, Glasgow. She is the chair elect for ISTM on the Travel for Work Interest Group and a member of the ISTM leadership team. She is currently chair of a committee developing Travel Medicine Guidelines for Australia and NZ.

Jennifer worked for the WA Department of Health for 18 months in Public Health and Biosecurity for COVID-19.

Dr Sisson is passionate about education and regularly trains doctors and other clinical staff and lectures at conferences within Australia and overseas. She is keen to progress the Travel Medicine Guidelines aimed at healthcare providers of Travel Medicine in Australia and NZ.

Speaker: Lynne Addlem

Ms Lynne Addlem has worked at the Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH) Melbourne for over 18 years in various nursing roles including many years in the RCH Emergency department. She joined the Immunisation Service in 2017 and has progressed to the role of an endorsed nurse practitioner where she is the current clinical lead. 

She has interests in management of the needle phobia patient- including sedation methods, vaccine hesitancy, travel vaccination and vaccination for those at risk.​

Outside of RCH, Lynne manages her own travel vaccination business specialising in tuberculosis vaccination (BCG) for young children travelling internationally.

Speaker: Dr Anita Muñoz

Speaker: Catherine Keil

MN(NP) RN BSc(Hons) Dip TM(RCPSG) CTH(ISTM) FACTM Catherine Keil is an Australian/British Nurse Practitioner specialising in travel health and immunisations. She completed a BSc Honours degree in Geography in 1995 from the University of Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, UK, with an interest in Medical Geography. She went on to complete a Nursing Diploma in 1998 from Kingston University/St George’s Medical School, London, UK, which involved an exchange program to Uganda.

After travelling and working in Africa, South East Asia and Central America, she became a practice nurse based in London. She specialised in travel health, which led her to work for Emirates Airline in Dubai for ten years, where she was instrumental in setting up a travel health clinic for the crew and families. 

In 2006, she completed the Diploma in Travel Medicine from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons, Glasgow, UK, and in 2014 completed the ISTM Certificate in Travel Health. 

After moving to Australia, she completed a Masters in Nursing (Nurse Practitioner) from Flinders University, Adelaide, in 2017 and now works as an Endorsed Nurse Practitioner in Travel Health and Immunisations.

In 2018, she became an elected member of the International Society of Travel Medicine (ISTM) Nursing Professional Group Steering Council

In 2019, she became a Fellow of the Faculty of Travel Medicine (FFTM), Australasian College of Tropical Medicine.

Speaker: Dr Rodney Pearce AM

Dr Rodney Pearce AM is a country and city GP and Medical Officer of Health for the Eastern Health Authority (HA), Adelaide. Dr Pearce became a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) on Australia Day 2012. He received the award for his long-standing service to medicine as a General Practitioner, through contributions to national medical organisations and to education. He is the current Chair of the Immunisation Coalition.