10th Annual Immunisation Forum 2026

Prof Gary Grohmann is an independent consultant virologist and currently a board member and member of the scientific advisory committee of the Immunisation coalition in Australia. He is a former WHO consultant (2015-2022 in Geneva) and worked on a number of projects with the Health Systems and Innovation Group and the Essential Medicines Programme, including working with the Technology Transfer Initiative assisting developing country vaccine manufacturers, revising the WHO Research blueprint, writing the Global Action Plan (GAP) for Influenza Vaccines, reviewing Biocontainment, and leading the Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Framework Review Group Secretariat. He was Director of Immunobiology at the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) (1997- 2015). Prior to working for the TGA he worked for the University of Sydney in the Faculty of Veterinary Sciences as Associate Professor working on public health and environmental issues and was a researcher at the CDC in Atlanta on Noroviruses and other enteric viruses, working on opportunistic infections in an HIV cohort (1987-90). He has had adjunct teaching appointments at the University of Sydney, University of NSW and the University of Technology, Sydney, teaching virology to science, medical and veterinary science students, and is currently an adjunct professor at the University of Sydney.

Jim Buttery is the inaugural Professor of Child Health Informatics at the University of Melbourne based at the Melbourne Children’s Campus Centre for Health Analytics. He is the Chief Research Information Officer and an infectious diseases physician at the Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne. He is also the Head of Epidemiology and Signal Detection of SAEFVIC, the Victorian Immunisation Safety Service, and Head of the Epidemiology Informatics Research Group, at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, and the co-director of the Global Vaccine Data Network. Jim leads an epi-informatics team of epidemiologists, data analysts and statisticians whose research revolves around innovative use of real-world data to answer important questions in infectious diseases epidemiology, vaccine safety and effectiveness.
These innovations include Introducing Australia’s first state based public facing vaccine safety report, updated weekly, to inform the public and maintain vaccine confidence (Saefvic.online/vaccinesafety), development of syndromic vaccine safety surveillance methodologies, including de-identified telephone help line and GP data network surveillance which have been incorporated into DHHS Victoria surveillance, and the establishment of the Vaccine Safety Health Link (VSHL). VSHL is a statewide Victorian prospective vaccine safety datalinkage project linking Victorian Australian immunisation Register data to hospital admissions, emergency presentations, perinatal, births and deaths and primary care datasets. This is the only vaccine datalink system in Australia incorporating perinatal and GP data.
To understand the full impact of common viruses upon human health, he has established Snotwatch, a novel population wide spatiotemporal platform to link viral exposures to health outcomes, and understand the full health and economic burden of these viruses. Initial studies have shown new associations with febrile seizures, Kawasaki Disease, childhood hepatitis and chilblains. Using pathology, environmental exposures, and hospital, ED and GP datasets, we are generating new insights into common respiratory viruses.

Aditi Dey is Senior Research Fellow/Manager, Surveillance at NCIRS and holds a conjoint academic appointment as Associate Professor at the Sydney Medical School, the University of Sydney. Aditi has completed her PhD, Master of Public Health and Graduate Diploma in Applied Science (Health Information Management) at the University of Sydney after her medical degree (MBBS, University of Delhi) and training in tropical medicine. Aditi worked at the University of Sydney and also in Thailand and India before joining NCIRS. At NCIRS, she is involved in program evaluation, coverage of vaccines, and surveillance of vaccine preventable diseases and adverse events following immunisation. Aditi has experience in supervision of research students and teaching and coordination of undergraduate and postgraduate courses. 

Professor Michael Kidd AO is Australia’s Chief Medical Officer, based in the Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing.  He is a general practitioner and a primary care and public health researcher, and has served as president of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, and president of the World Organization of Family Doctors.  He is an elected Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences, and has held past research appointments at Monash University, the University of Sydney, Flinders University, the Australian National University, and the University of Toronto.  He holds a current joint academic appointment as the Foundation Director of the International Centre for Future Health Systems at the University of New South Wales, and as Professor of Global Primary Care with the Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences at the University of Oxford.

Margie is a consultant paediatrician at the Royal Childrens Hospital and Clinician Scientist, University of Melbourne, and Murdoch Childrens Research Institute (MCRI). As leader of the Vaccine Uptake Group, MCRI, her research focuses on vaccine confidence and uptake, particularly amongst high risk-groups and in low and middle-income countries, and on effective risk communication. In Australia, she is a member of the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) and chair of the Social Science Advisory Board and a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee, National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance (NCIRS). She is committed to efforts to improve vaccine confidence and uptake in the Asia Pacific Region and she works closely with DFAT to provide technical immunisation support for the region. She is Chair, Australian Regional Immunisation Alliance (ARIA) and on the steering committee for Melbourne Children’s Global Health.

Professor Paul Van Buynder is a Public Health Physician and past Chairman of the Immunisation Coalition. He is a professor in the School of Medicine at Griffith University in Queensland. He has held senior public health positions in a number of Australian states, in two Canadian jurisdictions and at the Centre for Infections in the UK. He has held personal appointments on sub-committees of National Immunisation Technical Advisory Committees in three continents. Paul is a reviewer of over 10 journals and has over 80 referred book chapters and articles.

Courtney McGregor is a Public Health Officer with the South Eastern Sydney Local Health District Public Health Unit, with a background in infectious disease management and immunisation quality improvement. Her work includes leading a residential aged care vaccination project that identified practical solutions to improve coverage among aged care residents, a vulnerable population. Courtney holds a Master of Public Health and focuses on translating evidence into policy and
practice that meets real‑world needs.

A/Prof Hazel Clothier is an infectious disease epidemiologist and vaccinology global health researcher working with passion in the fields of public health, vaccine safety surveillance and communicable disease outbreak and response.  
Hazel is Program Manager for Real-World Vaccinology and Lead Epidemiologist of the Epidemiology-Informatics Group at the Centre for Health Analytics, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute in Victoria, Australia and Senior Epidemiologist with the Global Vaccine Data Network (GVDN)™, a multinational collaboration conducting globally coordinated epidemiological studies on vaccine safety and effectiveness. 

Hazel leads cross-disciplinary research exploring contemporary post-licensure vaccine safety surveillance systems incorporating novel signal detection and investigation methodologies using big data and large-linked datasets to inform real world evidence in support of equitable, safe and trusted immunisation programs. 

Anna Theophilos is a Melbourne-based community pharmacist, pharmacy owner, and passionate advocate for equitable access to vaccination. With 17 years’ experience as a pharmacy owner, Anna has dedicated her career to building practical, scalable solutions that improve health outcomes for some of Australia’s most vulnerable populations.

Her passion for vaccination access was ignited after confronting national data showing alarmingly low coverage rates among Australians aged 65+, particularly those in residential aged care or living with specific care needs. “I was horrified by the gap,” Anna recalls, “and realised something needed to change – urgently.” Determined to close this gap, Anna developed innovative models for delivering pharmacist-led vaccination programs in aged care facilities, ensuring residents could access life-saving vaccines without the logistical and administrative barriers that too often stand in the way. Her programs have been recognised for their ability to simplify processes for facilities, improve compliance, and achieve outstanding uptake rates.

As a member of the TerryWhite Chemmart Advisory Group, Anna works at a national level to shape strategies that strengthen community pharmacy’s role in preventive health. She collaborates closely with government, industry partners, and professional bodies to drive policy and operational changes that make vaccination more accessible to older Australians and those with complex care needs.
In 2025, Anna was appointed the inaugural PSA National Vaccination Ambassador – a role that allows her to amplify the profession’s voice, champion evidence-based immunisation, and inspire pharmacists nationwide to lead the way in protecting public health.

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.

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.

Dr Sarah Chu graduated from the University of Queensland in 2004 with a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery. She is a member of the International Society of Travel Medicine and has a Certificate in Travel Health; she enjoyed providing travel medicine services at The Travel Doctor TMVC Brisbane before COVID-19 and is an accredited Yellow Fever doctor. In addition to being awarded a Fellowship from the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, she is a Fellow of The Australasian College of Tropical Medicine, Fellow of The Australasian College of Tropical Medicine (Faculty of Travel Medicine), Associate Member of the Faculty of Travel Medicine Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow; Dr Chu also holds a Diploma in Dermatology from the Australian Institute of Dermatology, and a Diploma in Child Health from Westmead Children’s Hospital and the University of Sydney. She enjoys practising yoga and is a registered level 1 yoga teacher with Yoga Australia. Dr Chu recently completed Physician Board Certification in Lifestyle Medicine with the International Board of Lifestyle Medicine. She is a Senior Lecturer for the University of Queensland and enjoys teaching the next generation of doctors-in-training.

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.

Angela Newbound is an Immunisation Education Consultant based in South Australia, and is a member of the Immunisation Coalition.

She has been involved in immunisation program delivery in South Australia since 2000, originally as an immunisation provider, and then in program coordinator roles within the Divisions of General Practice, SA Health Immunisation Section, the Medicare Local Network and the Primary Health Network until December 2024 in which she provided clinical advice, support and education to a wide range of immunisation providers.

Prof Gary Grohmann is an independent consultant virologist and currently a board member and member of the scientific advisory committee of the Immunisation coalition in Australia. He is a former WHO consultant (2015-2022 in Geneva) and worked on a number of projects with the Health Systems and Innovation Group and the Essential Medicines Programme, including working with the Technology Transfer Initiative assisting developing country vaccine manufacturers, revising the WHO Research blueprint, writing the Global Action Plan (GAP) for Influenza Vaccines, reviewing Biocontainment, and leading the Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Framework Review Group Secretariat. He was Director of Immunobiology at the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) (1997- 2015). Prior to working for the TGA he worked for the University of Sydney in the Faculty of Veterinary Sciences as Associate Professor working on public health and environmental issues and was a researcher at the CDC in Atlanta on Noroviruses and other enteric viruses, working on opportunistic infections in an HIV cohort (1987-90). He has had adjunct teaching appointments at the University of Sydney, University of NSW and the University of Technology, Sydney, teaching virology to science, medical and veterinary science students, and is currently an adjunct professor at the University of Sydney.