Australia’s trusted immunisation experts
02 November 2022 | NewsAt least two thirds of Australians, including children and adolescents, have had COVID-19, two national antibody studies findRead the full article
Harunor Rashid joined NCIRS in June 2011 as an epidemiologist in the clinical research team. He received paediatric training in Bangladesh, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and the UK, ultimately receiving, in 2009, his Doctor of Medicine (MD) degree from the University of London for his thesis on Epidemiology of respiratory infections associated with Hajj pilgrimage, under the supervision of Professor Robert Booy. He is particularly interested in the epidemiology of vaccine preventable infections among travellers.
Ketaki Sharma is a general paediatrician and staff specialist at NCIRS. She holds a conjoint appointment as Clinical Lecturer in the Discipline of Child and Adolescent Health at the University of Sydney. Ketaki is a member of the team at NCIRS that provides scientific technical support to the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) and is also part of the New South Wales Immunisation Specialist Service (NSWISS). She is undertaking research on optimising vaccination during pregnancy to protect newborn infants from vaccine-preventable illnesses, and also has a special interest in vaccination of people with immunocompromise.
Archana Koirala is a paediatric infectious disease specialist and general paediatrician who joined NCIRS in 2018. She is part of the New South Wales Immunisation Specialist Service (NSWISS) team and reviews children who have experienced an adverse event following immunisation. She has a special interest in using genomics to understand vaccine preventable diseases.
Rama Kandasamy joined NCIRS in February 2020. Rama is a paediatrician, newly awarded NHMRC Emerging Leader Fellow and lecturer at the University of New South Wales. His research interests include infectious diseases in children and the use of vaccines to prevent them, with a focus on childhood pneumonia.
Emma Goeman is an infectious diseases physician and clinical microbiologist who joined NCIRS in October 2021.
Ben is an infectious diseases specialist and general paediatrician. He joined NCIRS in January 2021 and is involved in vaccine clinical trials and policy work.
Rosemary Joyce is a registered nurse and midwife with postgraduate certification in immunisation, neonatal intensive care and has also worked as a Rehabilitation Consultant Case Manager. Rosemary joined NCIRS in 2006 and is working as a clinical trials nurse investigating both paediatric and adult vaccines. Rosemary is currently working on studies investigating the pertussis vaccine, and is a member of the NSWISS team.
Ajay is a registered nurse with a variety of experience in the public and private sector. He is currently working towards his postgraduate certificate in immunisation. Ajay has worked at The Children’s Hospital at Westmead for 7 years in the perioperative department. He has also previously worked as Research Nurse and Clinical Research Coordinator at the Save Sight Institute.
Katrina joined NCIRS in 2021 after working at Westmead Children's Hospital for the past 3 years in different areas. She has spent majority of her nursing career in the Emergency Department at the Royal North Shore Hospital, Sydney. Katrina has also previously worked as a midwife in various parts of Northern Australia. She also currently works at a private urgent care centre called WISE. Katrina has a special interest in vaccine preventable diseases and research.
Twingle is currently pursuing a PhD at the Westmead Institute for Medical Research with the Translational Breast Cancer Genomics Group. Her research topic is aimed at the discovery and development of novel precision medicine tools for breast cancer. Twingle completed her undergraduate degree majoring in human anatomy and physiology and did an honours year researching in the development of prognosticating tools for Estrogen receptor positive breast cancer.
Lilly joined NCIRS in November 2021. She completed a Bachelor of Science degree from the Australian National University, majoring in human biology and specialising in biomedical science. Lilly has a special interest in cell and molecular biology, immunology and microbiology.
Fatima joined NCIRS in May 2022. She completed an Honours degree from the University of Sydney that focused on a novel communication method between cancer cells and fibroblasts.
Cecile joined NCIRS in May 2022. She graduated with a Bachelor of Science from the University of Melbourne, majoring in physiology. She has completed an Honours project researching the anatomy of the nerve circuitry in the stomach. Cecile has a special interest in public health and infectious diseases.
Belinda joined NCIRS in June 2022. She holds a Bachelor of Applied Science (Medical Science) degree. She has previously worked in pathology units in rural NSW and the UK, specialising in biochemistry. Belinda has also worked with the Royal North Shore Hospital's Department of Hand Surgery and Peripheral Nerve Surgery coordinating research.
