Australia’s trusted immunisation experts
17 March 2023 | NewsNew resources to support conversations about influenza vaccination with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peopleRead the full article
Brynley Hull is an epidemiologist and data analyst, working in public health research. He is a science graduate of the University of NSW and completed a Master of Public Health at the University of Sydney. After gaining experience in occupational health epidemiology, he is now the principal analyst for NCIRS of data from the Australian Immunisation Register. His main interests and expertise are the manipulation and analysis of public health data, immunisation research and spatial epidemiology.
Han Wang is a statistician. She obtained a masters degree in statistics from the University of Sydney, after a primary mathematics degree from Peking University. Her research work involves study design, mathematical modelling and data analysis. She is interested in robust estimation for mixed models, longitudinal analysis, matched case-control studies, multivariate analysis and time series.
Alexandra Hendry joined NCIRS in October 2015 as a Research Officer with the Coverage, Evaluation and Surveillance team. She completed her Bachelor of Science (Honours) and her PhD in Biochemistry at the University of Sydney and worked as a Postdoctoral Scientist at the University of Auckland for a number of years before moving into public health and completing a Graduate Diploma of International Public Health at the University of Sydney. Before joining NCIRS Alexandra worked in a number of public health research positions and has substantial experience in data analysis and using routinely collected data for epidemiological research and evaluation.
Harunor Rashid is a senior research officer at NCIRS and has a conjoint academic appointment as Clinical Associate Professor in The University of Sydney Children’s Hospital Westmead Clinical School. Harunor received his medical qualification from Chittagong University, Bangladesh in 1997, and then undertook paediatric and tropical medicine training in Bangladesh, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and UK, ultimately receiving, in 2009, Doctor of Medicine (MD) degree from the University of London. The same year, he also completed the Institute Pasteur Diploma in Vaccinology. He joined NCIRS in June 2011. Harunor is a Fellow of the Australasian College of Tropical Medicine, Co-opted International Academic Advisor to the Faculty of Travel Medicine, Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons (RCPS), Glasgow, UK, and an active member of the International Society of Travel Medicine (ISTM), and serves as its council member of the Migrant and Refugee Health Interest Group. Harunor is particularly interested in the epidemiology of vaccine-preventable infections.
Kaitlyn Vette joined NCIRS in 2019 as an epidemiologist, focusing on immunisation coverage and vaccine preventable disease surveillance. Kaitlyn has extensive experience in public health and epidemiology, having previously worked at the Australian Government Department of Health in communicable disease policy, surveillance and response for more than half a decade. She has a Bachelor of Liberal Arts and Science (Immunobiology) and Masters of Health Communication from The University of Sydney. She has also completed a Masters in Applied Epidemiology (MAE) at the Australian National University. Kaitlyn enjoys critically and creatively engaging with complex public health issues and has a passion for maximising analysis and communication of data for public health benefit. She has a particular interest in surveillance and control of vaccine preventable disease and has experience in this space at local, state, national and international levels. She has applied her knowledge during mass gatherings, in field work settings, as a guest lecturer and as a technical expert for the World Health Organization.
Noni Winkler is an epidemiologist, focussing on vaccine preventable disease epidemiology and serosurveillance, and completing a Master of Philosophy in Applied Epidemiology through the Australian National University. She is also a Registered Nurse with a background in remote and global health, and holds a Master of Public Health and Tropical Medicine from James Cook University.
Nicole joined NCIRS in March 2021 as a research officer. She completed her medical degree with the Erasmus University Rotterdam in 2017. This included an elective in Tropical Medicine and International Health for which she travelled to Zambia. She has also worked with the Cystic Fibrosis Research Team at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Canada, where she was involved in research into a novel lung function test. After relocating to Australia in 2017, she worked as a junior medical officer before commencing a Master in Clinical Epidemiology with the University of Sydney in 2020.
Joanne joined NCIRS in March 2021. She holds a PhD in Epidemiology and Molecular Virology from the University of New South Wales. Joanne has experience working as an epidemiologist at a large pharmaceutical company in London and has worked in various research roles in Australia. Joanne's experience extends across the areas of clinical research, public health research and surveillance.
Tristan joined NCIRS in July 2022. He has previously worked as a reporting and data acquisition analyst for the NSW Health Public Health Response Branch. He has experience with population health data having assisted with projects based in Australia and in the UAE, involving the planning of future demand for health facilities, services and the workforce.
Kushani Marshall is a Public Health Physician undertaking further training as a field epidemiologist within the Master of Philosophy in Applied Epidemiology (MAE) training program at the Australian National University. She holds a conjoint academic appointment as Adjunct Clinical Senior Lecturer at Notre Dame. Her interests include health systems strengthening, service delivery and health financing. She holds a Master of Health and International Development and is an Associate Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Medical Administrators. Kushani has clinical experience in Addiction Medicine and has previously worked as the Public Health Medical Registrar at the Communicable Disease Control Branch in the South Australian Department for Health and Ageing, at the Aboriginal Health Council of South Australia and at the National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health in Canberra. Kushani has also worked as a field epidemiologist within the Emerging Diseases Surveillance and Response team at the World Health Organization in Cambodia and as a consultant to WHO Cambodia strengthening food safety and foodborne disease outbreak response systems. Most recently she worked as the Medical Administration Registrar at Westmead Hospital in the areas of clinical governance, patient safety, health service quality and patient flow.
Zoe is a health policy specialist with interest and experience in domestic and international policy. She is one of NCIRS’ Master of Philosophy in Applied Epidemiology (MAE) scholars, undertaking her training program at the Australian National University. She most recently worked in international health policy and development at the Specialist Health Service doing research and policy development for DFAT-funded health programs, most often in the Pacific and South East Asia. Before that she worked in access to medicines policy and in other domestic health areas in the private sector. Zoe has a Master’s Degree in International Relations from the University of Melbourne in which she specialised in global health, which included an internship at the World Health Organization Headquarters in Geneva in 2012. Zoe has a strong interest in equity and access to healthcare and is keen to specialise in epidemiology and immunisation.
Eva joined NCIRS in March 2022 as a a Master of Philosophy in Applied Epidemiology (MAE) scholar. Eva holds a master’s degree in Social and Biological Anthropology from the Albert-Ludwig-University in Freiburg, Germany. She has worked for the Northern Land Council in Darwin as the regional anthropologist for the West Arnhem Land and Kakadu areas for almost 10 years doing land tenure and social research and consultations with Traditional Aboriginal Owners under the requirements of the Aboriginal Land Rights Act, Northern Territory 1976. More recently, she has worked for the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre as a research officer. Eva has a strong interest in public health research and is keen to build skills as a field epidemiologist.
Paul joined NCIRS in March 2023 as a Master of Philosophy in Applied Epidemiology (MAE) scholar. Prior to the MAE he worked in a variety of roles for SA Health’s COVID-19 response. He has experience in both public health and environmental health research.
