Protecting adolescents through immunisation: insights, drivers and opportunities for action

Kristine Macartney is a paediatrician and infectious disease specialist. She is a medical graduate of the University of NSW and has over 20 years of experience in vaccinology.

She has experience working in the US at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, where she was a founding member of the US Vaccine Education Center. Her Doctorate of Medicine was on rotavirus infection, in particular the mucosal immune response to novel vaccine candidates. She is interested in all aspects of vaccine preventable disease research, particularly policy development, vaccine safety and prevention of viral diseases. She is the Senior Editor of the Australian Immunisation Handbook. Kristine is a Staff Specialist in Infectious Diseases and Microbiology at the Children’s Hospital at Westmead and has a conjoint academic appointment as Professor in the Discipline of Child and Adolescent Health at the University of Sydney.

Julia Brotherton is a public health physician with an international reputation in HPV vaccination and cervical screening. She is a Professor of Cancer Prevention Policy and Implementation, Evaluation and Implementation Science Unit, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne and Professorial Fellow at NCIRS. 

Julia has been integral in shaping Australia’s HPV vaccination policy and research. She was Medical Director of the (now decommissioned) National HPV Vaccination Program Register, gaining significant experience in operational public health and research supporting clinical services. 

She led groundbreaking research showing the first global evidence of declines in HPV infections and pre-cancerous cervical lesions following vaccination and was the technical writer/rapporteur for the WHO SAGE working group that recommended a single-dose HPV vaccine schedule. 

Dr. Kathleen Prokopovich is a Senior Research Officer in Social Science at NCIRS. She led the development of SKAI (Sharing Knowledge About Immunisation) Adolescent and supports several NCIRS research projects and collaborations, including SKAI, the Consumer Advisory Group, the Consumer Researcher Program and the Collaboration on Social Science and Immunisation (COSSI). 

Kathleen has contributed to external research on implementing the single-dose HPV vaccination program and previously worked as a research assistant on various deliberative and dialogue-based health projects at the Australian Centre for Health Engagement, Evidence and Values, University of Wollongong).

Sharlene Munn is a highly experienced Registered Nurse with 27 years of clinical practice, including 16 years specialising in immunisation across acute care, primary health, local government and public health sectors. 

As Associate Nurse Unit Manager, SA Health Immunisation Section (Communicable Disease Control Branch, Public Health Division), Sharlene contributes to strategic portfolios, including vaccine safety surveillance, immunisation education, school immunisation delivery, state-funded vaccine programs and essential vaccines schedule performance benchmarks. She brings a unique perspective, having implemented and delivered the SA Health School Immunisation Program through local government at a state level.