Triple protection: Vaccines for influenza, COVID-19 and RSV in 2025

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.

Ian Barr is currently the Deputy Director of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Influenza, which was designated in 1992 and is one of seven Collaborating Centres globally. The Centre plays a key role in the national and regional surveillance of human and zoonotic influenza viruses as well as having an active research program. Ian has over 35 years’ experience with academic and commercial organisations, including over 24 years at the Centre. He has authored or co-authored over 300 scientific publications, including more than 250 peer reviewed journal articles, reviews and editorials on various aspects of influenza and RSV.

Allen Cheng is an infectious diseases physician and professor in the School of Clinical Sciences at Monash University. He is a member of the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) and the National Respiratory Infections Surveillance Committee. Previously, Allen was Chair of the Advisory Committee for Vaccines (2017–22), Co-Chair of ATAGI (2018–21), Deputy Victorian Chief Health Officer (2020–21) and a member of the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee (2020–22). He is a past president of the Australasian Society for Infectious Diseases (2020–22).

Tran Nguyen is a Senior Medical Officer in the Research to Inform Policy team at NCIRS. She also works as a general paediatrician and paediatric infectious diseases physician at Bankstown Hospital and in private practice. Tran is an Adjunct Lecturer at the Sydney Children’s Hospital, UNSW Faculty of Medicine and Health and has extensive experience working in the Specialist Immunisation Clinic. She has been involved in many clinical trials, including vaccine trials. She is a member of the Australasian Society of Infectious Diseases.

Denise Lyons is a highly experienced nurse with over 40 years in the profession, including 25 years dedicated to primary care. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing in the United States in 1985 and, in 2012, became an endorsed Nurse Practitioner in Australia. Currently, she serves as a primary care Nurse Practitioner in General Practice in Newcastle, where she is committed to delivering high-quality, patient-centered care to improve community health. Passionate about excellence in primary care, Denise actively contributes to advancing the profession as an elected Board Director for the Australian Primary Care Nurses Association, advocating for best practices and better health outcomes.

Dr Jeff Wang is a Research Fellow at NCIRS, an Adjunct Lecturer at the University of Sydney School of Pharmacy and a practising community pharmacist. He has qualifications and experience in vaccinology, clinical pharmacy, systematic reviews and guideline development. In his role at NCIRS, Jeff undertakes research and systematic reviews that inform clinical guidelines related to immunisation. He leads the implementation of GRADE methods in the development of recommendations in the Australian Immunisation Handbook.