Australia’s trusted immunisation experts
26 September 2024 | NewsFunding success to enable continued regional immunisation support and engagementRead the full article
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.
Ella Sharp joined NCIRS as a Provisional Fellow in 2024. She completed her medical degree at the University of New South Wales. Currently, she is dual-training in general paediatrics and clinical immunology and allergy through the Sydney Children’s Hospital Network. At NCIRS, she is involved in vaccine clinical trials and a member of the New South Wales Immunisation Specialist Service (NSWISS).
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 Jadjav 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 Sterling 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.
Jodie Watt joined NCIRS as a Research Nurse in July 2023 after working at The Children’s Hospital at Westmead as a Registered Nurse in a surgical neonatal intensive care unit since 2019. She has previously worked as a surveillance nurse with the PAEDS team. She has completed a nursing research honours degree focusing on the transition from neonatal to paediatric services and is an Authorised Nurse Immuniser.
Fatima Gondalwala 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.
Belinda Smith 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.
