NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence for Pneumococcal Disease Control in the Asia-Pacific
Generating new evidence to support decisions regarding the sustainability of national immunisation for pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) programs.
Pneumococcal disease is an infection caused by the bacteria, Streptococcus pneumoniae (the pneumococcus).
Pneumococcal disease is an infection caused by the bacteria, Streptococcus pneumoniae (the pneumococcus).
The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Centre of Research Excellence on Asia-Pacific Pneumococcal Disease Control in the PCV Era (CRE-PDC), aims to address two outstanding research gaps for pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) use in the Asia-Pacific region:
- Country decisions regarding reduced dose PCV schedules (1+1), and
- Understanding serotype replacement following vaccine introduction.
In addition, the program will forge partnerships with key end-users to ensure research translation, establish new international linkages to enable broader dissemination and develop the next generation of nationally competitive researchers; with provision of capacity building and early career development opportunities and collaboration.
What is pneumococcal disease?
Pneumococcal disease is an infection caused by the bacteria, Streptococcus pneumoniae (the pneumococcus). The pneumococcus commonly lives in the back of the nose without causing symptoms, but may sometimes spread to the lungs, brain, and other organs causing serious diseases such as pneumonia, meningitis or septicaemia (invasive pneumococcal disease).
Why is pneumococcal disease important?
According to the World Health Organization, pneumonia is the single biggest killer of children globally, accounting for the deaths of approximately 1.4 million children aged under five years each year. Pneumonia is more common in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.
Why is it important to do surveillance for pneumococcal disease?
Surveillance for pneumococcal disease is important to describe disease trends, monitor changes in the frequency of antimicrobial-resistant strains, describe changes in pneumococcal serotypes (strains), monitor the impact of vaccines on disease, and advise on future vaccine development and the optimal schedule needed to control the disease.
Impact of pneumococcal conjugate vaccines
Surveillance for pneumococcal disease has shown that PCV introduction has resulted in a decline in both carriage and invasive pneumococcal disease due to serotypes covered by the vaccine. However, serotypes not contained in the vaccine have increased (so-called replacement) and the extent to which this occurs is not known in the Asia-Pacific region.
Reduced dose pneumococcal conjugate vaccine schedules
To optimise a schedule, reduce the number of injections, and make space for other vaccines, reducing the schedule from a 3-dose to a 2-dose schedule in countries that have “mature” PCV programs and have pneumococcal vaccine-type disease controlled, could potentially improve the vaccine’s financial sustainability. This strategy is being pursued as part of a global PCV research agenda.
The success of this approach relies on this schedule being able to maintain vaccine-type pneumococcal carriage control, and thereby continue generating herd protection. It is important to identify immunological markers that demonstrate that the reduced schedule is likely to be successful and to provide economic evidence for countries regarding the use of reduced schedules for health policy decision-making.
Subscribe to our newsletter
Sign up to receive updates from the Centre of Research Excellence: Pneumococcal Disease Control in the Asia-Pacific.
Contact us
CRE-PDC
Murdoch Children's Research Institute
The Royal Children's Hospital
50 Flemington Road
Parkville VIC 3052
Australia
Email: show email address
| Group member | Role | Biography |
|---|---|---|
| Professor Fiona Russell | Chief Investigator | Prof Fiona Russell is the Asia-Pacific Health Group Leader at Murdoch Children's and the Director of the Child and Adolescent Health PhD Program at the University of Melbourne.
Prof Russell is the Principal Investigator on PCV impact evaluations and surveillance studies in Fiji, Lao PDR, Mongolia and PNG (funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Gavi, WHO and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT)) in partnership with senior government officials (Directors of Public Health, Communicable Diseases and National Immunisation Programs) and WHO. |
| Associate Professor Paul Licciardi | Chief Investigator | A/Prof Paul Licciardi is an immunologist and Senior Research Fellow at Murdoch Children's with expertise in the evaluation of vaccine immune responses in animal models and humans. He is the Immunology Team Leader within the New Vaccines Group at MCRI.
A/Prof Licciardi has honorary appointments at the University of Melbourne, Menzies School of Health Research and is a Scientific Consultant at Singapore Polytechnic. He leads the immunology work on PCV reduced dose schedules in Vietnam and has established B and T cell assays at MCRI and in Vietnam. |
| Associate Professor Catherine Satzke | Chief Investigator | A/Prof Catherine Satzke is the Translational Microbiology Group Leader at Murdoch Children's. A/Prof Satzke has established gold-standard approaches for pneumococcal carriage studies, including leading the WHO guideline for pneumococcal carriage, the authoritative standard in the field.
She leads the microbiology for 10 PCV studies in the Asia-Pacific, oversees a laboratory training and capacity-building program in the region and leads an experimental research program investigating the biology of pneumococcal carriage. |
| Professor Kim Mulholland | Chief Investigator | Prof Kim Mulholland is the New Vaccines Group Leader at Murdoch Children's and has a joint appointment at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Prof Mulholland is a preeminent world leader in pneumococcal vaccinology and has been a leading figure in advising on the international pneumococcal research agenda for WHO.
He currently leads PCV impact evaluations in Mongolia and reduced dose schedules in Vietnam (funded by BMGF and Gavi, in partnership with senior government officials and WHO) and is a co-investigator on PCV impact studies in Lao PDR, Fiji and PNG. |
| Professor Mark Jit | Chief Investigator | Prof Mark Jit is the Professor of Vaccine Epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and is currently a visiting professor at the University of Hong Kong School of Public Health.
Prof Jit is a world-leading health economist whose research on vaccine economics has helped inform immunisation policy on a range of vaccines in LMICs, including PCV. |
| Professor Sarath Ranganathan | Chief Investigator | Prof Sarath Ranganathan is Director of Respiratory and Sleep Medicine at the Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne, Respiratory Group Leader at MCRI and Head of Department at the University of Melbourne Department of Paediatrics.
He has extensive experience in the areas of detection and monitoring of lung disease. He holds leadership roles within paediatric respiratory medicine and provides clinical leadership internationally, including in the Asia-Pacific region. His research findings have been translated into the UK and Australian national guidelines. |
| Professor Peter McIntyre | Chief Investigator | Prof Peter McIntyre has more than 20 years of experience as a medical epidemiologist with a clinical background in paediatric infectious diseases, working in a broad range of research related to vaccines and vaccine-preventable diseases.
He was Deputy Director (1997-2004) and Director (2004-2017) of the Australian National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance (NCIRS) and is now a Senior Professorial Fellow. He has a current role as the WHO Western Pacific regional representative on the WHO Special Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) in Immunisation. |
| Dr Natalie Carvalho | Chief Investigator | Dr Natalie Carvalho is a health economist and Senior Research Fellow at the University of Melbourne. She sits within the Centre for Health Policy (Health Economics Unit) and the Global Burden of Disease Group at the Melbourne School of Population and Global Health.
Dr Carvalho’s research career has successfully intertwined health policy and global health, with a focus on the use of economic evidence for decision-making in health policy. Dr Carvalho recently assessed the cost-effectiveness of three new childhood vaccines (rotavirus, PCV, HPV) in four Pacific Island countries, funded by the Asian Development Bank. |
| Professor Yin Bun Cheung | Chief Investigator | Prof Yin Bun Cheung is based at the National University of Singapore and is a leading and internationally renowned biostatistician who has led multiple statistical methodology studies in infectious disease research, funded by the National Medical Research Council in Singapore.
He established methods to analyse recurrent event data and process optical density data in antibody assays. He is currently serving on the data and safety monitoring board of the Pneumococcal Vaccine Schedules Trial that is sponsored by the UK Medical Research Council. |
| Dr Cattram Nguyen | Chief Investigator/Emerging Leaders Committee | Dr Cattram Nguyen is a biostatistician and Senior Research Fellow at Murdoch Children's, with an honorary appointment with the University of Melbourne. She is also a postdoctoral researcher at the Victorian Centre for Biostatistics. Her research portfolio spans statistical methodology and applied research in maternal and child health. She is the trial statistician on six randomised controlled trials, including pneumococcal vaccine trials in Vietnam and the Gambia.
Dr Nguyen has contributed to the translation of statistical knowledge through her teaching activities in Australia and internationally, as well as through her statistical research on multiple imputation, a method for handling missing data. Her statistical research has been translated into practice through dissemination at workshops across Australia. |
| Dr Toan Nguyen | Associate Investigator | Dr Toan Nguyen is a medical doctor with public health, epidemiology and vaccinology background who is currently Head of Clinical Research Center of Pasteur Institute, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. He has extensive experience in ethical clinical trial review, clinical trial operation, technical writing, training and evaluation of health programs.
Dr Nguyen is involved in giving technical support to National Immunisation Program members and has been an investigator on more than 17 vaccine clinical trials since 2009. He has been involved in developing guidelines such as the National Vaccine Trial Guidelines for the Vietnam Ministry of Health and is currently establishing a clinical trial centre at the Pasteur Institute. |
| Professor Kulkanya Chokephaibulkit | Associate Investigator | Professor Kulkanya Chokephaibulkit is a Professor of Paediatrics at Mahidol University and the Director of Siriraj Institute of Clinical Research in Bangkok, Thailand. Her research focuses on paediatric infectious diseases, vaccine responses and HIV infection. She has extensive experience in clinical research, with over 220 peer-reviewed publications.
She has been an advisory board member of the Thai National Immunisation Program and an Executive Board member of the National Vaccine Institute. She founded the Pneumococcal Laboratory Network to study pneumococcal serotypes in IPD in children in central Thailand in 2005 and her team continues to monitor the pneumococcal serotypes in the area. She is one of the leading infectious disease paediatricians in Asia. |
| Professor Anna Lisa T. Ong-Lim | Associate Investigator | Prof Anna Ong-Lim is a Professor and attending paediatrician at the Department of Paediatrics, College of Medicine, Philippine General Hospital, University of the Philippines in Manila. A/Prof Ong-Lim is a member of several professional organisations, societies and committees. She is a Fellow of the Philippines Pediatric Society and a member of its Board of Trustees.
In addition, she is a Fellow of the Pediatric Infectious Disease Society of the Philippines and serves as its current President. A/Prof Ong-Lim has been the clinical research coordinator, co-investigator and principal investigator in a number of clinical trials, in particular vaccine-related trials. She has contributed to both local and international clinical guidelines on paediatric infectious diseases. |
| Professor Stephen Bentley | Associate Investigator | Prof Stephen Bentley is a molecular microbiologist and a global leader in bacterial genomics. He is a Principal Staff Scientist and team leader at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, Cambridge, UK. Prof Bentley is the Director of the Global Pneumococcal Sequencing project which sequenced more than 25,000 pneumococcal genomes from more than 50 countries to survey the evolutionary impact of pneumococcal vaccine implementation.
The findings have been employed by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and other stakeholders in the selection of antigens to be included in next-generation pneumococcal vaccines with a direct contribution to reducing mortality in the foreseeable future. His study to sequence the capsular biosynthesis genes for all known serotypes of S. pneumoniae enabled molecular methods for determining serotypes which have brought an important new understanding of pneumococcal colonisation and transmission. Since the development of high throughput sequencing, his research has focused on population genomics with pioneering papers on MRSA (2010) and the pneumococcus (2011) revealing patterns of international spread, vaccine escape and the acquisition of antimicrobial resistance. Prof Bentley has honorary professorships at the Universities of Cambridge and Liverpool. |
| Professor Mayfong Mayxay | Associate Investigator | Professor Mayfong Mayxay is the Head of Field Research at Lao-Oxford-Mahosot Hospital-Wellcome Trust Research Unit (LOMWRU) and Vice President of the University of Health Sciences, Ministry of Health, Lao PDR. He has been an Honorary Visiting Research Fellow in Tropical Medicine at Oxford University since 2009.
Prof Mayxay is one of the key founders of LOMWRU and the Lao Medical Journal and is also the founder of the ethical committee for health research at the University of Health Sciences. His particular research interests include antimalarial drug resistance, causes of fever, dengue, rickettsia infections, Japanese encephalitis virus infection and infantile beriberi. |
| Dr Eric Rafai | Associate Investigator | Dr Eric Rafai is a public health physician and Head of the Health Information Unit and International Projects at the Fiji Ministry of Health and Medical Services. He was formerly the Deputy Secretary of Public Health within the Ministry. His postgraduate training includes a Master of Public Health from the Queensland University of Technology and a Master of Infectious Diseases from the University of Western Australia.
He has at least 19 years of experience in public health research in Fiji and the region, representing the Ministry in international and regional public health initiatives, forums and expert meetings. Dr Rafai has research interests in antimicrobial resistance, climate change and health and infectious diseases. He provides local advisory capacity for the Ministry’s participation in research projects. |
| Dr Tuya Mungun | Associate Investigator | Dr Tuya Mungun is a paediatrician who has been working in maternal and child health and development areas for 30 years in Mongolia and throughout Asia, both with the Mongolian Government and UNICEF. Throughout her career, she has contributed to research and programs focused on reducing child morbidity and mortality in low- and middle-income countries in Asia.
This involved the introduction of low-cost, high-impact interventions such as immunisation, child growth and safe motherhood and prevention of micronutrient deficiency, as well as nutrition. Dr Mungun currently leads a Gavi-funded PCV impact evaluation in Mongolia in cooperation with the Mongolian Ministry of Health, Murdoch Children's and WHO. |
| Dr Claire von Mollendorf | Project Manager/Emerging Leaders Committee | Dr Claire von Mollendorf is a medical epidemiologist working as a senior research officer in the New Vaccines and Asia-Pacific Research Groups at Murdoch Children's.
Dr von Mollendorf coordinates the paediatric pneumococcal conjugate vaccine impact project in Mongolia and is the principal investigator for the adult pneumonia surveillance project in Mongolia. She is also responsible for managing the Centre of Research Excellence. |
| Mr Darren Suryawijaya Ong | Project Coordinator/Emerging Leaders Committee |
Darren Suryawijaya Ong is Research Manager of the Asia-Pacific Health Group and a Research Assistant in the New Vaccines Group at Murdoch Children’s and an infectious disease epidemiology student at the University of Melbourne. He has been involved in vaccine clinical trials and epidemiological studies in low- and middle-income settings and is responsible for coordinating the Centre of Research Excellence. |
| Ms Eleanor Neal | Emerging Leaders Committee | Eleanor Neal is an epidemiologist with a Master of Public Health, focussed on International Child Health and Infectious Diseases Epidemiology. She is a PhD Candidate and Research Assistant with the Asia-Pacific Health Group at MCRI, and the Centre for International Child Health in the Department of Paediatrics at the University of Melbourne.
Her PhD investigates nasopharyngeal pneumococcal carriage epidemiology and transmission in Fiji, pre and post the introduction of the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine. |
| Dr John Hart | Emerging Leaders Committee | |
| Dr Ryan Toh | Emerging Leaders Committee | Dr Ryan Toh is an early career researcher within the New Vaccines Research Group at MCRI. He also has an honorary appointment at the University of Melbourne. Dr Toh is an immunologist who has expertise in the evaluation of human vaccine immune responses.
He has been involved in multiple vaccine clinical trials in low- and middle-income countries and is currently involved in the immunology work on PCV reduced dose schedules in Vietnam. |
| Dr Sam Manna | Emerging Leaders Committee | Dr Sam Manna is a microbiologist and Senior Research Officer in the Translational Microbiology group. His research involves investigating the biology, genetics and virulence of the bacterial pathogen Streptococcus pneumoniae.
He has received funding and multiple awards in recognition of his work including the Robert Austrian Research Award in Pneumococcal Vaccinology and the Australian Society for Microbiology Jim Pittard Award. |
| Dr Eliza Nikolaou | Emerging Leaders Committee | |
| Dr Nadia Mazarakis | Emerging Leaders Committee | |
| Ms Monica Nation | Emerging Leaders Committee |
Our projects
Evaluating novel markers of pneumococcal vaccine immunity
A key question related to the use of pneumococcal vaccines, particularly to alternative PCV schedules, is the duration of immunity and whether novel markers of PCV immunity, such as B-cell and T-cell responses are important for protection against vaccine-type pneumococcal carriage. Using stored PBMC samples collected from infants in the Vietnam Pneumococcal Project, the Project will evaluate whether pneumococcal-specific memory B cells and Th17 cells persist into the second year of life following PCV use in infants.
Determining immune correlates of protection against pneumococcal carriage.
Defining a correlate of protection against vaccine-type pneumococcal carriage remains an unmet goal in PCV research. This Project will investigate different immunological parameters (IgG, OPA, memory B cells) to determine an immune correlate of protection against vaccine-type carriage. This is of particular importance in the context of reduced-dose PCV schedules, where more sensitive measures of pneumococcal immunity, such as the memory B cell response, may be required to maintain protection.
Undertake health economic assessments of 1+1 PCV in Asia-Pacific countries
This Project will assess value for money of a 1+1 PCV schedule through a cost-effectiveness analysis and evaluate the financial impact on the government’s immunisation budget through a budget impact analysis in three Asia-Pacific countries. Other countries will also be invited to join the Project. The data will be supplemented by key informant interviews to estimate the economic and financial costs of delivering vaccines from a government and international partner perspective.
Impact of pneumonia on the health and economic wellbeing of the household
Laos is one of the poorest countries in South-East Asia. High out-of-pocket payments for health can lead to catastrophic health expenditure, resulting in impoverishment for vulnerable groups. Oxygen supplementation can be prohibitively expensive, with many families unable to afford treatment. This Project aims to describe the health and economic impact of a pneumonia health shock on the household and will include children admitted to hospital with a catastrophic pneumonia event (severe pneumonia and either ventilated, require oxygen or referral).
Evaluate the broader health, financial and equity impacts of alternative financing arrangements for PCV through extended cost-effectiveness analysis
Given the cost of PCV introduction and recurring costs of routine vaccine dose and delivery once introduced, the added costs of PCV introduction is likely to represent a large portion of a national health budget in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Understanding all funding options and the expected economic and budgetary impact of the various options, alongside the effect on health, financial risk protection and equity, is necessary for policy-makers to adequately inform decision-making surrounding these options. This Project aims to compare the budget impact, cost-effectiveness and extended cost-effectiveness (including quantifying the impact on household impoverishment and catastrophic expenditure) of different financing options for PCV introduction.
Serotype replacement in empyema
Empyema is a severe form of pneumonia where pus accumulates in the pleural cavity. It is important to monitor the causative empyema pneumococcal serotypes. However, getting a suitable sample from pneumonia patients for testing is challenging. Although ~60% of the world’s population live in Asia, there is little information on the serotypes causing disease from the region, particularly from LMICs. The likely impact of PCVs and replacement in Asia cannot be inferred from other settings, because the epidemiology, antibiotic use and social interactions vary. We will overcome this challenge by examining replacement in empyema. Empyema is caused by a number of different bacteria, including pneumococci. This Project aims to employ molecular methods to determine the aetiology of empyema in hospitalised children in five countries (Mongolia, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines and Hong Kong) and monitor serotype replacement.
Is the detection of minor pneumococcal serotypes important?
We have been undertaking carriage and pneumonia surveillance in Laos, Fiji, Mongolia and PNG for 3-5 years. We will use these stored carriage samples with multiserotype carriage rates ranging from <1 to 54%, to explore whether the rate of multiserotype carriage influences the vaccine-type carriage rate ratios pre/post-PCV, and estimates of PCV impact. The Project will determine whether microarray serotyping adds information value to traditional culture-based serotyping methods, using stored carriage samples from the Asia-Pacific region.
Identifying replacement serotypes
PCV introduction leads to substantial changes to the pneumococcal population, including the emergence of non-vaccine serotypes (serotype replacement). There is a paucity of data on the pneumococcal capsule genes and population biology from the Asia-Pacific. Using carriage isolates sourced from children in six countries (Vietnam, Laos, Fiji, Mongolia, PNG and Indonesia), we will use whole-genome sequencing to understand the organisation of capsule genes, and apply widely used phenotypic and molecular serotyping methods to identify mistyping. We will determine if antibodies induced by vaccination or infection are still effective against these variants. To assess the virulence of replacing lineages, we will use animal models of carriage, transmission and pneumonia.
Association between non-vaccine type carriage and severe pneumonia
This Project aims to determine whether non-vaccine carriage (replacement) is associated with severe pneumonia following five years of PCV use. We will use data from our PCV evaluation programmes in Laos, Mongolia and PNG where carriage surveillance has been established in children admitted to hospital with pneumonia, and detailed social contact information and potential confounders for carriage were collected.
Extension of PNEUmococcal Carriage in Pneumonia To Investigate Vaccine Effects (PneuCAPTIVE) study in PNG
The PneuCAPTIVE study aims to (1) investigate the relationship between PCV13 coverage and pneumococcal vaccine-type carriage among under-vaccinated children (indirect effects) aged 2–59 months with an acute respiratory infection in three sites including PNG; (2) describe monthly trends in vaccine-type carriage prevalence among cases and contacts; (3) investigate the relationship between PCV13 coverage and VT carriage among under-vaccinated contacts (indirect effects) and caregivers living in the community; and (4) compare the PCV13 coverage required to demonstrate indirect effects of PCV13 by site
This extension project will test nasopharyngeal samples collected from caregivers to determine changes in vaccine-type carriage in the community and to examine indirect effects in the adult age group.
Upcoming events
There are no upcoming events scheduled.
Recent events
ISPPD-13, Cape Town, South Africa
The 13th Meeting of the International Society of Pneumonia & Pneumococcal Diseases (ISPPD-13) was held in Cape Town, South Africa, between 17-20 March 2024.
It is a global scientific event devoted to the exchange, advancement and dissemination of the latest discoveries in basic science, microbiology, epidemiology, treatment and prevention of pneumococci and pneumococcal disease.
Emerging Leaders Committee: Work in Progress Symposium
The Emerging Leaders Committee: Work in Progress Symposium was held on February 26 2024 and provided the opportunity for early career researchers to present their work ahead of the 13th Meeting of the International Society of Pneumonia and Pneumococcal Diseases (ISPPD-13) in March 2024. The symposium included a range of oral and poster presentations on pneumococcal and paediatric health-related research.
CRE investigators also gave project updates on:
- PCV impact and reduced dose schedule projects
- PCV immunity and immune correlates of protection projects
- Serotype replacement projects
- PCV health economics projects
For more details on the event, please see the symposium program:
Emerging Leaders Committee: Work in Progress Symposium Symposium Program209.29 KB
Emerging Leaders Committee: Work in Progress Symposium Flyer – February 2024237.37 KB
World Pneumonia Day: Championing the fight to stop pneumonia
This webinar marked World Pneumonia Day which occurs annually on the 12th of November. World Pneumonia Day was established by the Stop Pneumonia Initiative in 2009 to raise awareness of the toll of pneumonia and to advocate for global action to protect against, help prevent and effectively treat pneumonia.
Pneumonia remains a leading killer of children and adults globally. Despite available interventions, pneumonia claims the lives of 800,000 children per year, predominantly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), particularly in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.
Childhood deaths from pneumonia are preventable using vaccines, diagnostic tools and treatments, but issues of availability, access, and cost remain obstacles in LMICs.
Meet the Chair
Associate Professor Claire von Mollendorf: Team leader, New Vaccines, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute
Meet the speakers
The webinar includes three speakers from the region.
Professor Trevor Duke: Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne.
Professor Pope Kosalaraksa: Department of Paediatrics, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, Thailand
Professor Anna Ong-Lim: Division of Infectious and Tropical Disease in Paediatrics, Philippine General Hospital, University of the Philippines, Manila
Learn more about the event:
World Pneumonia Day Flyer – November 2023254.57 KB
Emerging Leaders Committee: Work in Progress Seminar
The Emerging Leaders Committee: Work In Progress Seminar was held on May 16, 2023, and featured four early career researchers working on pneumococcal or paediatric health-related research. One speaker provided tips on how to design an effective poster and three researchers shared an update on their research.
Meet the speakers:
Paige Skoko: PhD student, Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne, Australia
Wisnu Tafroji: Researcher, Eijkman Institute for Molecular Biology, Jakarta, Indonesia
Fulgence Niyibitegeka: PhD student, School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne, Australia
Dr Stephanie Clark: Paediatrician and clinical researcher, Colonial War Memorial Hospital, Suva, Fiji
For more details on the event, please see the seminar program:
Emerging Leaders Committee: Work in Progress Flyer – May 2023207.57 KB
2nd Global Forum on Childhood Pneumonia
Our CRE-PDC made a commitment during this forum in April 2023.
We commit to addressing outstanding research gaps for pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) use in the Asia-Pacific region and increase the support it provides to governments in the region to help them translate research findings into immunisation policy.
The Centre’s research will focus on PCV product selection, reduced-dose PCV schedules, the monitoring of disease control following vaccine introduction and schedule changes, and understanding pneumococcal serotype replacement following vaccine introduction. The Centre will prioritise capacity building of next-generation researchers to use this data to inform immunisation decision-making and mobilise a network of partners and emerging leaders through training opportunities and collaboration. This network will advocate for equitable access to vaccines (PCV and RSV), including lower vaccine prices.
View the full list of declarations and commitments from governments, partners and civil societies.
Asia-Pacific Forum on Access and Sustainability of Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccines: Data needs for decision-making
This event was held in November 2022 and was sponsored by the NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence for Pneumococcal Disease Control in the Asia-Pacific and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
The COVID-19 pandemic shed light on global vaccine inequity, but this inequity has been longstanding and exists for all new and underutilised vaccines in low and middle-income countries. The budget impact of the COVID-19 vaccine has been enormous. Access and sustainability of other important vaccines, including the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV), need to continue. This vaccine is key in preventing childhood pneumonia, the biggest cause of child deaths globally.
This three-day forum provided a platform for multidisciplinary pneumococcal experts, academics, governments, policymakers and health organisations to discuss:
- The access and sustainability of PCV in the Asia-Pacific region;
- Key research needed to inform policy decisions; and
- How to support the development of research capacity in the region.
This event featured speakers from academic institutions and governments from the Asia-Pacific region, as well as from the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), World Health Organization (WHO), members of the WHO Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE), UNICEF, the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI), and leading international pneumococcal experts.
For more details on the event, please see the symposium program below:
Watch the event:
Our resources
Early career researchers (ECR) launching pad
A new resource hub providing resources relevant to early career researchers. These include resources on academic skills, networking and courses/seminars.
Our newsletters
- Newsletter – July 2024
- Newsletter – March 2023
- Newsletter – September 2022
- Newsletter – June 2022
- Newsletter – March 2022
- Newsletter – October 2021
- Newsletter – June 2021
Past event recordings
CRE Seminar Series on YouTube
- Pneumococcal genomics
- Developing a research question
- Health economics for vaccine policy
- Building immunology laboratory capacity
- Data for immunisation policy decision-making
CRE Workshop Series on YouTube
Funding
The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) is funding the CRE-PDC for five years (2021-2025).
Collaborations
- The University of Melbourne
- Children’s Hospital in Westmead, Sydney
- Pasteur Institute, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
- Philippine General Hospital, University of the Philippines
- Duke-National University of Singapore, Singapore
- London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK
- Fiji Ministry of Health
- Laos Oxford Mahosot Wellcome Research Unit, Laos
- National Center for Communicable Diseases, Mongolian Ministry of Health, Mongolia
- Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand
- Wellcome Sanger Institute, Cambridge, UK
Pneumococcal newsroom
Easier access to clinical trials under sweeping changes to medical research
Patients will receive easier access to clinical trials and health care priorities will secure...
Fewer vaccine doses can support pneumococcal immunity in babies
Fewer doses of a vaccine that protects against meningitis and pneumonia can still provide a...
The 11th International Symposium on Pneumococci and Pneumococcal Diseases
Over 1,100 researchers from all around the world have gathered in Melbourne for the event, which...