Rate My Professor Kristine Macartney

Professor Kristine Macartney is a Conjoint Professor in the Discipline of Child and Adolescent Health at the University of Sydney's Faculty of Medicine and Health. She holds the position of Director of the National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance (NCIRS) since 2018 and serves as Staff Specialist in Infectious Diseases and Microbiology at The Children’s Hospital at Westmead. A paediatrician specialising in infectious diseases and vaccinology, she is a medical graduate of the University of New South Wales, holding qualifications of MBBS, BMedSci, MD, and FRACP. Her Doctorate of Medicine examined rotavirus infection, focusing on the mucosal immune response to novel vaccine candidates. With over 20 years of experience in vaccinology, she worked at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, where she was a founding member of the Vaccine Education Center, before establishing her career in Australia.

Professor Macartney's academic interests encompass the translation of research evidence into immunisation policy and practice, with a specialisation in vaccine safety and vaccine-preventable diseases, particularly viral diseases including COVID-19, rotavirus, varicella zoster virus, HPV, and influenza. She has been instrumental in developing national surveillance networks such as Paediatric Active Enhanced Disease Surveillance (PAEDS) and AusVaxSafety. As senior editor of the Australian Immunisation Handbook (9th Edition 2008, 10th Edition 2013, and online editions), she has authored more than 200 peer-reviewed publications, including the influential paper 'Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in Australian educational settings: a prospective cohort study' published in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health in 2020. Her impact on the field is evident through key advisory roles: member of the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI), expert consultant to the World Health Organization (WHO), member of the WHO Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety (GACVS) and WHO-SAGE subcommittees, and founding chair of the Australian Regional Immunisation Alliance (ARIA). Notable honours include election as Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences (FAHMS) in 2022, finalist for the NSW Public Servant of the Year Award in 2021, and part of the Sharing Knowledge About Immunisation team that received the University of Sydney Vice-Chancellor’s Award in 2019.