Robert Booy

Professor Robert Booy is an infectious diseases paediatrician and Professor of Paediatrics and Child Health at the University of Sydney, based in the Children's Hospital Westmead Clinical School within the Faculty of Medicine and Health. He earned his MBBS (Hons) from the University of Queensland in 1984, FRACP in Paediatrics in 1988, MSc from the University of London in 1998, FRCPCH in 1999, and MD from the University of Queensland in 2000 on the topic of Haemophilus influenzae type b epidemiology and vaccination evaluation. Booy trained in paediatrics at the Royal Children's Hospital in Brisbane during the 1980s. In the 1990s, he conducted epidemiological research on life-threatening infectious diseases in the United Kingdom, including a four-year stint at the University of Oxford where he focused on genetic factors in meningococcal disease under a Wellcome training fellowship. He held positions as Lecturer in Paediatric Infectious Diseases at St Mary’s Hospital, London, and was appointed Professor of Child Health and Head of Department at the Royal London Hospital, Queen Mary and Westfield College, University of London in 1999. Returning to Australia in early 2005, he joined the University of Sydney and the National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance (NCIRS) at Westmead Children's Hospital, serving as Co-Director of NCIRS from 2005 to 2008 and Head of Clinical Research from 2008 to 2019. He remains a Senior Professorial Fellow at NCIRS and Honorary Professor in the Department of Child and Adolescent Health.

Booy's research specializations encompass vaccinology and the epidemiology of paediatric infectious diseases, including influenza, meningococcal disease, Haemophilus influenzae type b, respiratory syncytial virus, and others. His academic interests include the genetic basis of susceptibility to and severity of infections, clinical and public health burden, vaccine effectiveness, new vaccine delivery methods, antivirals, and non-pharmaceutical interventions. He has authored over 150 scientific publications, including 'Antibody Concentration and Clinical Protection After Hib Conjugate Vaccination in the United Kingdom' (JAMA Pediatrics, 2000), 'Burden of vaccine preventable diseases at large events' (Vaccine, 2015), and contributions to The Lancet Infectious Diseases and Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics. Booy has influenced immunisation policies through committee roles such as the Scientific Influenza Advisory Group for the Australian Department of Health, Chief Medical Officer’s Vaccine Advisory Group, Paediatric Scientific Program Committee of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians, Influenza Specialist Group, and Scientific Advisory Committee of NCIRS. His expertise has been sought in public health responses, including COVID-19 vaccination strategies.

Professional Email: robert.booy@sydney.edu.au