Royal Adelaide Hospital | SA

Aida Ahmadie is an experienced nurse consultant in Immunology/Allergy with 15 years of experience in the field. She completed her training at the Royal Adelaide Hospital and furthered her education to obtain a Graduate Diploma in Medicine and followed this up with a Master’s Degree in Nurse Practitioner.

Aida has extensive involvement in quality improvement projects to improve service provision for Immunology/Allergy patients including the initiation of the only Jack Jumper Ant Venom program in South Australia. Development, implementation and management of an outreach clinic for rural patients. Active participant of a working group to develop clinical standards and education of anaphylaxis training across the Central Adelaide Local Health Network. During the COVID pandemic, Aida played an instrumental role in the establishment and operation of the COVID specialist vaccination clinic for high-risk groups.

She has a passion for education and continues to share her knowledge to empower junior staff in the area of immunology/allergy. At the foremost, Aida is passionate about partnership with patients to enable them to be active in their care.

Flinders Medical Centre | USA

Dr Syed Ali is a consultant Clinical Immunologist and Allergist at both the adult tertiary hospitals in Adelaide (Royal Adelaide Hospital and Flinders Medical Centre), private practice at AllergySA and visiting role at Alice Spring Hospital. He is an active contributor to the academic community and holds clinical lecturer positions at the University of Adelaide and Flinders University. He is actively involved in research, and areas of interest include drug allergy and autoinflammatory diseases.

Wellington Regional Hospital | Wellington

Anthea Anantharajah is a Clinical Immunologist and Head of Clinical Immunology at Wellington Regional Hospital. She also works as an Immunopathologist at Awanui Laboratories. She has a clinical and research interest in inflammatory eye disease and its pathogenesis.

Flinders Medical Centre | South Australia

Melanie Batchelor is a Clinical Nurse specialising in paediatric and adult allergy in outpatient clinics, patient education and inpatient challenges within Allergy/ Clinical Immunology Services at Flinders Medical Centre, Southern Adelaide Local Health Network. As part of her portfolio, she has been involved in a collaboration with Emergency Department nursing and pharmacy staff to improve patient outcomes following presentation and discharge with anaphylaxis.

Cairns Hospital | QLD

Dr Peter Bourke is a consultant physician, clinical immunologist and allergist. He is also Clinical Dean for Cairns Hospital. He was a schoolteacher for one year and then after completing his PhD in molecular immunology, worked as a research scientist, before studying medicine.

Dr Bourke trained in big city hospitals but has worked in regional Australia for all his specialist medical career often combining inpatient General Medicine with his specialty service. He worked in the Northern Territory for many years before moving to Cairns Hospital over 8 years ago. Dr Bourke’s interests beyond his specialty area include Clinical and Ethical Reasoning, leadership in medicine, and concepts of clinical care best suited to remote/regional Australia. Most recently he has become interested in the interface between doctors and generative AI.

Starship Children's Health, Te Toka Tumai Auckland, Health New Zealand | Auckland

Dr Shannon Brothers is a Paediatric Allergy and Immunology Specialist consultant at Starship Children’s Health, Te Toka Tumai Auckland, Health New Zealand, where she has worked since 2008. She also has a position in the Newborn Baby Metabolic Screening department at LabPlus, Auckland City Hospital, as clinical lead for national SCID Newborn Screening in NZ. Shannon is a graduate of the University of Witwatersrand. Shannon trained in Immunology at Starship Children’s Hospital, NZ, and Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.

University of California | California

Manish J. Butte, MD PhD is the E. Richard Stiehm endowed Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at UCLA, with joint appointments in the Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics and Human Genetics. In Pediatrics, he is Chief of the Division of Immunology, Allergy, and Rheumatology.

His bachelors degree and MD are from Brown. He then went to UCSF to earn a PhD in Biophysics. His clinical training included residency in pediatrics at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and a clinical fellowship in Allergy & Immunology at Boston Children's Hospital. He did post-doctoral research at Harvard on T cells. He started a faculty career at Stanford, and then was recruited to UCLA in 2016.

His research lab studies T cells with projects on infections, autoimmunity, vaccines, metabolism, and cancer. He been the primary advisor for 7 PhD students and mentored dozens of others. His work has been funded by the NIH, NSF, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and philanthropy.

His clinical focus is on rare, genetic immune diseases (also called primary immunodeficiency or inborn errors of immunity). He cares for children and adults at UCLA. His clinical work is been funded by the NIH, companies, and the Jeffrey Modell Foundation.

The Australian National University | SA

Professor Cable is a Specialist in Aerospace Medicine and a Fellow of the Australasian College of Aerospace Medicine. He is co-founder and Head of Flight Medicine with Human Aerospace Pty Ltd and had a long-standing role with the RAAF Institute of Aviation Medicine in Aerospace Medicine Training. Professor Cable was Space Medicine and Life Sciences Lead on secondment from RAAF at the Australian Space Agency 2020 – 2021 and in 2023 was appointed Professor in the Practice of Space Medicine at Australian National University. He holds multiple Fellowships of professional aerospace organisations in Australia and internationally including the Aerospace Medical Association, the International Academy of Aviation and Space Medicine, the Australasian Society of Aerospace Medicine and the Royal Aeronautical Society. in 2015 he was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for contributions to aerospace medicine.

St Vincent's Hospital | NSW

Professor Andrew Carr graduated from the University of New South Wales (UNSW), Sydney, in 1984, became a member of both the Royal Australasian College of Physicians and the Royal College of Pathologists Australasia in 1993, and completed his doctoral thesis on HIV-related drug hypersensitivity in 1994. He has been at St Vincent’s Hospital, Sydney, since 1989, where he is a clinical immunologist and immunopathologist, Head of the Clinical Research Program, Centre for Applied Medical Research and, until late 2022, Director of the Immunology and HIV Unit. He was appointed Professor of Medicine, UNSW, in 2006. He has authored more than 370 peer-reviewed publications. His main research interest is the complications of HIV therapy. In 2008, he was cited by Science as one of the top 10 HIV researchers worldwide. In recognition of his research activity and productivity over a sustained period, he was awarded Doctor of Science (DSc) in 2022.

Food Standards Australia New Zealand | ACT

Derek Castles is a member of the Labelling and Information Standards Section at Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ), and has worked for the agency for 23 years. Derek has been actively working on allergen labelling regulations at FSANZ for the last decade. Derek is an Accredited Practicing Dietitian, and has also worked on nutrition-related regulations prior his allergen labelling activities.

Allergy Tasmania | TAS

Dr Nick Cooling is a full time GP Allergist working in primary care (Allergy Tasmania) in Hobart. He is the Chair of the RACGP Allergy SIG and on the steering committee of the Shared Care Model for the National Allergy Council.

He was previously the Director of Internationalisation & Global Health & Coordinator of Yr 4 MBBS at the School of Medicine, University of Tasmania. He has worked in medical education for over 20 yrs, including as Director of Training of the GP Training Program in Tasmania for 8 yrs. He has worked in rural, regional and urban general practice in private, corporate and community controlled general practices.

His work career has included toxicology (metabolism of drugs by the cytochrome P450 system), clinical dietetics, academic medicine & general practice in both international, rural and urban settings.

His research interests include adverse reactions to food, clinical allergy, aero-allergens, global health, internationalisation of the curriculum, student mobility, academic detailing, clinical reasoning, behaviour change for doctors and their patients, intercultural communication and consulting skills.

The University of Melbourne & The Royal Melbourne Hospital | VIC

Jo Douglass is a specialist physician in Respiratory Medicine and Allergy and Clinical Immunology. She holds the James Stewart Chair of Medicine at the University of Melbourne at the Royal Melbourne Hospital where she is also appointed Director of Research.

Her most recent research focus has been Allergic and Thunderstorm Asthma funded by the MRFF, through both the TAISAR and CARISTA studies.

Monash University & AusPIPS Inc. | VIC

Emily Edwards is a Senior Postdoctoral Fellow who leads the Primary Immunodeficiency research in Monash University’s School of Translational Medicine.

Emily’s previous work focused on primary immunodeficiencies that render patients susceptible to severe EBV-associated disease, including the first description of CD70 deficiency.

Emily’s research currently focuses on identifying the genetic and functional defects underlying Predominantly Antibody Deficiency. Emily was the 2022 recipient of the Grifols ASPIRE (Award for Scientific Progress in Immunodeficiency Research) Award which enables her to develop and standardise functional tests, and new bioinformatic analysis pipelines to facilitate this work.

Emily received the 2022 AIFA Australasia Primary Immunodeficiency Clinical Research Grant to examine the SARS-CoV-2-specific antibody levels and neutralization capacity of Australian Immunoglobulin product. Research also includes examination of Primary Immunodeficient patient antibody, memory B-cell and memory T-cell responses to the COVID-19 vaccination.

Emily is current Vice President of Australian Primary Immunodeficiency patient advocacy and support organisation AusPIPS, and a member of The Jeffrey Modell Diagnostic and Research Centre for Primary Immunodeficiencies which was established in Melbourne in 2018. Her dual role as a patient advocate and researcher have seen her inclusion in the Global World Primary Immunodeficiency Week Campaigns in 2022 and 2023.

Allergy/clinical Immunology, Flinders Medical Centre | SA

Di Edwards is a Nurse Practitioner with 27 years experience nursing children, teens, and adults, primarily within the Allergy/Clinical Immunology Unit at Flinders Medical Centre in South Australia. Di has extensive experience and interest in the areas of Primary Immunodeficiency, Anaphylaxis Management, Teens/Young Person Care, Drug Allergy, and consumer focussed health care. Di has participated in the development of hospital and community health management programmes and is a Lecturer for Nurse Practitioner Master’s course at UniSA. Her interests are reading really good books, supporting the Arts and saving lives.

University Hospitals of Geneva | Geneva

Philippe Eigenmann is a pediatrician and allergist trained in Switzerland and in the USA (Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore). He is currently head of Pediatric Allergy at the University Hospitals of Geneva Switzerland. His main focus of research is food allergy with several ongoing studies focusing on early-life events of allergy, as well as on food allergy diagnosis. He has published over 200 articles in international scientific journals. Since January 2018, he is editor-in-Chief of Pediatric Allergy and Immunology, the world leading journal in the field, and in the Editorial Board of Allergy. In addition to his scientific activity, he has been the chair of the European Academy of Allergology and Clinical Immunology (EAACI) section on Pediatrics from and president of the Swiss Society for Allergy and Immunology. He is also secretary of the EAACI-Clemens von Pirquet Foundation, a European foundation promoting research and education in pediatric allergy and immunology.

Women's and Children's Hospital | SA

Dr Sam Ellison is a paediatric gastroenterologist based in Adelaide, South Australia. He holds a staff specialist position at the Women’s and Children’s Hospital, is a Clinical Lecturer at the University of Adelaide as well as runs a private practice. Sam has a keen interest in eosinophilic gastrointestinal disorders and non-IgE mediated food allergies. He is the clinical lead for eosinophilic oesophagitis at the Women’s and Children’s Hospital, and has been involved in both local and nationally collaborative research on the topic.

Allergy & Anaphylaxis Australia | VIC

As a general practitioner, Wendy completed post graduate training in allergy through the University of Western Sydney and worked in the allergy department at the Royal Melbourne Hospital until 2021. Wendy has been a volunteer for Allergy & Anaphylaxis Australia (A&AA) for over 15 years and since 2021 has been employed as an A&AA Allergy Educator.

Wendy is an associate member of ASCIA and a steering committee member of the National Allergy Council.

Two of Wendy’s three adult children are at risk of anaphylaxis to multiple foods (egg, dairy, fish, kiwi fruit, sesame seed, cashew, and pistachio) giving her many years of experience with the daily management of food allergies.

Flinders Medical Centre | SA

Laura is a highly experienced Paediatric Allergy Dietitian with over 18 years experience working with children and families across Adelaide. She is a specialist Paediatric Allergy Dietitian with the Allergy/Immunology Team at Flinders Medical Centre in Adelaide and also runs her private practice, consulting online and at Adelaide Paediatrics. Laura is passionate about helping families to navigate the complex world of food allergies, decrease their stress at mealtimes and enjoy eating. Laura is an active member of the ASCIA Dietitian’s committee. She has two children and in her spare time enjoys cooking, running and spending time in the great outdoors.

National Allergy Centre of Excellence | SA

Lisa is an experienced commercial litigation lawyer currently practising at a specialist firm in Adelaide. She and her family live with a range of allergic diseases including eczema, asthma, respiratory, drug and multiple food allergies, as well as primary immunodeficiency. Lisa is the parent of a teenager currently living with risk of anaphylaxis to foods including milk, egg, peanut, tree nuts, sesame and fish. As a keen advocate for people living with allergies, Lisa has held consumer engagement roles in medical research for the past 6 years and is passionate about contributing to allergy research through her current role as Co-Chair of the Consumer Advisory Group at the National Allergy Centre of Excellence. She is also a board member of primary immunodeficiency charity, AusPIPS Inc.

SA Pharmacy | SA

Dr Alka Garg is the Deputy Director - Clinical, at the Women’s and Children’s hospital in Adelaide. She has worked in various aspects of pharmacy practice over the years, including Clinical pharmacy, Clinical trials, Medication safety, University teaching and Pharmaceutical Industry. She has an avid interest in Medication Safety clinical, service based research and bases her pharmacy practice on these. Alka has lived and worked in various countries including India, USA, New Zealand and Australia.

National Allergy Council Limited | NSW

Erin is an experienced Project Officer, specialising in implementing health projects at local, state, and national levels. Throughout her career, Erin has successfully led various projects and change initiatives, significantly improving patient care and driving efficiencies in the healthcare sector.

Erin has a background in public health and project management, and works closely with diverse stakeholders, including healthcare professionals, policymakers, and patient groups, to ensure that projects are aligned with broader health system goals. Her ability to navigate complex challenges and deliver results has made her a respected professional in the field, dedicated to improving health outcomes through effective project management and innovation.

Women's And Children's Hospital | SA

Professor Michael Gold is a Paediatric Allergist and Immunologist with conjoint positions in the Discipline of Paediatrics, University of Adelaide and is former Medical Unit Head, of the Department of Allergy and Immunology at the Women’s and Children’s Health Network. He has a research and clinical interest in the prevention of food allergy and vaccine safety. He was appointed to the World Health Organisation Global Advisory Committee for Vaccine Safety (GACVS) from 2010-2016 and has been an advisor to the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration via his appointment to a number of expert advisory groups since 2006. He has been awarded a number of Australian national research grants as a principle investigator and co-investigator for projects that have researched novel methods of safety surveillance, the prevention and treatment of food allergy. His research has focused on the prevention of egg allergy and in the role of a co-investigator for the multi-site peanut treatment trials. He has contributed to a number of key WHO guidelines which include the global Adverse Event Following Immunisation surveillance manual, the WHO guideline on causality assessment, a guideline for programme managers on Immunisation stress related responses and the global manual for COVID vaccine safety surveillance. From 2020-2022, he was employed a consultant to WHO South East Asian Region, facilitating the implementation of COVID-19 vaccine pharmacovigilance and in 2024, he was reappointed to the WHO GACVS.

Geelong Child Allergy | VIC

Peter trained as a general paediatrician at the Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne gaining his fellowship in 1989. He then pioneered specialist paediatric services in Central and East Gippsland. In 2008, Peter had additional allergy training at RCH.

Peter is the Chair of the Australian Paediatric Society Allergy Committee and was awarded the RACP Medal for Outstanding Clinical Service to Rural Australia.

Peter works with his wife Jenny, a registered nurse, midwife and Credentialed Diabetes Educator having established Geelong Child Allergy in 2013.

Children's Hospital Colorado | Co

Matthew Greenhawt, MD, MBA, MSc, is a professor in the Department of Pediatrics Section of Allergy and Immunology at Children’s Hospital Colorado and the University of Colorado School of Medicine. He earned his medical degree from Tufts University School of Medicine, completed his residency in pediatrics at Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital of New York-Presbyterian and his allergy/immunology fellowship at the University of Michigan. He also holds an MBA from Tufts University and a MSc degree in health and healthcare policy from the University of Michigan. Dr. Greenhawt is board certified in pediatrics and allergy/immunology.

Dr Greenhawt’s research interests include shared decision-making, food allergy cost-effectiveness and comparative effectiveness research, food-allergic diseases health services research, prevention and treatment of food allergy, and food allergy public policy.

Dr Greenhawt has authored over 300 peer-reviewed articles, in addition to numerous abstracts and book chapters. He is the senior associate editor for the Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, and a member of the Joint Taskforce of Allergy Practice Parameters. He is a member of the AAAAI, ACAAI, and EAACI. He is also involved with many committees, including the Brighton Collaboration Criteria Vaccine Anaphylaxis Case Definition 2.0 work group, and multiple AAAAI and EAACI committees.

Federation University Australia & AusPIPS | VIC

Richard Hession is a UK trained Physiotherapist with over 23 years of clinical experience in various areas of cardiorespiratory physiotherapy. Having worked in the UK, Western Australia, and Victoria, and across the clinical spectrum, including ICU, acute wards, and transplants, Richard has set up the Melbourne Chest Physiotherapy Clinic where he specialises in helping those with chronic respiratory diseases improve their wellbeing and quality of life.

Richard has worked extensively with individuals with Inborn Errors of Immunity (IEI) who exhibit decreased quality of life, mainly due to fatigue and respiratory complications. He has been a member of the Medical and Scientific Advisory Panel for the charity AusPIPs for the last 10 years providing advocacy, advice, and education on exercise to individuals with IEI.

Richard is also a physiotherapy lecturer and researcher at Federation University in Victoria where he developed and delivers the cardiorespiratory physiotherapy undergraduate curriculum. He also supervises honours physiotherapy projects in various related fields and has commenced research working towards his PhD which focusses on exercise and improving quality of life in individuals living with the effects of Inborn Errors of Immunity.

Compass Immunology Clinic | QLD

Dr Kathryn Heyworth MBBS FRACGP DCH DIC MSc (Allergy) is the Medical Associates representative for ASCIA. Kathryn graduated from the University of Queensland Medical School in 1994. She trained at Royal Brisbane Hospital and Royal Children’s Hospital then completed her RACGP fellowship in 1999. After a period of General Practice, Kathryn worked in the Paediatric Emergency Department at the Mater Children’s Hospital and completed her Diploma of Child Health in 2005. For the last 16 years, Kathryn has worked exclusively in Allergy and Child Health. She obtained a Masters in Allergy from Imperial College London in 2016. Her Master’s dissertation considered the relationship of infant intestinal microbiome diversity and the subsequent development of allergic disorders. Kathryn is a Director of Compass Immunology Clinic and Compass Kids Clinic in Brisbane. Her particular interest is infant food allergy and management of dietary expansion to assist allergen tolerance.

Royal Adelaide Hospital | SA

A/Prof Pravin Hissaria is a Senior Clinical Immunologist at the Royal Adelaide Hospital, Immunopathologist at SA Pathology and a Associate Clinical Professor in the Adelaide University Department of Medicine. He is the current chair of the SA Therapeutic Immunoglobulin group.

Dr Hissaria has received numerous grants and has authored 108 peer reviewed publications and has an H-index of 25 (Scopus, May 2024). He also has extensive experience in clinical trials and has been a PI in multiple Pharmaceutical company sponsored trials. He has received numerous grants including NHMRC and Arthritis Australia peer reviewed grants. He is the committee member of NACE Drug allergy stream and is also involved in Drug allergy registries. He is an active member of the Australia and New Zealand Vasculitis Society (ANZVASC) and the Australian Lupus registry and has participated in several multi-centre investigator initiated studies. His main clinical interests are in setting up registries of rare autoimmune and auto-inflammatory diseases.

The Children's Hospital at Westmead | NSW

Dr. Hsu is a paediatric clinical allergist and immunologist and an early career translational researcher, who heads the Allergy research laboratory at Kids Research, the Children’s Hospital at Westmead. He was awarded his PhD on immune tolerance in 2015. During his part time PhD. As a clinician he has over 10 years of experience in the diagnosis and management of allergic and primary immunodeficiency disorders in children. He is a site primary investigator in multiple NHMRC funded clinical trials, exploring allergen immunotherapy and primary prevention of food allergies. His main research interest is investigation of immune tolerance breakdown in children with allergies and primary immune deficiencies and he has a proven track record in exploring mechanisms of allergen tolerance acquisition particularly in early life. Dr. Hsu is an associate investigator of the NHMRC funded centre of excellence CFAR (Centre for Food Allergy Research) and food allergy stream advisory member of NACE (National Allergy Centre of Excellence).

Blacktown Hospital | NSW

After completing her medical degree at Monash University, Jocelyn Jiang completed postgraduate training in Immunopathology and Clinical Immunology at Canberra and Westmead Hospitals. She is currently a staff specialist at Blacktown Hospital and an Immunopathologist with Douglass Hanly Moir Pathology. She is also currently completing a PhD looking at potential markers of neuroinflammation in CSF.

Royal Adelaide Hospital | SA

Dr Melinda Jiang is a Dermatology Service Registrar at the Royal Adelaide Hospital. She has a strong clinical and academic interest in drug allergies, and is currently completing a PhD which focusses on reducing morbidity in drug eruptions with a focus on severe cutaneous adverse reactions. Additionally, she has completed a Drug Allergy and Severe Cutaneous Adverse Reaction Clinical Fellowship with the Royal Adelaide Hospital Immunology Department in 2023. She has contributed to the area of drug allergy as a sub-investigator in the National Antibiotic Allergy Network, and has co-authored a number of peer-reviewed publications on the topic.

The Kidd Clinic | WA

Tara is a Psychologist with experience spanning 15 years across diverse roles within the health and social care sector. Tara currently works in private practice providing psychological intervention to individuals and families at The Kidd Clinic.

Tara has particular interest in supporting young people who are neurodivergent, many of whom are also navigating co-occurring complex physical health conditions. Tara draws on her lived experience of coeliac disease to enrich her understanding and empathy in helping young people and their families cope with the psychological challenges associated with managing chronic health issues, and transition towards greater independence as they mature.

St Vincent's Hospital | NSW

Alisa Kane is a staff specialist Clinical Immunologist and Immunopathologist and Head of Department at St Vincent’s Hospital Sydney, and also has an appointment at Liverpool Hospital. Alisa’s clinical, laboratory and research interests are in the diagnosis and management of Inborn Errors of Immunity. She serves on the National Blood Authority’s Immunology Specialist Working Group for Immunoglobulin Governance, and is on the Board of the Immunodeficiency Foundation of Australia (IDFA) as chair of the Health Professional’s Panel.

SA Pathology | SA

Associate Professor Karin Kassahn is a Clinical Scientist and Head of Technology Advancement at SA Pathology and Affiliate Associate Professor in the Adelaide Medical School at the University of Adelaide. Karin has been integral to introducing genomics and clinical bioinformatics into routine clinical care across the germline, cancer, paediatric and adult settings. She oversees the development and validation of genomic tests for diagnostic use and provides leadership in day-to-day service delivery. Karin is a national leader in the integration of genomics in pathology and provides expert advice on strategic directions, policies and standards for clinical genomics and bioinformatics both locally and nationally. Karin’s current focus of research is the application of genomic and multi-omic methods to newborn screening and the application of genomics for prenatal management.

University Of Queensland | QLD

A/Prof Jennifer Koplin is Group Leader of Childhood Allergy & Epidemiology at the University of Queensland Child Health Research Centre and Principal Research Fellow with the HERA 360-Kids Community Network. She has over 15 years of research experience in epidemiology and allergy and has developed an internationally recognised program of research focusing on childhood food allergy. She leads the Evidence and Translation Hub of the National Allergy Centre of Excellence and is a chief investigator and past Director of the NHMRC-funded Centre of Research Excellence in Food Allergy (CFAR). Her research has explored the prevalence, natural history, causes and consequences of childhood allergic disease and encompasses population-based cohort studies and prevention trials. She also collaborates on research into food allergy treatments, immunological mechanisms underlying childhood food allergy and improving food allergy diagnosis.

Allergen Bureau | QLD

Jasmine a food safety expert with over 25 years of industry experience. She began her career in clinical pathology before transitioning to the food sector in1998 as a Food Microbiologist. Her roles have spanned laboratory, quality, and food safety management roles for Lactalis, Coca Cola Europacific Partners and commercial laboratories.

Since 2015, Jasmine has held the role of Food Safety Manager at BVAQ. With a keen interest in integrating analytical outcomes to production processes, she collaborates with domestic and international organisations to enhance food safety practices, using her industry experience to solve problems and mitigate risk. She is considered an industry expert in the field of food allergy and risk assessment, having developed allergen management strategies in manufacturing environments since 2000.

Her dedication to advancing food safety extends to her voluntary leadership roles, including director of the Allergen Bureau since 2018 and President and Board chair since 2021.

In addition, Jasmine played a crucial role in establishing the Australian region of EHEDG (European Hygienic Engineering Design Group) in 2019. She holds positions on the AIFST Scientific and Advisory committee, Allergen Collaboration Steering Committee and the NATA Life Sciences Accreditation Advisory Committee.

Royal | TAS

Adriana Le is a Clinical Immunologist and Allergist and Head of Unit at the Royal Hobart Hospital. She moved to Tasmania two years ago to help establish a statewide immunology/allergy service, building upon the well-established Tasmanian Jack Jumper Ant Allergy program.

Prior to this, Adriana was a Consultant at the Royal Adelaide Hospital.

During her time at these two hospitals, Adriana has developed a keen interest in Jack Jumper Ant Allergy treatment and research.

The University of Melbourne | VIC

Dr Diego Lopez (DDS, MPH, PhD) is a researcher from the Melbourne School of Population and Global Health at the University of Melbourne. He has a clinical background and expertise in assessing environmental exposures, allergic diseases epidemiology and Public Health. His research investigates the underlying risk factors and mechanisms associated with allergy development. His overarching goal is to enhance prevention and treatment strategies for allergies affecting children and adults worldwide. Recently, he has led a response to the Senate Inquiry into Red Imported Fire Ants (RIFA) in collaboration with researchers from the National Allergy Centre of Excellence. In this response, the human health impacts of RIFA from endemic regions were reported and used to project the potential health impacts in Australia if RIFA were established. His research interests span environmental risk factors and microbiome factors linked to increased allergy risk.

WA Health | WA

Clinical Professor Michaela Lucas is an Immunologist/Immunopathologist and Clinician-Scientist with conjoint appointments at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, PathWest, the Perth Children’s Hospital, and The University of Western Australia. She is the immediate past President of the Australasian Society of Immunology and Allergy, co-chair and director of the National Allergy Council (NAC), co-chair of the Drug Allergy Stream for NAC and the National Allergy Centre of Excellence.

South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute & Flinders University | SA

Prof. Lynn is Professor of Systems Immunology at the Flinders University Health and Medical Research Institute (FHMRI); a Program Director in the Precision Medicine Theme at SAHMRI; and Scientific Director of the SA Genomics Centre. He leads an internationally regarded research program in systems immunology investigating how microbes (pathogenic and commensal) modulate the immune system in a range of contexts. Since 2020, Prof. Lynn and his team have generated important new knowledge on the immune response to SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination. He led one of the first studies to characterise long-term immune dysregulation in Long COVID patients (BMC Med. 2021) and also led the COVID-19 Vaccine Immune Responses Study (COVIRS), which uncovered an unusual memory-like response after the 1st dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine, with implications for thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS) (Cell Reports Med. 2023). His team also showed that the AstraZeneca vaccine did not induce a type of innate immune reprogramming called trained immunity (JCI 2023), as had been suggested by others. Prof. Lynn was also the PI for the South Australian arm of the international BRACE trial, a Gates Foundation funded, international RCT that assessed whether BCG protects against COVID-19 (NEJM 2023).

Advanced Dietitians Group | WA

Belinda is a leading paediatric dietitian in WA, with over 25 years of experience. She currently works alongside Ingrid Roche as Director of Advanced Dietitians Group. Ingrid and Belinda started Advanced Dietitians Group ten years ago to provide a strong evidence-based, family-centred and quality service to cut through the misinformation surrounding allergy and nutrition. Together with Dr Kyla Smith, Belinda and Ingrid have written a practical allergy eBook for parents, outlining the reintroduction of dairy for non IgE mediated food protein induced proctocolitis. Belinda has experience in tertiary, rural and international paediatric clinics and hospitals. She was the Clinical Lead, lecturer, clinical placement coordinator and supervisor in the Masters of Dietetics program at Curtin University for 6 years. Belinda has also worked for the Dietitians Association of Australia in accreditation. In 2019 she assessed and reviewed the ASCIA and DAA Dietitians Professional Certificate in Medical Nutrition Therapy for Food Allergy and Intolerance.

Flinders Medical Centre | SA

Paul is a Consultant Anaesthetist at Flinders Medical Centre in Adelaide. He has been involved in perioperative anaesthetic allergy testing for over 25 years. He was Chair of The Australian and New Zealand Anaesthetic Allergy Group (ANZAAG) from 2015-2019, and a member of the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists Quality and Safety Committee for the same period. He is a co-author of the ANZAAG Perioperative Allergy Investigation Guidelines published in 2017. Paul is regularly involved in the teaching and training of undergraduates and anaesthetic trainees, and frequently runs workshops in anaphylaxis management for Consultant Anaesthetists.

In his spare time, Paul is a keen traveller, a shameless Francophile and has recently begun learning Japanese.

The Royal Children's Hospital | VIC

Dr Mehr completed his medical degree at the University of Melbourne and trained at the Royal Children’s Hospital (Melbourne) and Children’s Hospital at Westmead (Sydney). He has been a Consultant Allergist/Immunologist for 14 years in both public and private practice.

His current appointments include Consultant Staff Specialist in Allergy and Immunology at the Royal Children’s Hospital, Honorary Medical Officer at the Children’s Hospital at Westmead, Immunopathologist at Dorevitch Pathology.

His clinical interests include FPIES, food allergy desensitisation, and auto inflammatory conditions.

The Children's Hospital at Westmead | NSW

Kathryn is a Clinical Nurse Specialist with the NSW Anaphylaxis Education Program based at The Children’s Hospital at Westmead (Sydney, Australia). This Program provides education and support services to patients and their families, health professionals, Registered Training Organisations, schools, and children’s services across NSW. Kathryn is responsible for the Early Childhood Education portfolio.

Kathryn has a Bachelor of Nursing, a Professional Certificate in Allergy Nursing, a Graduate Certificate in Asthma & Respiratory Nursing, is an Authorised Nurse Immuniser a Certificate IV in Training and Assessment. She is currently studying a Graduate Certificate of Nursing Education at UTS.

Kathryn has worked in allergy nursing for the past 13 years and paediatric nursing for over 20 years, both in hospitals and the community.

Murdoch Children's Research Institute | VIC

Dr Melanie Neeland leads the Respiratory Immunology team at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI) in Melbourne. Her research aims to understand the early life immune origins of allergic and respiratory disease in children and uses a system-wide approach to identify targets for early immune intervention. Melanie completed her PhD in immunology in 2015, was an Invited Research Fellow of Stanford University in 2017, and established her independent research program at MCRI in 2020.

National Allergy Council | SA

Dr Merryn Netting is an experience clinical paediatric dietitian and was based at the Adelaide Women’s and Children’s Hospital for over 30 years. She has contributed over 50 peer reviewed publications to the fields of infant feeding, and allergy prevention and management.

Merryn is an active member of ASCIA and was inaugural chair of the ASCIA Dietitians Committee. Prior to working with the National Allergy Council, she volunteered for the National Allergy Strategy as co-lead for several projects. Her work with the National Allergy Council involves coordinating translational projects aiming to improve the lives of Australians with allergic disease. She is project lead for the schools and children’s education and care project.

Telethon Kids Institute | WA

Associate Professor Debbie Palmer’s research focuses on early-life nutrition and allergic disease prevention, including the conduct of 12 randomised controlled trials. She is:

• Team leader of the Nutrition In Early Life Research Team at the Telethon Kids Institute.
• Program Head of Early Life and Life-Course Health at the Telethon Kids Institute.
• Co-Director of the Centre for Human Lactation Research and Translation at the University of Western Australia.
• Co-chair of the Food Allergy Stream of the National Allergy Centre of Excellence
• Chief Investigator on the NHMRC funded Centre of Research Excellence In Food Allergy Research (CFAR3).

The University Of Adelaide | Sa

Harshita Pant is a rhinologist and anterior skull base surgeon and an academic Professor at the University of Adelaide. She completed her PhD in immunology (Uni Adelaide) and surgical training with the RACS and undertook clinical fellowship in advanced sinus and skull-base surgery at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Centre, USA. Professor Pant is Group Leader at the Adelaide Centre for Epigenetics (Uni Adelaide) and Clinical Lead at the Allergy and Cancer Immunology Laboratory at the Centre of Cancer Biology (SA Pathology and Uni of South Australia). She has a strong research focus in chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) and severe asthma and developed trait-based transformative research capacity for precision treatments, such as monoclonal antibody therapies for this patient cohort that is funded by grants from the NHMRC and the MRFF. She is committed to mentoring medical and higher degree research students and aspiring ENT surgeons in Australia and overseas through her leadership at Uni Adelaide and in RACS Global Health program. She holds patents in novel therapies for CRS patients that she is currently commercialising and is key opinion leader for several pharmaceutical companies.

Murdoch Children's Research Institute | VIC

Prof Kirsten Perrett is Head of the Population Allergy Research Group at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI). She is also Director of the National Allergy Centre of Excellence and the NHMRC Centre for Food & Allergy Research, hosted at MCRI; Paediatric Allergist and Vaccinologist at The Royal Children's Hospital, and an Honorary Professorial Fellow at The University of Melbourne.

Prof Perrett has received continuous competitive fellowship funding since 2013. She currently holds both a NHMRC Investigator Award and a Melbourne Children’s Clinician-Scientist Fellowship. She has received more than $49 million in competitive, government, philanthropic and industry research funding and has more than 120 peer-reviewed publications, including 90 in the past five years.

For more than 18 years, Prof Perrett has spear-headed Investigator-led and industry-sponsored vaccine and allergy clinical trials and is a highly sought-after trials expert and clinician-scientist. Her research program investigates novel strategies for the prevention and early intervention treatment of food allergy and atopic disease. She is also involved in food allergy research investigating; causes and consequences, immunological mechanisms underlying pathogenesis and minimally invasive strategies to improve diagnosis.

Murdoch Children's Research Institute | VIC

Associate Professor Rachel Peters is head of the Epidemiology Program of the Population Allergy research group at the Murdoch Children's Research Institute, and Epidemiology Lead for the National Allergy Centre of Excellence. She leads a research program using large, longitudinal, population-based studies to understand the causes and consequences of childhood food allergy.

Associate Professor Peters is the principal investigator of the longitudinal HealthNuts study of food allergy, which has followed a cohort of over 5,000 children since infancy. The 5th wave of HealthNuts, when participants turn 15 years of age, will be completed in 2025, It aims to describe the natural history of food allergy and understand the adverse consequences of food allergy on children’s future health. She also leads the 6-year follow-up of the EarlyNuts study, which aims to understand the impact of changing infant feeding guidelines for food allergy prevention, on the prevalence of food allergy and other health outcomes.

Collectively, her research program aims to identify risk factors and biomarkers of food allergy persistence and resolution, understand why adolescents are at high risk of recurrent and severe food-induced allergic reactions, quantify the adverse consequences of infant food allergy on children's future health, particularly lung and psychosocial health and measure the impact of food allergy prevention strategies on children’s health. She has authored over >120 peer reviewed publications and attracted > $15mil in research funding.

SA Pathology, Royal Adelaide Hospital & The University of Adelaide College | SA

Phillippa is a Clinical Immunologist and Immunopathologist at SA Pathology and The Royal Adelaide Hospital, and a Clinical Lecturer at The University of Adelaide. After receiving her MBBS with honours from The University of Western Australia in 2009, she completed internship and basic physician training at Royal Perth Hospital. She moved to Canberra to undertake dual training in Clinical Immmunology and Immunopathology at The Canberra Hospital and ACT Pathology in 2015, which she completed in Adelaide; receiving her FRACP and FRCPA in 2018, and taking up her current position in 2019. She undertook a sabbatical at UCLA's David Geffen School of Medicine as a Visiting Assistant Professor in 2023-24, where she gained further experience in rare disease and immunogenomics.

Phillippa's primary area of interest is the investigation and management of inborn errors of immunity, with a particular focus on flow cytometry. She has a special interest in transition care for adolescents with inborn errors of immunity; setting up a transition program between paediatric and adult services in Adelaide. Phillippa has undertaken the role of SA training coordinator. She is a member of the ClinGen SCID-CID gene curation panel, as well as college committees for both the RACP and RCPA.

Sa Pathology | SA

Dr Alex Quach is a Medical Scientist within the Immunology Directorate of SA Pathology, specialising in the functional and molecular investigation of primary immunodeficiency / inborn errors of immunity.

Women's and Children's Hospital | SA

A/Prof. Patrick Quinn is a Paediatric Allergist and Clinical Immunologist from Adelaide, South Australia. He completed his undergraduate medical degree at the University of Queensland, before entering clinical training in Paediatrics at the Mater Children’s Hospital, South Brisbane and subsequently undertook training in Allergy and Clinical Immunology at the IWK Health Centre/Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia and the Women’s and Children’s Hospital, North Adelaide, obtaining his FRACP in 2002. Patrick has clinical interests in food allergy and inborn errors of immunity and currently practices in private practice in Beulah Park, Adelaide and publicly at the Women’s and Children’s Hospital, North Adelaide where he is Medical Unit Head of the Department of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. He is a clinical affiliate of the University of Adelaide where he teaches in the 5th year medical student paediatric program. Patrick has research interests in the prevention and treatment of food allergy and is author on several recent papers, principally in food allergy immunotherapy. Patrick sits on a number of state and national representative bodies including the South Australia Immunoglobulin Therapy Advisory Group and is the current Chair of the ASCIA Immunodeficiency Committee.

National Allergy Council | WA

Ingrid Roche is a senior project officer with the National Allergy Council. She has 25 years’ experience as an Accredited Practising Dietitian, specialising for the past 15 years in the nutritional management of food allergy and food allergen management in food service settings. Her experience includes lecturing in the Master of Dietetics program at Curtin University as the Food Service Domain leader and a long stint at Perth Children’s Hospital before taking on her current role leading the National Allergy Council’s food service project. She also co-director of Advanced Dietitians Group, a private practice in Perth specialising in paediatrics, disability, food allergy and gastrointestinal disorders.

The University of Western Australia | WA

Sandra Salter is an Associate Professor in the School of Allied Health at The University of Western Australia, and a Senior Research Fellow at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute in Melbourne, Victoria. She has more than 30 years’ experience as a clinical pharmacist, including in private and public hospital, general practice (GP) and community pharmacy sectors. She has been active in anaphylaxis and allergy research since 2011, including intervention, linked data and epidemiological studies, and in 2020 developed an active vaccine safety surveillance system for patients immunised in pharmacies. This was critical to Australia’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout, is now part of national infrastructure, and for this A/Prof Salter received national recognition as the 2022 UTS Innovative Pharmacist of the Year. Since 2023, she has led evidence synthesis for the ASCIA Penicillin Allergy Delabelling Guideline.

A/Prof Salter serves as an invited expert for the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia; the National Allergy Council; the Quality Use of Diagnostics, Therapeutics and Pathology program; and continues to practice as a pharmacist in community pharmacy. She is a member of ASCIA and holds Fellowship of the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia.

Postnominals
BPharm, Grad Dip Pharm (Hosp), PhD, FPS

King's College London | Region

Professor Alexandra Santos is Full Professor of Paediatric Allergy at King’s College London and Honorary Consultant in Paediatric Allergy at the Evelina London Children’s Hospital.

Alexandra qualified in Medicine from the University of Coimbra, completed her training in Allergy and Clinical Immunology at Coimbra University Hospital and her PhD in Allergy and Immunology at King’s College London, supervised by Professor Gideon Lack. Over the years, Alexandra has continued to combine clinical activity in Paediatric Allergy with clinical and laboratory translational research into food allergy.

The Santos Lab aims to improve the accuracy and safety of food allergy diagnosis and our understanding of the mechanisms of food allergy and oral tolerance in IgE-sensitised children to identify new targets for definitive treatment of food allergy.

Alexandra is Chair of the Board of the Immunology Section of European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI), Chair of the EAACI Food Allergy Guidelines and voting member of EAACI Executive Committee.

National Allergy Council | SA

Sarah graduated from Flinders University in 2023 with a Bachelor of Nutrition and Dietetics, achieving First Class Honours. Specialising in paediatric food allergy management, Sarah conducted an impactful honours study in collaboration with the National Allergy Council. This research delved into the views, opinions and knowledge of parents of children with IgE mediated food allergies regarding food allergy management in South Australian primary schools.

Sarah’s findings highlight critical areas for policy development and educational initiatives, emphasising the need for comprehensive training and resources for school staff and parents alike. As an emerging researcher in the field, Sarah is dedicated to advancing public health strategies and enhancing the quality of life for individuals with food allergies. Their contributions at the ASCIA conference promise to shed light on pressing issues and innovative solutions in food allergy management.

Royal Adelaide Hospital | SA

Senior Consultant, Clinical Immunology and Allergy, Royal Adelaide Hospital and AllergySA. Past President of ASCIA. Project Co-Lead, National Allergy Council Drug Allergy and Australian Digital Health Agency Project. Research interests and publications in Food allergy, Drug allergy, Hereditary Angioedema.

Flinders University | South Australia

Professor Smith is an ophthalmologist-scientist, co-appointed as Matthew Flinders Distinguished Professor at Flinders University and Senior Consultant at Flinders Medical Centre. Professor Smith leads a research program in uveitis and has published over 250 articles in peer-reviewed journals. She is an elected Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences, the Asia-Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology Professors, the American Ophthalmological Society, and the Academia Ophthalmologica Internationalis, and she was one of the first Superstars of STEM selected by Science and Technology Australia.

Royal Hobart Hospital | TAS

Registered Nurse with the Jack Jumper Allergy Program, Tasmania since 2010.

Children's Health Queensland | QLD

Anna is a Clinical Nurse Consultant in Immunology and Allergy at Queensland Children’s Hospital. She has worked as a paediatric nurse in this field for 10 years with a background in both medical and surgical paediatric nursing. She is an active member of the Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy (ASCIA), Clinical Immunogenomics Research Consortium Australasia (CIRCA), Immune Deficiencies Foundation Australia (IDFA) Health Professional Panel, and the Children’s Health Queensland (CHQ) Blood Management Committee. She was the coordinator for Queensland Genomic Health Alliance implementation project for genetic testing of Inborn Errors of Immunity at Pathology Queensland, which has led to the establishment of a clinical model of care in the area. Anna leads the nursing clinical trials team undertaking immunology and allergy trials at CHQ. She is an endorsed Nurse Practitioner.

Garvan Institute Of Medical Research | Nsw

Stuart Tangye leads the the Immunology & Immunodeficiency Lab at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research. He is the recipient of an NHMRC Investigator Grant (Leadership Level 3), and a Professor (conjoint) in the Faculty of Medicine & Health, UNSW Sydney. He has 25 years of experience in the fields of human cellular and molecular immunology and IEI. His research focuses on the biology of human lymphocytes in health and disease and understanding how defects in single genes result in immune dysregulation. His research outcomes include elucidating critical roles for specific genes in human lymphocyte differentiation, determining intrinsic vs extrinsic defects in lymphocyte function in distinct immune dysregulatory conditions, and delineating functional requirements for effective host defense against infectious bacterial, viral and fungal diseases.

He has published ~280 peer-reviewed articles, holds positions on editorial boards of J Exp Med and J Clin Immunol and co-chairs the IUIS Expert Committee of IEI. His contributions to research have been recognised by being awarded the 2011 Gottschalk Medal (Australian Academy of Sciences), Fulbright Seior Fellowship (2015), the CIS President’s Award (2019), a Research Excellence Award from NHMRC (2020), and being elected to the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences (2023).

Sa Pharmacy - Salhn | SA

Alicia Thomas is a pharmacist who has worked at the Flinders Medical Centre Emergency Department (ED) since 2014. She is passionate about improving anaphylaxis care in the ED, particularly in patients discharging from the ED. She has recently published an audit of adult and paediatric anaphylaxis management across to two mixed emergency departments with her ED and immunology colleagues.

University of South Australia | SA

Dr Deryn Thompson is an academic, experienced eczema education & an allergy nurse. She is a member of multiple global nursing, allergy and eczema organisations. Her PhD explored and mapped the cognitive learning principles nurses use in parent education practice and those important to parents’ learning experiences. Cognitive Learning Principles, aligning with the Dimensions of Learning framework from educational psychology research, help nurses guide patients/families through a learning process of self-management skills: to develop thinking, reasoning and problem-solving skills, as they turn information provided to them into knowledge they can use meaningfully to manage their condition confidently.

Deryn teaches the Professional Certificate of Allergy Nursing, an AQF level 8 short course enabling nurses to build knowledge and skills in evidence-based best practice allergy care. Deryn has local and international publications, conference presentations, worked with the Quality Use of Medicines Alliance on resources, pod-casts and learning guides for health professionals. Deryn was also an author on the Burden of Eczema: evidence for a National Strategy (2023).

Flinders University | SA

Immunology and Immunopathology Trainee and PhD candidate at Flinders Univesity. My interest areas include inborn errors of immunity and immunodysregulation, autoimmunity, humoral immunity, proteomics, genetics, data analytics and biostatistics. I dont believe in coincidences, but i do believe in probabilities.

The Children's Hospital at Westmead | NSW

Briony is a Clinical Nurse Consultant in Allergy/Anaphylaxis Education and Manager of the NSW Anaphylaxis Education Program based at the Children’s Hospital at Westmead. This Program provides education and support services to health professionals, families, registered training organisations, schools, preschools and children’s services across NSW.

Briony has spent the past 17 years working in Paediatric Allergy and Anaphylaxis Education. Briony has almost 30 years experience as a paediatric nurse working across the Sydney Children’s Hospital Network.

She is an active member of the ASCIA paediatric committee and the ASCIA anaphylaxis committee and represented nurses on the ASCIA council from 2020-2023.

Briony is the co-lead of the National Allergy Council’s (NAC) Schools and Children’s Services stream and sits on the NAC advisory board.

Briony is passionate about paediatric allergy education so that everyone gets evidenced based information, to support children and adolescents who live with allergies and anaphylaxis.

Briony holds, M.Nursing (UTS),B. Nursing (UTS), G. Cert. Allergy Nursing (UniSA) and a G. Cert Paediatric Nursing (ACN).

National Allergy Council | WA

Sandra has a background in public health nutrition with experience in project management and implementation, resource development and training. Prior to becoming the National Allergy Council Chief Executive Officer, Sandra was the ASCIA Education Officer and in that role was the project officer involved in developing and implementing the National Allergy Strategy. Sandra completed her PhD through the University of Western Australia in the area of food allergy prevention.

Allergy & Anaphylaxis Australia | VIC

Sally Voukelatos is a parent of two adult children with atopy including multiple food allergy. As a trained dietitian, Sally volunteered her time to share knowledge and experience with others through Allergy & Anaphylaxis Australia (A&AA) for almost 20 years. In 2018 Sally joined A&AA's team of Allergy Educators and has continued to support and advocate on behalf of those living with allergic disease. Her role has involved representing A&AA on government working groups addressing anaphylaxis training and policy development and she is a current member of the Allergen Collaboration. At A&AA she provides phone support and education and is involved in government submissions, resource development and policy review. Sally has worked closely with state and territory food authorities through her work in reporting hundreds of food complaints on behalf of consumers that have contacted A&AA since 2018.

Sally is a member of the National Allergy Council Advisory Committee; project co-lead of the National Allergy Council Food Service Project and has assisted with the coordination of the first Allergy 250K Youth Camp in 2018.

Sally is an Associate Member of the Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy (ASCIA) and a member of the ASCIA Dietitians’ Committee.

The Sydney Children's Hospitals Network | NSW

Dr Wainstein is a paediatric immunologist and allergist. He is a staff specialist at Sydney Children’s Hospital and in private practice in Bondi Junction, Sydney.

Dr Wainstein cares for children with allergic disease, immunodeficiency and recurrent fever syndromes. In 2010 Dr Wainstein completed a PhD from UNSW on the diagnosis and prediction of peanut anaphylaxis and he has authored or co-authored several peer reviewed articles on various topics. His main research interests are in food allergy and anaphylaxis. He is an investigator on a number of ongoing investigator led as well as national and international collaborative research studies and clinical trials.

Dr Wainstein is a Senior Conjoint Lecturer at UNSW, a past chair of the Medical Advisory Board, and current Board member of Allergy and Anaphylaxis Australia (A&AAI). He is a past president of the Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy (ASCIA). Dr Wainstein is now a member of the advisory committee for the National Allergy Council (NAC) as well as co-lead on the Anaphylaxis Reporting system project. He is a member of the National Allergy Centre of Excellence (NACE). He was a co-investigator on the NHMRC funded Centre for Food Allergy Research (CFAR) and a founder member of the Sydney Paediatric and Adult Allergy Network (SPAAN) and the Allergy Clinical Trials Network (CTN).

The Children's Hospital at Westmead | NSW

Dr Melanie Wong is a paediatric allergist, immunologist and immunopathologist. She is a senior staff specialist and Head of the Allergy and Immunology Department at The Children's Hospital at Westmead. Her interests encompass clinical. laboratory and genetic aspects of allergy, immunodeficiency and immune dysregulation.

Relevant to her presentations at this meeting, Dr Wong was the clinical lead in the four-year pilot of newborn screening for severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) in NSW from 2018 to 2022, with incorporation into the NSW newborn screening program at its completion. She worked closely with other clinicians, ASCIA and the Australian patient support groups (IDFA and AusPIPS) to advocate successfully to government for the funding of universal SCID newborn screening across Australia, with all state screening programs operational by March 2024.

Women's and Children's Hospital | SA

Gemma is a Senior Paediatric Dietitian based in Adelaide, South Australia. Gemma has worked clinically in public hospitals in both Australia and the United Kingdom in various different clinical areas. Her current role at the Women’s and Children’s Hospital includes working along side the Allergy/Immunology team in the Complex Food Allergy Clinic. Gemma is passionate about supporting families with food allergies, providing evidence-based, practical advice to children and their families. She is an Accredited Practising Dietitian (APD) and member of Dietitians Australia (DA).