The Paediatric Infectious Disease Research Group is involved in the development and management of multicentre research projects across a variety of key areas in paediatric infectious diseases, including:
- Optimised treatment of congenital, neonatal, and paediatric infections
- Antibiotic stewardship and antibiotic allergy management
- The treatment and epidemiology of serious and antibiotic-resistant infections; and
- Infectious disease surveillance
We're also involved in trials of vaccines, optimal and novel therapies for infectious diseases, and the development of guidelines for the management of infections in children.
Our goals
- Promoting optimal therapy for paediatric infectious diseases.
- Promoting effective surveillance of paediatric infectious diseases.
- Improved management of infections in immunocompromised children and young people.
- Improved antimicrobial use for children in the hospital and community.
- Improved support for immunisation in Australian children.
- Supporting other clinicians treating children with infections, improving quality of care using evidence.
Research projects
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- FOSUTI - A multisite randomised clinical trial investigating the use of the antibiotic fosfomycin in children with urinary tract infections.
(Led by A/Prof Phoebe Williams)
- HOMEFREE - A multisite project to improve the timeliness and rate of a switch from IV to oral medicine in children, an important antibiotic stewardship intervention enabling earlier discharge home.
(Led by Dr Brendan McMullan).
- FOSUTI - A multisite randomised clinical trial investigating the use of the antibiotic fosfomycin in children with urinary tract infections.
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- Fungal infections
- Invasive pneumococcal disease
- HIV management & prevention
- Parinatal & congenital infections
Fungal infections and infections among immunocompromised children
Cryptococcal Australia: A national review of paediatric cryptococcosis, a serious opportunistic fungal infection of children.
(Led by Dr Brendan McMullan)
Invasive pneumococcal disease in children
A multicentre longitudinal study identifying the serotypes responsible for invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) in children, to guide immunisation policy and improve the management of IPD globally.
(Led by A/Prof Phoebe Williams)
Australian and New Zealand Paediatric HIV Observational Database (ANZpHOD)222
A collaboration between paediatric services across Australia and New Zealand aiming to establish an observational database for the incidence and management of paediatric HIV.
(Led by Dr Adam Bartlett with Kirby Inst.)
Australian Neonatal Sepsis Study (NeoSep)
A multi-site study analysing the epidemiology of neonatal sepsis across clinical sites in NSW.
(Led by A/Prof Phoebe Williams)
Congenital CMV Registry
A multi-site registry describing the outcomes of congenital CMV infection among Australian children.
(Led by Prof Pam Palasanthiran)
Our results
The team consistently contributes to literature in the areas of infectious diseases, paediatrics, microbiology, and antimicrobial stewardship and resistance. This includes:
- Internationally recognised research leaders in paediatric infectious diseases, CMV, HIV, respiratory viruses, neonatal infections, antimicrobial resistance and antibiotic stewardship.
- High research output, as individual researchers and as a team.
- The contribution to, and development of, national and international policy, for example (i) guidelines for transitioning from IV to oral antibiotic therapy in children undertaken with the Australia and New Zealand Paediatric Infectious Diseases Group; (ii) neonatal antiretroviral prophylaxis strategies; (iii) WHO guidelines on the prioritisation of antibiotics required to treat paediatric infections; and (iv) the ASID perinatal infections management guidelines (chief editor Prof Pam Palasanthiran).
- Formulating guidelines for the management of COVID-19 in children with the National COVID-19 Clinical Evidence Taskforce.
- Awarded multiple grants from the NHMRC, MRFF, UNSW, University of Sydney, DFAT, Sydney Children’s Hospitals Foundation, and others.
Our research team
PhD Opportunities
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Invasive fungal infections are increasing globally and constitute an under-recognised health threat in children, particularly those who are immunodeficient due to inborn errors of immunity or medical immunosuppressive therapy, as for childhood cancer. In Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand, epidemiology and clinical data have been limited to date, especially for children. In 2025 we are launching ANZMyc KIDS, a national registry that collects information on fungal infections in children from hospitals across both countries. The registry will help identify trends, improve diagnosis and treatment, and ultimately lead to better outcomes for affected children. We are seeking a PhD student to work on building this registry and coordinate initial studies arising.
Contact
For more information or expressions of interest for this project, students should contact Dr Brendan McMullan.
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Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are a diverse group of diseases that cause considerable human, social and economic burden largely borne by impoverished communities. They are a target for global action in the Sustainable Developments Goals, but many low and middle income countries remain endemic for NTDs and need to strengthen their control strategies to meet the World Health Organization (WHO) targets for control and elimination by 2030. A factor hindering progress towards the control and elimination of NTDs is the conventional methods used to evaluate disease prevalence and inform control strategies, as they do not adequately account for spatial aspects of disease epidemiology and the environmental and climatic drivers of disease transmission.
Geostatistics incorporates a collection of powerful statistical methods that can be used to evaluate spatial correlations of disease related to climatic, environmental and animal or human population factors. This is particularly advantageous in the context of NTDs that are often reliant on the ecological niches of the infectious agents and vectors that drive disease transmission.
This project will capitalize on existing and developing NTD studies across Africa and Asia-Pacific to develop detailed predictions of NTD prevalence and burden that will better inform control strategies. Furthermore, geostatistical adaptive designs will be used to design subsequent NTD surveys to evaluate the impact of control strategies and inform subsequent control programs as countries strive towards the WHO 2030 targets for NTD control and elimination.
This project is open to Domestic and International applicants and would suit someone with a passion for infections diseases and global health. Experience in epidemiology or biostatistics and in analysing large-scale datasets is preferable.
Contact
Express your interest by emailing Dr Adam Bartlett at abartlett@kirby.unsw.edu.au. Include a copy of your CV.
Our collaborators
- Australasian Society for Infectious Diseases (ASID) and the Australia and New Zealand Society for Infectious Diseases Paediatric Interest Group (ANZPID)
- Australian Paediatric Surveillance Unit (APSU)
- Australasian Society for HIV, Viral Hepatitis and Sexual Health Medicine (ASHM)
- Paediatric Active Enhanced Disease Surveillance network (PAEDS)
- Sydney Children’s Hospital Network
- Sydney Infectious Diseases Institute
- United Nations Development Programme and ACT-UP PNG