Dear Colleagues,
Welcome to the final NCIC Newsletter of the year. This 2025 edition reflects on a year of achievement, highlighting the progress, partnerships and innovations that continue to strengthen our network. I am very proud of our team and look forward to what we can accomplish as we transition into 2026. Wishing everyone a calm and restful holiday break, and a fresh start to the new year.
ELSA-Adult Study Launches
The ELSA-Adult study has launched at Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and the Royal Melbourne Hospital to assess whether antibiotics can be safely stopped early in high-risk cancer patients. Funded by Tour de Cure and VCCC, the study focuses on patients receiving intensive chemotherapy, stem cell transplants or CAR T-cell therapy. These patients often receive prolonged antibiotics for fever despite no infection being found.
Embedded in the electronic medical record, ELSA-Adult is adapted from the successful paediatric ELSA study at the Royal Children’s Hospital. The trial compares standard antibiotic duration with early cessation under strict safety criteria, aiming to reduce unnecessary antibiotic use while maintaining patient safety.
2025 in review
We are delighted to celebrate the outstanding achievements of our colleagues across the department.
Awards and Recognitions
Prof Karin Thursky celebrated a series of major achievements:
· Launch of the Health Services Research Department at PMCC
· Recipient of a VCCC Leadership Award
· Inducted into the RMH Hall of Fame
Associate Professor Ben Teh, Professor Monica Slavin, Professor Karin Thursky were recognised as the Top 2% cited scientists worldwide
Prof Leon Worth was promoted to full Professor, UoM Sir Peter MacCallum Dept. Oncology
A/Prof Gabrielle Haeusler was appointed Head of Department, Infectious Diseases at the Royal Children’s Hospital
Prof Monica Slavin joined JAC as Editor in Chief
Grants, Presentations & Publications
Doctor Abby Douglas was awarded the 2025 Peter Mac Research Early Career Development (RECD) Award
Associate Professor Michelle Yong and the trials team had a high-profile publication in Clinical Infectious Diseases “Interferon-α nasal spray prophylaxis reduces COVID-19 in cancer patients; A randomized, double-blinded placebo-controlled trial”, CID 2025
Associate Professor Ben Teh and Doctor Victoria Hall had a high-profile publication in the New England Journal of Medicine “Influenza Vaccination Strategies in Patients with Hematologic Cancer” NEJM 2025
Doctor Zoe Neoh– Won Best Poster at the Mycology Masterclass and awarded a Pfizer ISR Grant “Isavuconazole treatment and prophylaxis in adult and paediatric patients with cancer - a multicentre national study (the SHIELD study)”
In 2025 we held the NCIC showcase
The showcase was a fantastic opportunity to highlight the work of the National Centre for Infections in Cancer- who we are, the projects we’re leading, our achievements, and what lies ahead.
Part 1: Intro to the Centre + Surveillance Stream on detecting & monitoring infections in the immunocompromised host (ICH) in the digital health era.
Watch part 1.
Part 2: Innovations Stream on new diagnostics & treatments in precision medicine + Implementation Stream on improving practice through health services research.
Watch part 2.
NCIC Recent Publications
Garg P, Yong KY, Khanina A, Yong MK, Hall L, Slavin MA, Smibert O, Worth LJ Infection Prevention and Surveillance in the Care of Australasian Solid-Organ Transplant Recipients Transpl Infect Dis. 2025
Reynolds GK, Slavin MA Reporting infections in cellular therapies Blood Adv. 2025 Dec
Yeoh DK, Butters C, Clark JE, Slavin MA, McMullan BJ, Haeusler GM, Blyth CC Invasive mould infection in children – advances made or obstacles remaining? Clin Microbiol Infect. 2025
Khanina A, Singh N, Wen J, Chen C, James R, Kong DC, Slavin MA, Thursky KA Antifungal use and appropriateness: a study of Australian Hospital National Antimicrobial Prescribing Survey data Antimicrob Steward Healthc Epidemiol. 2025
Neoh CF, Yong MK, Rowley L, Roberts AW, Kennedy GA, He S, Schwarer AP, Bilmon IA, Wei AH, Slavin MA Antifungal prophylaxis in patients with FLT3-ITD-positive acute myeloid leukaemia receiving sorafenib during induction and consolidation (ALLG AMLM16 trial) J Antimicrob Chemother. 2025
Martin-Loeches I, Cornely OA, Denning DW, Guinea J, Bassetti M, Maertens J, Hoenigl M, Kanj SS, Slavin M, Ostrosky-Zeichner L, Muñoz P Invasive candidiasis in intensive care medicine: shaping the future of diagnosis and therapy Intensive Care Med. 2025
Upcoming Events
Please join us for the ICHS symposium, the event offers comprehensive scientific programming, insights into cutting-edge research, innovative care practices, and effective management strategies for immunocompromised hosts.
Abstracts Deadline Extended!
The Call for Abstracts for the ICHS 24th Biennial Symposium deadline has been extended to Monday, January 5, 2026.
This is a firm deadline. We strongly encourage you to submit your abstract at least one day before the deadline to avoid any technical delays.
Submit your abstract to be considered for an oral or poster presentation during the Symposium.
Follow us!
We look forward to connecting with you on both LinkedIn and BlueSky.
Kind regards,
Prof Monica Slavin, MBBS, MD, FRACP, FAAHMS
Head, Department Infectious Disease, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre
Professor of Infection in Cancer and Transplantation, University of Melbourne Department of Infectious Diseases and the Sir Peter MacCallum Department of Oncology
Director, National Centre for Infections in Cancer