Dear all,
The September newsletter is a bumper edition with a second NHMRC CRE for NCIC and a second for our sister CRE NCAS announced and an ANZMIG grant awarded to Dr Zoe Neoh. We welcome a visiting resident doctor in Infectious and Tropical Diseases at the University of Bologna - Sant'Orsola-Malpighi Hospital, Italy, Dr Beatrice Miani. We also have two important surveys open and invite you to participate in the INTERACT study run by our feature NCIC PhD clinician Dr Priya Garg and an International Immunocompromised Host Society (ICHS) education needs survey. We ran a hugely successful Pharmacy PhD Career night this last month, you can view the career journey stories of our amazing NCIC and NCAS Pharmacists on our youtube channel. Also on our youtube channel is a recent open Unit meeting “C. difficile round table: spotlight on the cancer FMT experience” which is a must watch as we plan to implement FMTs in ICH patients in Melbourne. Also announcing some save the dates for NCIC symposium “Tackiling Fungal Infections” with a fantastic line up of presenters, and Forbes week featuring ICHS Council alum Prof Camille Kotton, MD coming up in November.
Grant announcements
NHMRC Centre for Research Excellence
Transforming infection management in the era of emerging cancer therapies is the second NHMRC Centre for Research Excellence (CRE) grant awarded to the NCIC team. Building on our initial CRE in 2017 and ongoing Synergy grant (awarded in 2022) we will lead a programme aimed at improving infection management for patients undergoing new cancer therapies. With the rise of immune system-targeting treatments like CAR T-cell therapy and small molecule inhibitors, survival rates for cancer patients have increased dramatically. However, these therapies come with a heightened risk of infections, which remain a leading cause of mortality among treated individuals.
We will utilise real-world data to better understand infection rates, risk factors, and outcomes in patients post-therapy. The goal is to develop new care models and enhance infection prevention strategies by leveraging digital health technologies, such as electronic health records.
This approach promises to optimise patient outcomes and establish new standards in infection management for cancer care and we are excited to pioneer research that integrates cutting-edge digital health solutions with real-world clinical data. Our aim is to lead both nationally and internationally in transforming how infections are managed in the era of advanced cancer therapies.
ANZMIG Research grant awarded to Dr Zoe Neoh
Susceptibilities of clinical non-Aspergillus mould (NAM) isolates to current and new antifungal agents in Australia and New Zealand or the NAM study has received funding support from ANZMIG to perform isolate susceptibility testing in conjunction with NCIC collaborator Prof Sharon Chen, Westmead, Sydney. Congratulations Zoe and team! You can hear more from Zoe and her career journey as a Pharmacist PhD on our Pharmacy PhD Career night recording.
We need your help!
The ICHS is conducting an informal educational needs assessment to identify gaps in knowledge and educational needs for those treating immunocompromised patients. Please respond to this brief 6-question survey by September 13, 2024.
INTERACT Study
On behalf of the INTERACT study group (headed by Professor Monica Slavin, Professor Lisa Hall and A/Professor Leon Worth) at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and National Centre for Infections in Cancer, you are invited to participate in an Australia/New Zealand survey on infection prevention and surveillance practice in the care of those with cancer and or transplant (solid-organ/haematopoietic stem-cell).
This survey seeks input from all infectious diseases/ microbiology and or infection prevention healthcare professionals (physicians/registrars/ nurses and allied health) working with hospitalised adult cancer and or transplant recipients in Australasian healthcare facilities, and is being conducted to establish knowledge and better understand clinical practice in infection prevention well as mechanisms for monitoring and reporting of opportunistic and healthcare-associated pathogens amongst this vulnerable group.
Participants will not be required to input their name or that of their facility, and multiple respondents from the same facility may participate.
Results from this study will support focussed quality improvement projects to help reduce the incidence of preventable infection amongst this high-risk immunocompromised cohort. Your participation is vital in aiding further research in this area, and we are grateful for your consideration.
The survey should take no longer than 10-15 minutes to complete
Welcome International Fellow
Welcome Dr Beatrice Miani
Visiting resident doctor in Infectious and Tropical Diseases at the University of Bologna - Sant'Orsola-Malpighi Hospital, Italy.
Seminars to watch
Staff profile: Dr Priya Garg MBBS BSc DTM&H FRACP
Infectious Diseases Physician
NCIC PhD Candidate
ASID HICSIG Committee
Priya’s PhD will work in collaboration with Australasian healthcare-workers to establish current knowledge, clinical practice and infrastructure for infection prevention and surveillance of healthcare-associated and opportunistic infections in the vulnerable cancer and transplant population nationwide. This will be built on by a multi-site project with the aim of quantifying rates of key infections amongst this cohort and identifying modifiable risk factors at a patient level. Dr Garg will then use this data to determine infectious priorities and ultimately support focussed nationally applicable quality improvement projects with the overall objective of informing future strategy to strengthen infection prevention and surveillance in cancer and transplant across Australasia. Supervised by Professor Monica Slavin, Professor Lisa Hall and A/Professor Leon Worth we look forward to following Priya’s PhD progress!
The INTERACT Study survey is now open
Upcoming meetings
Forbes Week
November 13-15 2024
Oration and Dinner Thursday 14th Nov
Camille Nelson Kotton MD, FIDSA, FAST is the Clinical Director of Transplant and Immunocompromised Host Infectious Diseases in the Infectious Diseases Division at the Massachusetts General Hospital. She spends the majority of her time seeing inpatients and outpatients, before and after solid organ and bone marrow transplant, as well as other immunocompromised hosts. Her interests include vaccination, travel medicine for transplant recipients, and reducing the infectious risks of immunocompromising medications. She has written numerous articles and chapters, and also speaks nationally and internationally on a regular basis. She is the past chair of the Infectious Disease Community of Practice, American Society of Transplantation, and is on the planning committee for the American Transplant Congress. She has excellent clinic flexibility and can often see transplant patients on a fairly immediate basis.
Please speak to your local Forbes week organising committee member for more info
Camille Kotton, MD
Infectious Disease Specialist
Clinical Director, Transplant and Immunocompromised Host Infectious Diseases
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 and Transplantation