Communicable Diseases & Immunisation Conference 2026
'Public Health at Risk - Collective Solutions to New Challenges'
Monday 15 to Wednesday 17 June 2026 | Marvel Stadium Melbourne/Naarm, Wurundjeri Country, VIC
#CDIC2026
Keynote Speakers
​Below are the confirmed keynote speakers for the Communicable Diseases & Immunisation Conference 2026. Watch this space as more speakers are confirmed.
Dr Gina Samaan
Regional Emergency Director, WHO Health Emergencies Programme
Dr Gina Samaan, is a prominent field epidemiologist and global health leader currently serving as the Regional Emergency Director for the World Health Organization (WHO) Western Pacific Region. Based in the Philippines, she oversees WHO’s work on preparedness for and response to infectious and other public health hazards across the 38 countries and areas in the region.
Dr Ushma Wadia
Infectious Diseases Researcher, The Kids Research Institute of Australia; PhD Candidate and Clinical Senior Lecturer, University of Western Australia
Dr Ushma Wadia is a paediatrician and clinical researcher in Perth, Western Australia, focusing on infectious diseases, vaccinology, and respiratory virus surveillance. She is a PhD candidate and Clinical Senior Lecturer at the University of Western Australia. Her PhD focuses on evaluating the effectiveness of RSV immunisation strategies for Australian children.
Dr Conall Watson
Consultant epidemiologist in the UK Health Security Agency's immunisation and vaccine preventable disease division.
Dr Conall Watson is a consultant epidemiologist and joint head of the respiratory virus section of the UK Health Security Agency's Immunisation and Vaccine-Preventable Diseases Division. His work encompasses immunisation programme design, implementation and evaluation, and the surveillance and control of respiratory virus diseases including influenza and RSV. Conall trained in clinical pharmacy and public health in the UK, and was a coinvestigator in the World Health Organization's Ebola ring vaccination trial. He has a PhD from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine on infectious disease dynamics in Melanesia.
Professor Paul Kelly
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​Professor Paul Kelly is an Australian public health physician, epidemiologist and public servant who was the Chief Medical Officer of Australia. Professor Paul Kelly served as the head of Interm of Australian Centre for Disease Control (CDC), helping lay its foundational structure. He is one of the leads in developing the FluCAN project – a national influenza surveillance system used by hospitals to track patients who are hospitalised with influenza. He has worked around the world, in health system development and infectious disease epidemiology and has over 30 years of research experience in respiratory infectious diseases and has published more than 120 peer-reviewed articles.
Mr Richard Brett
President of Ogilvy Public Relations Asia Pacific
CEO of Ogilvy Public Relations ANZ, Social@Ogilvy Australia & Ogilvy Health Australia.
​Richard Brett has over 25 years’ experience of marketing communications, brand strategy and communications agency leadership. His passions including using public relations and social media to lead integrated campaigns, outcome-based measurement and using new technology to drive innovative creativity for brands. Richard is President of Ogilvy PR Asia Pacific, as well as CEO for Ogilvy PR ANZ and Ogilvy Health Australia, leading a team across 14 markets to deliver consumer PR, public affairs, influencer marketing, sustainability, corporate, B2B, investor relations and healthcare. ​
Associate Professor Sanjaya Senanayake
ANU School of Medicine and Psychology
Infectious Diseases Specialist
Apart from his clinical work in treating Infectious Diseases, Sanjaya has spent much of his 30-year career communicating communicable disease information in the local and international media.