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
About The Feery Oration
The Feery Oration is proudly sponsored by CSL Seqirus. This is the 18th Oration to be delivered in honour of Dr Brian Feery, a most distinguished scientist who has made a major contribution to and passion for immunisation and public health in Australia. Throughout his career Dr Feery worked tirelessly in vaccine research, which included at CSL in the areas of preventable diseases of children, influenza vaccine, the development of Q Fever vaccine and studies into smallpox vaccine. His other key appointments included: Senior Associate in the Melbourne University Department of Medicine; Member of the research committee of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners; and he was also the director of the WHO Influenza Reference Centre from 1974-1978. He championed the promotion of immunisation in Australia through education and the development of immunisation policy until his retirement in 1990.​
Sponsored by:
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2026 Feery Orator
Kristen Macartney
Director National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance (NCIRS)
​​Professor Kristine Macartney is a paediatrician and infectious disease specialist, with more than 30 years experience in vaccinology and public health. She graduated in medicine from the University of New South Wales and completed specialist training in Sydney and at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia in the United States. Her Doctorate of Medicine focused on rotavirus infection, with particular emphasis on the mucosal immune response to emerging vaccine candidates. During her time in Philadelphia, she was a founding member of the Vaccine Education Centre at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
Professor Macartney currently serves as the Director of the National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance (NCIRS) and is a Professor in Faculty of Medicine and Health at the University of Sydney. Her research spans Australia and the globe and she has a particular focus on vaccine safety, the translation of evidence into policy and practice, and a wide range of vaccine-preventable diseases, with a particular focus on rotavirus, varicella zoster virus, and influenza. She has authored more than 300 peer-reviewed publications, is a long-standing member of the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) and the Communicable Diseases Network Australia (CDNA), and previously chaired the Therapeutic Goods Administration’s Advisory Committee on Vaccines (ACV). She has also developed and/or led many key national collaborations and programs, including as senior technical editor of the Australian Immunisation Handbook, leadership of Australia’s national AusVaxSafety and Paediatric Active Enhanced Disease Surveillance (PAEDS) networks and is the founding chair of the Australian Regional Immunisation Alliance (ARIA).
Internationally, Professor Macartney serves as an expert consultant to the World Health Organization (WHO) on numerous committees, including subcommittees of the WHO-SAGE, and as co-chair of the WHO Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety (GACVS). She also leads a growing global health team at NCIRS that works actively across the Asia Pacific region in over 12 countries supporting their immunisation system strengthening efforts.