Our Team

A paediatrician and infectious diseases specialist, Professor Carapetis has been working to reduce the Strep A burden for nearly three decades. During that time, he’s contributed to the prevention, diagnosis and management of Strep A-related diseases across the world and in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. He co-founded Reach (Rheumatic heart disease. Evidence. Advocacy. Communication. Hope) and was the Australian lead investigator on CANVAS (Coalition to Advance Vaccines Against Group A Streptococcus). A Professor at the University of Western Australia, Professor Carapetis is Executive Director of The Kids Research Institute Australia, Head of The Kids Research Institute Australia Strep A and Rheumatic Heart Disease Team and holds a clinical position with Perth Children’s Hospital. 

Professor Steer is a paediatric infectious diseases physician and researcher. He heads up a research program that aims to prevent and control poverty-related tropical infectious diseases such as scabies and those related to Strep A. Accelerating the development of Strep A vaccines is a top priority for Professor Steer, who also leads a world-first human infection study of Strep A pharyngitis that will soon be used as a platform to test new vaccines. Professor Steer is Co-Chair of the Strep A Global Vaccine Consortium (SAVAC), providing a strong link to international Strep A vaccine efforts. Professor Steer is based at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, where he is Director of the Infection and Immunity Theme. He is a paediatric infectious diseases physician at the Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne and a Professorial Research Fellow in the Department of Paediatrics at the University of Melbourne. 

Alma is an immunologist with more than 15 years of experience in the biotech and pharma sectors working at the interface of academia and industry. Before joining the ASAVI team, Alma led research and development projects in Australia and Switzerland and completed postdoctoral training at the WHO Centre for Neonatal Immunology and Vaccinology in Geneva. Alma is an Adjunct Senior Lecturer at the University of Western Australia, where she lectures in immunology and researches vaccine development for infectious diseases such as Streptococcus pyogenes, Helicobacter pylori, otitis media and other infections. Alma has a keen interest in translating evidence-based research into clinical outcomes and brings expertise in product development, clinical trials, regulatory, patents, and project management. 

A proud Noongar man, Glenn Pearson is the Director of Aboriginal Health and a member of The Kids Research Institute Australia’s Leadership Team. His projects ensure that the needs of Aboriginal children and their families are included in all operations at the Institute. A trained primary school teacher, Glenn has also spent over 15 years in senior positions in State and Federal government, across health, education and child protection sectors. Glenn is the Chair of the Australian National University’s National Indigenous Genomic Centre, and Inaugural Chair of the WA Primary Health Alliance’s Strategic Aboriginal Health and Wellbeing Advisory Group. In his role with ASAVI, Glenn works closely with the Co-Directors and Advisory Boards to ensure overall cultural security of the project and guide the development of Community Engagement & Capacity Building activities in rural and remote Aboriginal communities.

Lynsey is an experienced business manager with expertise in financial management, governance, human resources management, communication and stakeholder engagement. Before joining the team at Telethon Kids Institute, Lynsey was a Program Manager at The University of Western Australia.  Lynsey holds a Master of Arts from Glasgow University. In her current role as the Business Manager of ASAVI, Lynsey provides business management and project management support to the ASAVI team.

Angela joined the ASAVI team in 2021.   Angela has a BSc in Pharmacology and Physiology.  Before working with ASAVI, Angela worked as a Research Assistant at The University of Western Australia with the Department of Pharmacology, The Lions Eye Institute in Perth, Australia and for a short while with Carag AG in Baar, Switzerland.  Angela provides support to Sore Throat Study in Perth.

Elizabeth joined the ASAVI team in 2020 at the Kids Research Institute Australia and currently coordinates the implementation of the Sore Throat Study in Perth. Her previous experience includes roles working in the health sector in general and specialist medical practices and in the secondary, vocational and university education sectors. Elizabeth worked as Registered Nurse in public and private hospitals in her early career after graduating from Curtin University with a Bachelor of Science (Nursing).

Michael is a research scientist with 15 years of experience.  Originally from the United States, Michael is a graduate of Stanford University and has worked in both academic and biotech settings.  With prior experience working on liquid biopsies for cancers and on mechanisms, biomarkers, and therapeutics for Alzheimer’s disease, Michael is experienced with a wide array of technologies.  Michael is passionate about establishing and developing assays, problem solving, and building systems to enable robust and impactful research. At ASAVI, Michael leads the lab team at The Kids Research Institute Australia.

Ciara is a passionate research scientist that has been working as a study co-ordinator and research assistant with the Tropical Diseases group at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute since 2011. She has been involved in many Group A Strep research projects. Her work experience encompasses various areas of infectious diseases research and epidemiology, molecular diagnostic laboratory techniques, surveillance studies and clinical studies. Originally from Ireland, Ciara studied as microbiologist at University College Dublin and holds a Bachelor honours degree in Science and a Master of Science in Biomedical Science. She joined ASAVI in 2020 and is a Project Coordinator with the Sore Throat Study in Melbourne.

Hannah is a post-doctoral scientific researcher with a career-long focus on Strep A diseases and vaccinology. Hannah’s ongoing research spans both host- and pathogen-related determinants of protective immunity to Strep A infection and implications for vaccine development. Based out of Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Hannah has deep ties to the international Strep A research community after studying and working in four dedicated Strep A research laboratories in Australia, New Zealand and Belgium and is a member of the Strep A Global Vaccine Consortium.

Jasmyn completed her Bachelor of Science (Honours) at Monash University in 2018.  She has since been involved in a range of microbiological projects, including plasmid development, bacterial and yeast co-evolution, anti-microbial resistance, and the Victoria-wide wastewater surveillance initiative for COVID-19.  In 2022 she joined the ASAVI team, where she works in the lab to help identify Strep A and catalogue its prevalence in the community for the Sore Throat study.  Jasmyn’s research interests include Strep A virulence factors and novel diagnostic methods.

Anna completed her Bachelor of Biomedical Science (Honours) at University of Western Australia in 2022 with a research project on antibacterial activity in Western Australian honey. During her undergrad, Anna gained laboratory assistant experience in Virology and Microbiology laboratories. Anna then worked at Western Diagnostic Pathology as laboratory assistant. In 2023, Anna joined the ASAVI team at The Kids Research Institute Australia. As a research assistant with Microbiology background, she cultures and diagnoses throat swab samples contributing to Strep A surveillance studies.