Preventing pneumococcal disease in the Asia-Pacific

Abstract  

Streptococcus pneumoniae (the pneumococcus) is major global pathogen, disproportionately affecting children in lower income settings. Pneumococcal diseases include pneumonia, meningitis, septicaemia and otitis media (ear infection). Most children carry pneumococci asymptomatically in their nose, which is a prerequisite for disease. 

Our research examines the impact of vaccines on pneumococcal carriage, transmission and disease, spanning both laboratory and translational science. In this seminar I will present recent data from our vaccine impact studies in low and middle-income settings in the Asia Pacific. 

Biography 

A/Prof Catherine Satzke leads the Translational Microbiology Group at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute in Melbourne. Her research is supported by national and international funders, including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and NHMRC. Catherine collaborates widely including with researchers from high and low-income settings, clinicians, epidemiologists and immunologists.  

Catherine has a passion for microbiology in general, reflected in her roles as Chair of the Victorian branch of the Australian Society for Microbiology and as a board member of the International Society of Pneumonia and Pneumococcal Diseases.