Dr Rebecca Davis
Head of Department
BMBS DTMH FRACP FRCPath (UK) FRCPA
Rebecca Davis is a consultant physician in Infectious Diseases (2004) and a Medical Microbiologist (2007). She graduated from Flinders University, South Australia and undertook infectious diseases and microbiology training in Adelaide, Darwin, Sydney, Oxford and London. Rebecca is a Clinical Senior Lecturer at Sydney University and an examiner in Microbiology for the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia. She has an interest in infections in immunocompromised patients including those who have had solid organ transplants and is involved with Infection Prevention and management in neonatal patients. |
Dr Simeon Crawford
MBBS FRACP
Simeon Crawford is a Staff Specialist in Infectious Diseases. He graduated from the University of NSW in 2005 and completed his training in metropolitan and regional hospitals throughout NSW. After gaining RACP Fellowship in 2015, he worked as an infectious diseases and general physician at Wollongong Hospital, where he was Head of Infectious Diseases, Clinical Senior Lecturer at the University of Wollongong and Research Associate with the Illawarra Health and Medical Research Institute, prior to joining Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in 2022. His clinical and research interests include infections in the immunocompromised host, healthcare-associated infections, antimicrobial stewardship, zoonoses and travel-acquired infections. |
Dr Nila Dharan
MD FRACP PhD
Nila Dharan is an Infectious Diseases physician with a research interest in HIV and public health. She completed her basic physician training and advanced training in Infectious Diseases in the United States and completed a research fellowship with the Epidemic Intelligence Service at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Since completion of her clinical and research fellowships she has worked as a consultant physician in Infectious Diseases and in research.
After moving to Australia in 2016, she completed a PhD in the area of comorbidities and ageing in people with HIV, aimed at understanding the spectrum of comorbidities among persons living with HIV in Australia, and understanding aging-related cellular and molecular changes in people with HIV. Her current research is focused on several areas including HIV comorbidities, HIV and ageing, and HIV prevention. Since 2021, she has been a Staff Specialist in Infectious Diseases at RPA, with a clinical interest immunocompromised individuals including people with HIV. |
Dr Susan Harch
MBBS (Hons) BMedSc (Hons) FRACP FRCPA
Susan Harch is a consultant Infectious Diseases Physician and Clinical Microbiologist. Susan obtained her medical degree from Monash University, Melbourne (2008) and joint Fellowships with the RACP and RCPA in 2021. She undertook her training at The Alfred and Geelong University Hospital in Victoria, the Royal Adelaide Hospital and SA Pathology in Adelaide, Alice Springs Hospital, Northern Territory and the Kimberley Region, Western Australia. Following Fellowship, Susan worked as Clinical Microbiologist and Infectious Diseases Physician at the Royal Darwin Hospital. In this role, Susan led the implementation of local whole genome microbial sequencing for public health and clinical pathogens.
Susan joined the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in 2023. Her passion lies in practising at the intersection of clinical and laboratory medicine in a collaborative, educative and innovative approach. Susan enjoys the breadth of infectious diseases, with particular interests in mycobacterial infections, bioethics and health systems. Within microbiology, she has roles within Bacteriology and Microbial Genomics. |
Dr Andie Lee
MBBS (Hons) DTMH MSc Epidemiology FRACP FRCPA
Andie Lee is a consultant Infectious Diseases Physician and Clinical Microbiologist (dual fellowship 2007). She graduated from the University of Sydney and is a Clinical Senior Lecturer at the University. After completing her specialty training in Australia, she spent 2.5 years as a Research Fellow at the University of Geneva Hospitals, Switzerland, working on a multicentre intervention study comparing strategies to control the spread of antibiotic resistant bacteria in hospitals in Europe and Israel. She has clinical and research interests in the prevention of healthcare associated infections and control of multidrug-resistant organisms, as well as clinical interests in tropical medicine and mycobacterial infections.
She is the Chair of the RPA Infection Prevention and Control Committee and the Australasian Society for Infectious Diseases - Healthcare Infection Special Interest Group. She is also a member of the NSW Clinical Excellence Commission (CEC) Healthcare Associated Infection Expert Advisory Committee, NSW Blood Borne Viruses Advisory Panel, NSW Health Tuberculosis Advisory Committee and the International Society of Chemotherapy (ISC) Infection Control Working Group. |
Dr Tina Marinelli
MBBS MPH&TM FRACP
Dr Tina Marinelli is an Infectious Diseases staff specialist with subspeciality interest in infections in the immunocompromised host and transplant recipients. She completed her medical degree at the University of Adelaide, physicians’ training at various hospitals across South Australia and Master of Public Health and Tropical Medicine at James Cook University. After being awarded her FRACP in 2019, she completed a two-year clinical and research fellowship in transplant, hematology, and oncology infectious diseases at the University of Toronto/Toronto General Hospital, where she also served as the Chief Transplant Fellow. In 2021 she was awarded a ‘Young Investigator Award’ from the American Society of Transplantation for her research on COVID-19 in solid organ transplant recipients. She relocated to Sydney in 2021 and at RPAH, she works in both general and transplant infectious diseases. She is committee member of the Australasian Society for Infectious Diseases Immunocompromised Host Special Interest Group and is involved in writing guidelines on a national and international level (Transplant Society of Australia and New Zealand, American Thoracic Society). She is currently completing an editorial fellowship with the American Journal of Transplantation and is an avid #transplantID tweeter (@marinelli_tina).
Outside of work, Tina enjoys spending time with her young family, training at the gym and exploring the many culinary delights of the Inner West! |
Dr Jeffrey Masters
BS MBBS FRACP
Jeffrey Masters is a consultant in Infectious Diseases. He graduated from the University of Wollongong in 2010. He trained in Newcastle and Perth before moving to Sydney to undertake physician and advanced training at St Vincent’s Hospital and Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. He obtained his fellowship in Infectious Diseases in 2022. He has interests in HIV, infections related to injecting drugs, and health equity. He divides his time between Royal Prince Alfred and The Kirby Institute where he is undertaking a PhD related to improving outcomes in people with injecting related infections. |
Dr Feras Mirdad
MBBS FRACP FRCPA
Feras Mirdad is a consultant Microbiologist and Infectious Diseases physician, having been awarded a joint fellowship in 2022. He earned his degree from the University of New South Wales in 2012. Feras completed the majority of his junior and senior training at various tertiary, quaternary, and private healthcare settings in Sydney, specifically Nepean, Liverpool, St. Vincent's hospitals, and Douglas Hanly Moir pathology. His clinical and research interests lie in transplant microbiology and infectious diseases, mycology diagnostics, and laboratory-based quality improvement projects. These projects encompass service optimization, laboratory stewardship, and diagnostic error prevention. |
Dr Blake Nield
BSc MBBS DTMH FRACP
Blake Nield is a Staff Specialist in Infectious Diseases obtaining his fellowship in 2021. He graduated from the University of Queensland in 2011 and undertook physician and advanced training at the Princess Alexandra (Brisbane), Prince of Wales, St George, and Royal Prince Alfred Hospitals. He is a member of the Australian and New Zealand Mycology Interest Group (ANZMIG), has worked with the World Health Organisation (WHO) in the development of international guidance documents and regularly contributes to the Infectious Diseases literature. He has a passion for teaching students and junior doctors with previous appointments at Sydney University and the University of New South Wales. His clinical and research interests include the human microbiome, therapeutic drug monitoring, data analytics and visualisation, the immunocompromised hosts, mycology and health equity. |
Dr Amrita Ronnachit
MBBS BSc (MedSci) BA MPH DTMH MIDI FRACP
Amrita Ronnachit is an Infectious Diseases Physician who graduated from the University of NSW in 2007. She trained at Concord Hospital, St Vincent’s Hospital and Prince of Wales Hospitals in Sydney. She has lived and worked extensively overseas, primarily in the field of tuberculosis clinical care and health systems strengthening in the Pacific, Central Asia and West Africa. She holds an advisory role working on regional antimicrobial resistance health system strengthening with the Burnet Institute. She is a Clinical Senior lecturer with the Faculty of Medicine and Health at the University of Sydney, and has held technical advisory roles with the World Health Organisation. Her interests are broad and include antimicrobial resistance and antimicrobial stewardship, global health and health equity, health systems strengthening and medical education. |
Prof Sebastian van Hal
MBChB FRACP FRCPA PhD
Sebastian van Hal obtained his medical degree from The University of Cape Town, South Africa, in 1995. After working extensively in Africa and Europe, he moved to Australia and completed his training in Infectious Diseases and Microbiology. He is a Staff Specialist at the Department of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital and a Conjoint Associate Professor at the School of Medicine, University of Western Sydney. He has published over a 100 peer reviewed papers focusing on the consequences and mechanisms of antibiotic resistance in Staphylococcus aureus and Enterococcus faecium. In 2014 he spent time at the Oxford Genomics Centre acquiring the skills required for translation of microbial genomics into hospital epidemiology and is responsible for this evolving service at RPAH. He is also an active member of AGAR (Australian Group of Antimicrobial Resistance) and AURA (Antimicrobial Use and Resistance in Australia) and ANZMIG (Australian New Zealand Mycology Interest Group) which have led to several prominent publications including the development of the Antifungal Consensus guidelines. |
