Including partners in the treatment and prevention of bacterial vaginosis

Professor Catriona Bradshaw 

This presentation will cover the evidence for and findings of the world’s first successful male partner treatment trial for bacterial vaginosis (BV), the StepUp trial, published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2025.  

BV affects 1 in 4 women of reproductive age globally and increases the risk of broad range of sequelae including STIs, HIV, spontaneous abortion and pre-term birth. The StepUp trial provided the first conclusive evidence that BV is sexually transmissible, and that reinfection from sexual partners is behind the low rates of cure with recommended treatments.  

This presentation will discuss practical approaches to implementation and describe how this paradigm shift in knowledge has created new opportunities for BV cure and prevention and transformed global clinical practice and policy.

Syphilis is back and Doxy-PEP has arrived. STI updates 

Dr Stephanie Bond

Syphilis is making headlines, with rising notifications, ongoing outbreaks and increasing cases of congenital syphilis across Australia. But syphilis is only one part of a rapidly changing sexual health landscape. 

In this practical update, Dr Stephanie Bond will explore the syphilis CDINS declaration, including current epidemiology, clinical presentations, testing recommendations and opportunities to prevent missed diagnoses. The session will also cover other key developments in sexual health, including Doxy-PEP, antimicrobial-resistant gonorrhoea, HIV prevention, and emerging trends in STI testing and management. 

When allergy strikes: A diagnostic roadmap for urticaria, angioedema and anaphylaxis

Dr Jonathan Pham

This session will explore a practical, stepwise approach to diagnosing common allergic presentations in acute care and introduction in management.

It covers focused clinical examination, targeted investigations, and treatment strategies to help distinguish urticaria from other rashes, identifying angioedema and anaphylaxis.

Update on Hantavirus

Dr Katherine Bond

Update on Hantavirus infections, including epidemiology and the recent Andes virus outbreak, including clinical and diagnostic features.

COPD: biologics and new treatment approaches

Professor Natasha Smallwood

This presentation will focus on findings from recent trials in COPD, as well as updates regrading new clinical guidelines and standards.

Sepsis 2026 – the new Victorian Adult Sepsis Pathway and challenges around the sepsis diagnosis and management

Dr Raquel Cowan

This session will review the development of the Adult Sepsis Pathway in Victoria and include a brief overview of the 2026 Surviving Sepsis Guidelines.

An update on management of staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia

Professor Steven Tong

Professor Steven Tong will provide a state-of-the-art update on staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia including recently published clinical trials which have re-defined the landscape of treatment choices.

Diphtheria outbreak in the Northern Territory

Dr Elly Layton

This presentation will provide an overview of the diphtheria outbreak in the NT including key contributors and control methods.

Dr Stephanie Bond

Dr Stephanie Bond is a dual trained Obstetrician and Gynaecologist and Sexual Health Physician based in Melbourne. She is Clinical Lead of the Sexual Health and Rapid Access Gynaecology Service (SHRAS) at the Royal Women’s Hospital, a consultant at the Melbourne Sexual Health Centre and the Mercy Hospital Vulval Dermatology Clinic.

Stephanie has a particular interest in sexually transmitted infections in women, vulval disorders and reproductive sexual health. She is currently undertaking a PhD focused on congenital syphilis prevention and implementation of repeat syphilis screening in pregnancy.

She is Vice President of the Australia and New Zealand Vulvovaginal Society (ANZVS), a committee member of the Australasian Chapter of Sexual Health Medicine and RANZCOG Sexual & Reproductive Health committee and convenor of the 2026 AChSHM Annual Scientific Meeting.

Dr Jonathan Pham

Dr Jonathan Pham is a consultant physician at the Alfred Hospital's Asthma, Allergy and Clinical Immunology (AACI) service, where he leads the Complex Airways Clinic. Jonathan’s research focuses on the origins of allergy and asthma, exploring risk factors like genetics, diet, and obesity.

His PhD work earned him the prestigious 2020 NHMRC Gustav Nossal Award, recognising him as the top PhD grant recipient in Australia in the field of clinical medicine and science.

Currently, he leads a multidisciplinary research collaboration at the University of Melbourne/Alfred Hospital that aims to improve aeroallergen mapping in Melbourne, develop biomarkers, and predict allergen sensitisation based on seasonal symptoms.

Dr Katherine Bond

Dr Katherine Bond is an infectious diseases physician and medical microbiologist at Royal Melbourne Hospital and the Doherty Institute Melbourne.

Currently Acting Director of the Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory, a national reference laboratory for the detection of high consequence pathogens and emerging infectious diseases.

Associate Professor Kudzai Kanhutu

Associate Professor Kudzai Kanhutu FRACP; MBBS (Hons); BA/BSc; MPH; GAICD; EMBA is the Dean of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians with a broad portfolio encompassing workforce planning, policy, research, philanthropy and global health.

A general infectious diseases physician, she continues to provide clinical care to patients at Royal Melbourne Hospital (RMH). Associate Professor Kudzai takes a keen interest in social justice and has received national award recognition for her contribution to refugee care and digital health initiatives.

She has a particular interest in technical solutions to health problems from her experiences of health innovation in her birth country Zimbabwe and working in rural and regional Australia.

Professor Natasha Smallwood

Professor Natasha Smallwood is the Professor and Director of Respiratory Medicine at the Alfred Hospital (Melbourne) and School of Translational Medicine at Monash University (Melbourne, Australia). In addition to her respiratory qualifications, she holds postgraduate qualifications in Medical Leadership, Epidemiology and Palliative Care.

Professor Smallwood has authored over 170 publications and been awarded approximately AUD$12 million as major research grants. She has clinical and research interests in severe lung disease, particularly chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and interstitial lung disease.

Professor Smallwood is the President for the Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand, a past Board Director for the Victorian Doctors Health Program (Australia) and holds multiple leadership roles. She is a taskforce member for various national and international respiratory guidelines. She recently worked with the Australian Commission for Safety and Quality in Healthcare to develop the first ever national clinical care standard in respiratory medicine for people with COPD.

Dr Raquel Cowan

Dr Raquel Cowan is the head of Infectious Diseases and Co-Clinical Director of Hospital Without Walls at Grampians Health.

Raquel also works as an ID physician at Northern Health and was the medical lead for the Better Care Victoria ‘Think sepsis. Act fast’ sepsis collaborative in 2018.

Raquel is now part of the sepsis expert working group for the SCV Adult Sepsis Collaborative which is rolling out the new Adult Sepsis Pathway in over 50 ED’s and Urgent Care Centres across Victoria.

Professor Steven Tong

Professor Steven Tong is a practising infectious diseases physician at the Royal Melbourne Hospital; Professor of Infectious Diseases, Co-Head of Clinical and Health Services Research at the Doherty Institute, University of Melbourne and Head of Adaptive Platform Trials at the Melbourne Centre for Clinical Trials, University of Melbourne.

He leads the Staphylococcus Aureus Network Adaptive Platform trial, which is recruiting participants in over 150 hospitals in 14 countries.

His research interests include clinical trials for bloodstream infections and acute respiratory tract infections, staphylococcal and streptococcal genomics, and infections affecting Australian First Nations populations.

Dr Elly Layton

Dr Elly Layton is a public health physician specialising in communicable disease control.

She completed her FAFPHM training in Victoria and now holds a position at the Centre for Disease Control in the Northern Territory.