Infectious Diseases
The curriculum for Advanced Training in Infectious Diseases has been redesigned. From 2026, first year trainees will be enrolled in the new curriculum.
A new curriculum for Infectious Diseases was redesigned through a 5-stage process. The curriculum was widely consulted on and approved by the College Education Committee and will be implemented with incoming first year trainees in 2026.
The new curriculum is a competency-based programs and include new learning goals, assessment tools, criteria for progression throughout the phases of training, and will be supported by a new technology platform, the Training Management Platform (TMP).
You can find the new curriculum support information and training resources at RACP Online Learning.
Subject matter experts
Specialist contractor
The specialist contractor developed an initial draft specialty curriculum in line with College-approved educational models and templates, quality standards, and project deadlines.
Associate Professor Claire Dendle, MBBS, FRACP, PhD, GCHPE | Specialist contractor
Claire is an infectious diseases trained specialist with expertise in infections in the immunocompromised host. She is the clinical lead of the Infection and Immunity Service at Monash Health. Her primary research interests are infections in solid organ transplant recipients, patients with rheumatological diseases and vaccination responses. She is an Associate Professor with the School of Clinical Sciences at Monash University. She holds several leadership roles in the Monash Infectious Diseases Unit and is Director of Physician Education at Monash Health.
Curriculum Review Group
The Curriculum Review Group reviewed and refined the draft curriculum in preparation for broad consultation.
See the Curriculum Review Group for Infectious Diseases Terms of Reference (PDF) for more information.
Members
Dr Emily Rowe, MBBS, FRACP | Chair
Emily is an infectious diseases physician and clinical educator at the Central Adelaide Local Health Network. She is involved with supervision, mentorship, and teaching across the training continuum and is the Director of Clinical Training at the Royal Adelaide Hospital. She is completing a Master of Health Professions Education through Monash University and has undertaken curriculum development for undergraduate and postgraduate programs. Emily is the coordinator of infectious diseases advanced training in South Australia and a member of the National Examining Panel for the RACP divisional clinical exam. She is the Deputy Director of infectious diseases at the Central Adelaide Local Health Network and clinical lead for antimicrobial stewardship, and high consequence infectious diseases. She has a clinical and research interest in viral hepatitis, tropical infections, and infections in critically ill patients.
Dr Brendan McMullan, FRACP | Deputy Chair
Brendan is a paediatric infectious diseases specialist and microbiologist at Sydney Children’s Hospital, Randwick. He is also a senior research Fellow in the faculty of medicine and health, discipline of paediatrics, at the University of New South Wales. He is the current Chair of the Australian and New Zealand Paediatric Infectious Diseases (ANZPID) Group within the Australasian Society for Infectious Diseases (ASID). His research focuses on improving antibiotic use and treating infections in children, particularly immunocompromised children and newborns. His research methodologies include leveraging surveillance data, implementation science, and contributing to guideline and policy development in these areas.
Dr Anushia Ashokan, FRACP, MPHTM, PhD
Anushia is an infectious diseases consultant at Royal Adelaide Hospital and Queen Elizabeth Hospital. She enjoys both clinical and research activities. She is actively mentoring medical students, junior medical staff, and advanced trainees. In addition, she serves as a Clinical Associate Lecturer at the University of Adelaide.
Dr Nick Douglas, FRACP
Nick is an infectious diseases physician at Christchurch Hospital, a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Medicine at the University of Otago, and a Senior Research Fellow in the Division of Global and Tropical Health at Menzies School of Health Research, Darwin, Australia. He co-convenes the Advanced Medicine Module in the 5th-year undergraduate medicine programme at the University of Otago, Christchurch, and is heavily involved in postgraduate research student supervision. Nick's primary research interests are Plasmodium vivax malaria and leprosy. He is the Deputy Chair of the Aotearoa New Zealand Infectious Diseases Advanced Training Committee.
Dr Carly Hughes, FRACP
Carly is an infectious diseases physician and microbiologist based in Townsville, Queensland. Her areas of special interest include infections in immunocompromised hosts, tropical medicine, and the mentorship and wellbeing of trainees.
Dr Sadid Khan, FRACP
Sadid is an infectious diseases physician and clinical microbiologist dedicated to helping train future professionals.
Dr Varsha Sivalingam
Varsha is a dual trainee in infectious diseases and microbiology. She has gained valuable experience in public health through her work with the NSW Ministry of Health during the COVID-19 Delta outbreak. After completing her initial year of clinical infectious disease training at The Canberra Hospital, she began her first year of microbiology training at Nepean Hospital. Currently, she is in her final year of microbiology training at the Institute of Clinical Pathology and Medical Research at Westmead Hospital. She has a strong interest in diagnostic stewardship, quality assurance, bacteriology, public health, and emerging infectious diseases.
Dr Ali Trad, FRACP
Ali is an infectious diseases physician currently based in Launceston General Hospital, Tasmania, where he is also the Infection Control Lead. He has previously worked in various infectious diseases departments including the Royal Hobart Hospital, Oxford University, and Wollongong Hospitals, Monash Health, National University Healthcare System (Singapore), Western Health, and Austin Health. He has also previously worked in multiple settings and projects with Doctors Without Borders (MSF), with whom he has also been a Board Member.
Currently, he holds active memberships or roles in the following:
- Editorial Board Member for ID Cases Journal, Elsevier
- Viral Hepatitis Special Interest Group (VHSIG) member, Australasian Society of Infectious Diseases
- Drug Safety and Monitoring Board member, EP-Ivermectin-01/NTA code 1230
- RACP examiner and Infectious Diseases project reviewer, RACP Infectious Diseases Curriculum Review Group
- Australian Medical Council WBA programme assessor
- Australian Defence Forces - Army Reserves - Captain
- Peer reviewer for multiple journals
- Member of Department of Health Ethics Committee (Tasmania)
- Senior Clinical Lecturer, University of Tasmania and University of Wollongong
Dr Andrew Walczak
Andrew is a dual trainee in infectious diseases and clinical microbiology nearing the completion of his training. He currently works in Perth, Western Australia. He completed his undergraduate degree at the University of Western Australia and his specialty training in Western Australia and Queensland. In 2018, he took a break from training to complete his Diploma of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene in London and travelled around the UK and South America. During his training, he also obtained a Master of Infectious Diseases from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Andrew has always had a strong interest in teaching, with subspecialty interests in mycology, antimicrobial resistance, and tropical medicine.