Jonathan Iredell

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Jonathan Iredell

University of Sydney Professor

Professor Jonathan (Jon) Iredell is an infectious diseases physician and clinical microbiologist specialising in critical infections and transmission of antibiotic resistance. He led an NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence (CRE) in Critical Infectious Diseases at the Westmead Millennium Institute for Medical Research from 2011, is a Fellow of the Australian Society for Microbiology and was ASM President from 2014-16. "The critically ill are the most vulnerable people in our health system”, says Professor Iredell. “Most ICU admissions are precipitated or complicated by infection, which is the commonest cause of preventable mortality. We aim to identify which patients admitted to ICUs are at highest risk, deliver this critical information early and to develop rapid diagnostic tests to assist intensive care specialists in making treatment decisions, with the objective of optimising infection management and control strategies, which benefits the patient and the hospital system”. He developed Australia’s first Short Course in Critical Infection, for clinicians who manage infection in critically ill patients. Professor Iredell has a strong interest in antimicrobial stewardship and works to inform policy on antibiotic use in the hospital environment. He has served on the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care (ACSQHC) Multi Resistant Gram-negative Taskforce and on the Gene Technology Technical Advisory Committee of the Office of the Gene Technology Regulator and leads the national Gram-Negative surveillance outcomes program of teh Australian Group for Antmicrobial Resistance (AGAR). He has full professional membership of the Australia and New Zealand Intensive Care Society, is a Foundation Fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia Faculty of Science.
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Forget Fungus Zombies: Superbugs Will Get You First

MON, OCT 16, 12:00 PM
Conference
In the last century, the discovery of antibiotics has extended human lifespans and changed infected wounds and bacterial pneumonia from effective death sentences into easily curable conditions. But now bacteria and other microbes are rapidly evolving to protect themselves against drugs that destroy them, and the overuse and misuse of antibiotics are rapidly driving us towards a “post-antibiotic future”, one in which common conditions like UTIs, gonorrhoea and skin infections may no longer be treatable. Superbugs – antimicrobial resistant microorganisms – already kill more people globally each year than HIV and malaria, and without urgent action the United Nations predicts that by 2050 they could cause 10 million deaths yearly. In this session - a live recording of Guardian Australia's flagship podcast Full Story - you’ll learn about the problem the World Health Organization has declared as one of the top 10 global public health threats facing humanity. Full Story host Jane Lee will speak to experts including Guardian Australia health reporter Natasha May, Professor Jonathan Iredell and Professor Garry Myers, and interrogate how we can prevent a superbug crisis, as scientists urgently race to discover new drugs.
We acknowledge the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation as the Traditional Custodians of this land we now call Sydney, where this event will take place. We pay our respects to their continuing connection with cultural, spiritual and educational practices, and extend this respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples. Always was, always will be.
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