National Speakers

Prof Kim Good-Jacobson

Monash University

Professor Kim Good-Jacobson is the interim Deputy Director of the Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Heads the B cells, Antibody, Memory laboratory and is a NHMRC Investigator Fellow. Her research studies the ability of the immune system to clear pathogens and form immunity through production of B cell memory and antibody, exemplified by her recent work published in Nature Immunology and Immunity. Her laboratory uses state-of-the-art epigenomic & single-cell capabilities, pre-clinical models and new tools to track rare memory cells to understand how immunity is formed, and to identify how this process goes awry in chronic viral disease or in autoimmunity.

Prof Kirsty Short

University of queensland

Prof. Kirsty Short is based at the University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia where her research focuses on pandemic preparedness for influenza viruses and coronaviruses. Her research includes understanding how viruses spill over from animals into humans, who is most at risk when they do, and how we build the diagnostics, therapeutics, and policy frameworks to respond before the next pandemic gains momentum.

Dr Paul Gill

Monash University

Dr Paul Gill is a Research Fellow in the Allergy and Clinical Immunology lab at the Department of Immunology, School of Translational Medicine, Monash University. His research explores the interaction between the gut microbiota and immune system, in the context of human health and disease. He is a co-lead of the EFFECT trial, assessing the efficacy of dietary fibre supplementation as a therapy to treat Long COVID. This is in collaboration with the Department of Gastroenterology at Monash University, where Paul previously completed his PhD research. This examined the interaction between dietary metabolites short-chain fatty acids and the human immune system. He has expertise in clinical research, intersecting the fields of Gastroenterology, Nutrition Science and Immunology.

Associate Professor Bernard Shiu

Clinical Director of Banksia Medical Centre, VIC

Associate Professor Bernard Shiu is a General Practitioner, clinic owner, medical educator, and leading Australian primary care advocate in Long COVID and post-infectious conditions. As Clinical Director of the Geelong Long COVID Clinic, he has helped develop community-based, multidisciplinary models of care for people living with Long COVID, ME/CFS, POTS, fibromyalgia, and other energy-limiting conditions. He was a speaker at the inaugural Australia Long COVID Conference organised by the Australian Department of Health in 2023, is a co-author of Rehabilitation and Management of Long COVID, and has delivered more than 50 webinars for RACGP, Primary Health Networks, and other professional organisations. He is also the founding Chair of the RACGP Specific Interests group for Post-Viral and Energy-Limiting Conditions, known as ELPIC.

Dr Natalie Eaton-Fitch

Griffith university, qld

Dr Natalie Eaton-Fitch is a post-graduate research fellow at the National Centre for Neuroimmunology and Emerging Diseases with 9 years research experience in the field of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. She has investigated epidemiological, immunological and ion channel disturbances in Australians living with ME/CFS and long COVID. She has published in multidisciplinary research collaborations resulting in further contributions of knowledge in the pathomechanism of these conditions. Dr Eaton-Fitch’s recent research has focused on the investigation of off-label low dose naltrexone as a potential treatment for ME/CFS and long COVID and further elucidating the role of ion channel dysfunction in the pathomechanism of disease using innovative technology including high throughput applications.