Aotearoa New Zealand Immunisation Conference 2025 and pre-conference workshop

The Immunisation Advisory Centre (IMAC) is excited to announce this year’s Aotearoa New Zealand Immunisation conference and pre-conference workshop will be held at Wintec in Hamilton - Kirikiriroa.

The one-day workshop will be held on 3 September 2025, and the two-day conference on 4–5 September 2025.

Join us for an empowering and informative few days designed to bring together immunisation thought leaders, researchers, healthcare professionals and policy makers.

This event will showcase the latest advancements, strategies and data in immunisation efforts, helping to strengthen immunisation uptake.

Conference

4 & 5 September 2025

The Conference programme will include a diverse range of topics, including:

• Improving immunisation coverage
• Vaccine confidence and communications
• Vaccine preventable and emerging diseases
• Vaccine safety and effectiveness
• Closing the equity gap

The Conference provides an excellent opportunity for researchers to present their academic research, and other delegates to present their experiences and practices related to service delivery or policy decisions.

We are excited to welcome local and international conference presenters, including:

Professor Paul A. Offit, MD is the Director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia as well as the Maurice R. Hilleman Professor of Vaccinology and a Professor of Pediatrics at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Offit is currently a voting member on the FDA’s Vaccine Advisory Committee and has previously served on the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices to the CDC. He is also the co-inventor of the rotavirus vaccine, RotaTeq, recommended for universal use in infants by the CDC in 2006 and by the WHO in 2013. This vaccine was estimated recently to save about 165,000 lives a year.  He is also the author of eleven books written for the public about science, medicine, and vaccines. Presentation via Zoom.

Dr Richard Duncan is the Coordinator for Vaccine Preventable Diseases and Immunization in the WHO Western Pacific Regional Office in Manila. He has over 25 years’ experience in global health and immunization.  Previously he worked for UNICEF leading their Immunization Equity Team and in Pakistan and Afghanistan coordinating their support under the Global Polio Eradication Initiative.  Richard started his international career with WHO working in Cambodia, Laos, the Pacific Island and Papua New Guinea.

‍Professor Fiona Russell is a paediatrician, epidemiologist and vaccinologist at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute and the University of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia. Fiona has extensive experience in immunisation and child health, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. She leads the NHMRC Centre for Research Excellence Pneumococcal Disease Control in Asia-Pacific. In 2026, she will become a members of World Health Organization’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunisation.

‍Associate Professor Hazel Clothier is the lead epidemiologist at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute and the programme lead for post-licensure vaccinology at the Centre for Health Analytics at the University of Melbourne, Australia. She is also a senior epidemiologist at with the Global Vaccine Data Network (GVDN). She has extensive experience in public health, vaccine safety surveillance and communicable disease outbreak and response within Australian and Pacific programmes of health. 

Professor David Murdoch is chief scientist at the NZ Institute for Public Health and Forensic Science (PHF Science) and a Distinguished Professor at the University of Otago based in Ōtautahi/Christchurch. A clinical microbiologist and infectious diseases physician by background, he has particular interests in the epidemiology, diagnosis and prevention through vaccination of respiratory infections. David was founding co-director of One Health Aotearoa, the first collaboration in New Zealand to bring together researchers in human, animal and environmental health on a national scale. He is a member of both Pharmac’s Immunisation Advisory Group and the Ministry of Health’s National Immunisation Technical Advisory Group.

Professor Sir Collin Tukuitonga is a Niuean Public Health Medicine Specialist. He is currently Associate Dean Pacific at the University of Auckland Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, Co-director for the University of Auckland Research Centre for Pacific and Global Health (Te Poutoko Ora a Kiwa), and Professor of Public Health.  Collin is a career public servant with extensive experience in New Zealand, the Pacific and internationally.

‍Dr Amber Young (Taranaki, Ngā Mahanga) is a pharmacist and works as a Pukenga Mātua (senior lecturer) at He Rau Kawakawa (School of Pharmacy), Ōtakou Whakaihu Waka (University of Otago). Her research interests include immunisation uptake, Māori health, health equity, and quality use of medicines. She also works with health providers and health policy makers to improve people’s ability to be vaccinated and understanding around why we should be vaccinated to protect ourselves, our whānau, and community.

Dr Nadia Charania is an Associate Professor in Public Health, Deputy Director of the New Zealand Policy Research Institute, and Co-Director of the Migrant and Refugee Health Research Centre based at the Auckland University of Technology. Her background spans health sciences, environmental sciences, and public health. She specialises in qualitative and participatory action research. She leads research focused on understanding how marginalised populations perceive and experience health services, including immunisations, and designing interventions for improvement.

Dr Archana Koirala is a paediatric infectious diseases and immunisation specialist at the National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance and Nepean Hospital in Sydney. She is a clinical lecturer at the University of Sydney and the chair of the Vaccine Special Interest Group for the Australasian Society of Infectious Diseases. Archana has worked in collaboration with NSW Health to develop their RSV prevention programme and a passion for education, advocacy and community health translation. 

Dr Janine Paynter is a prominent public health researcher and epidemiologist. She is currently a Senior Research Fellow in the Department of General Practice and Primary Healthcare within the School of Population Health  at Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland. Since 2014, Dr Paynter has been actively involved in research focused on maternal and infant health and well-being, particularly within Pacific communities. She has also made significant analytical contributions to quantitative epidemiological studies, including publications in prestigious journals like The Lancet. Her expertise spans vaccine safety and effectiveness, health equity, observational studies, and large dataset analysis.

Te Puea Winiata (Ngāti Ranginui, Ngaiterangi) has worked in the primary health and Māori health sector and social services for nearly 40 years and for the last 15 years as Chief Executive Officer at Turuki Health Care. In 2023, she became an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit and is recognised as one of the 100 Māori Leaders in Health. She is a Community Committee representative on Te Kaunihera for RANZCP, Board member of Te Rau Ora, National Māori Workforce Development Health Centre for Māori Mental Health and Māori Health, and sits on trusts for her hapu Ngāi Tamarāwaho, in Taurangamoana. Te Puea has chaired a number of committees for Ministry of Health during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the Māori Monitoring Group for Manatū Hauora.

Samuel Andrews is a public health policy manager at the Ministry of Health, leading the team responsible for immunisation policy. Recently, the team have published the Strategic Approach to Immunisation, supported improvement of immunisation governance and establishment of the immunisation health target. Before moving into immunisation, Samuel led the development of the Ministry of Health HIV action plan and sexual health strategy, supported communicable disease responses, and managed harm reduction contracts.

Dr Nikki Moreland is an Associate Professor in Immunology, a Principal Investigator of the Maurice Wilkins Centre and a Pillar Lead for the National RNA Development Platform based at Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland. She leads the Pathogens and Immune Response Laboratory within the School of Medical Sciences, and is also the Principal Investigator and co-leader of an initiative to accelerate Strep A vaccine development for New Zealand.

Nikki Canter-Burgoyne is the newly appointed Director of Prevention – Immunisation at the National Public Health Service (NPHS), where she leads national efforts to improve immunisation outcomes across Aotearoa. Prior to this role, Nikki served as the National Immunisation Health Target Lead, helping lift 24-month childhood immunisation rates to a three-year high of 82%. With a career spanning senior leadership roles including Director at PwC NZ, National Localities Director in the DPMC Transition Unit, and National Primary Care Manager at the Ministry of Health, Nikki also has extensive experience in the PHO sector.

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Pre-conference workshop

3 September 2025

The Workshop is aimed at those directly providing and supporting immunisation services. The national and international programme content will be relevant to vaccination practice in New Zealand.

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Registration

Registrations for the workshop and conference are now open. Click here to visit our Eventbrite registration page and see the different registration options. These are summarised below.

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Workshop networking event

Immediately following the workshop drinks and nibbles will be available for workshop attendees. This will be onsite and is included in the workshop registration fee.

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Conference Dinner event

We’re still finalising the details, but we’re excited to share that on Thursday, 4 September, we’ll be hosting a dinner event in the Wintec Hub Atrium.

Expect a vibrant evening featuring a variety of delicious food stations, a cash bar, and a specially curated playlist to set the mood. This won’t be a formal sit-down dinner—rather, it’s designed to encourage mingling and relaxed conversations with colleagues and fellow conference attendees.

There will be plenty of spots to lean, perch or sit, so you can enjoy the evening comfortably.

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Accommodation options for delegates

Here are some accommodation options near the Workshop/Conference venue: 

• Novotel Tainui Hamilton - 7 minutes’ walk 

• Ibis Tainui Hamilton - 7 minutes’ walk 

• Ramada by Wyndham - 8 minutes’ walk 
• Quest on Ward - 5 minutes’ walk 

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Registration price summary

See the registration page to purchase a ticket.

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