AIFA Board
AIFA Chair
Dr Melanie Wong MBBS (Hons) PhD FRACP FRCPA
Paediatric Clinical Immunology/Allergy Specialist, New South Wales
Dr Melanie Wong is a Past President of the Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy (ASCIA), co-head of the Immunology and Allergy Dept at The Children's Hospital at Westmead, Chief Examiner for the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia (RCPA) Immunopathology training program, and ASCIA's representative on the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP) Board.
Melanie's clinical and research interests include all aspects of primary immunodeficiencies, including newborn screening, genetic testing and transplantation. She has published many studies in this area and has extensive experience as an ASCIA Director. Her clinical experience and research expertise in paediatric immunology has been of great benefit in guiding the development of AIFA.
Dr Michael O'Sullivan is a staff specialist at Fiona Stanley Hospital. He is the current ASCIA President and has been an active member since 2008. Michael's clinical, laboratory and research interests span paediatric and adult allergy and immunology. This provides a broad and diverse experience to help identify the current challenges facing patients with allergy and other immune diseases.
Dr Kathryn Patchett MBChB BMedSc
Clinical Immunology/Allergy Specialist and Immunopathologist, New South Wales
Dr Kathryn Patchett is based in Newcastle and is currently employed as a staff specialist at NSW Health Pathology. She graduated from the University of Otago and completed her early postgraduate training in New Zealand before moving to Australia to pursue specialist training in Immunology. Kathryn has a particular interest in the management of allergic conditions including allergic rhinitis, eczema, food and drug allergies, and in health professional education. She has been a Director of ASCIA since 2022 and an active member of the society since 2004.
Associate Professor Jane Peake MBBS FRACP DTM&H
Paediatric Clinical Immunology/Allergy Specialist, Queensland
Associate Professor Jane Peake is a senior staff specialist at the Queensland Children’s Hospital and an Associate Professor at the University of Queensland. She is a Director of ASCIA and has been an active member since 2001. Jane established the first public paediatric immunology and allergy service in Queensland (Queensland Paediatric Immunology and Allergy Service). Her clinical and research special interests include primary immune deficiency, food allergy, anaphylaxis and severe eczema. Jane has numerous publications in these areas and sits on a variety of state and national advisory boards and committees.
Associate Professor Patrick Quinn MBBS FRACP
Paediatric Clinical Immunology/Allergy Specialist, South Australia
Associate Professor Patrick Quinn completed his undergraduate medical degree at the University of Queensland before training in Paediatrics at the Mater Children’s Hospital, South Brisbane. His Allergy and Clinical Immunology training was at the IWK Health Centre/Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, and the Women’s and Children’s Hospital, North Adelaide.
Patrick has clinical interests in food allergy and inborn errors of immunity. He is Medical Unit Head of the Department of Allergy and Clinical Immunology at the Women’s and Children’s Hospital, North Adelaide. He teaches 5th year medical students in the paediatric program at the University of Adelaide and works in private practice in Beulah Park, Adelaide.
Patrick has research interests in the prevention and treatment of food allergy and is author on several recent papers, mainly in food allergy immunotherapy. Patrick sits on the South Australia Immunoglobulin Therapy Advisory Group and was a previous Chair of the ASCIA Immunodeficiency Committee. He is currently an ASCIA Director and has been an active member since 2003.