Professor Jonathan R. Iredell is an infectious diseases physician and clinical microbiologist specializing in critical infections and transmission of antibiotic resistance. He led the NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence (CRE) in Critical Infectious Diseases at the Westmead Millennium Institute for Medical Research in 2011. He is a Fellow of the Australian Society for Microbiology, and was the ASM President from 2014 to 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”. 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 the Gene Technology Technical Advisory Committee of the Office of the Gene Technology Regulator and leads the national Gram-Negative surveillance outcomes program of the Australian Group for Antimicrobial Resistance (AGAR). He has full professional membership of the Australia and New Zealand Intensive Care Society, and is a Foundation Fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia Faculty of Science.
