Fiona Russell

Fiona Russell is a paediatrician, epidemiologist and vaccinologist whose clinical research informs immunisation and child health policy in low- and middle-income countries. She received her PhD from The University of Melbourne in 2011, and was awarded the Chancellor’s Prize for PhD Excellence. She is Group Leader for Asia-Pacific Health at MCRI, Director of the Child and Adolescent Health PhD Program at The University of Melbourne, and a member of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Child and Neonatal Health Research and Training.

Her leadership roles include co-Chair of the World Society of Pediatric Infectious Diseases International Scientific Committee, founder and co-Chair of the Asia-Pacific Vaccine Research Network, and former Chair of the Australasian Society for Infectious Diseases Vaccination Special Interest Group. She was a member of the Australian DFAT’s Vaccine Access and Health Security Initiative’s Expert Advisory Group and was an inaugural member of the WHO Science Division Strengthening Clinical Trials Technical Advisory Group (2023–2025). From 2026 she will join WHO’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization.

She has secured over $50M in grants, including from the NHMRC, Gates Foundation, Wellcome Trust, Gavi and WHO, and has advised on more than 30 consultancies to governments, funders and WHO. Her research has been cited in the 2012, 2019 and 2025 WHO PCV Position Papers.