Dr Sarah McGuinness

EXPERTISE

  • Infectious diseases epidemiology
  • Mixed-methods research
  • Travel health

Dr Sarah McGuinness is an academic infectious diseases physician. She is a lecturer in Clinical Epidemiology at the School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine at Monash University and leads the Travel Medicine Clinic as a Consultant Physician at the Alfred hospital. She is a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians and has a PhD (Monash University) and a Master of Public Health and Tropical Medicine (James Cook University). She is the current Chair of the International Society of Travel Medicine’s Digital Communications Committee, an expert reviewer for World Health Organisation International Travel and Health Guidelines, and sits on the editorial board for the Journal of Travel Medicine. Dr Sarah was awarded the NHMRC Investigator Fellowship in 2022.

Sarah’s research spans clinical and public health aspects of infectious diseases in Australia and overseas, with a focus on the Asia-Pacific region. Her specific areas of interest include imported infections and infections arising from exposure to poor environmental conditions. In her research, she uses mixed (quantitative and qualitative) methods to understand drivers of infection and barriers and enablers to uptake of preventive strategies. She has a particular interest in identifying and overcoming barriers that limit the effectiveness and uptake of key prevention strategies (such as improved water supplies and vaccination) in at-risk populations including travellers, immigrants and refugees, and those living in endemic settings. Her previous research has identified risk factors for AMR acquisition and insights on how to achieve improved uptake of water-sanitation interventions in resource-poor settings.

AMR FOCUS

  • Exploring drivers of AMR in resource-poor settings in the Asia-Pacific region.
  • Optimising uptake of preventive interventions to disrupt AMR transmission.

IMPACT

  • Reducing AMR infection and spread in travellers to and residents of endemic settings by optimising uptake and effectiveness of preventive interventions.

LEADERSHIP

  • Chair - AMR in the Indo-Pacific Working Group