Course Access
Each year, the ACIPC Board invites an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the field of infection prevention and control to present the ACIPC Lecture at our ACIPC International Conference.
We are pleased to announce Dr Peta-Anne Zimmerman will present the ACIPC Lecture at our 2025 conference in Hobart.
The ACIPC Lecture is scheduled from 1.40 to 2.10pm on Tuesday 18 November 2025 at the Hotel Grand Chancellor, Hobart.
2025 ACIPC Lecture
Title:
The Last of Us: Infection Prevention and Control, Global Disruption, and Circles of Influence.
Abstract
In an age where health is tested by politics, conflict, and collective fatigue, infection prevention and control (IPC) stands at the fault line between endurance and collapse. Drawing on The Last of Us as a mirror to our times, this lecture explores what happens when systems fracture, trust erodes, and fear spreads faster than facts. Still, people keep showing up to protect others.
Through the lens of global disruption and shared professional experience, it examines how IPC holds both the line and the memory of what matters: evidence, integrity, and care. It considers the circles of influence that shape our field, from global governance to local leadership, and asks how we sustain moral courage and human connection when the world feels like it is tearing itself apart.
As it is for us, The Last of Us is not a story of endings but of the quiet strength of those who stay. Infection prevention and control remains a quiet act of defiance. It is a commitment to protect, connect, and uphold what matters. In every circle of influence, no matter how small, there is power in choosing care.
Dr Peta-Anne Zimmerman is an internationally respected clinician, educator and researcher in infection prevention and control. Dr Zimmerman’s experience includes consultancy work with the World Health Organization (WHO), the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), AusAID, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Pacific Community (SPC). Her expertise has led her to work extensively in China, South East Asia, and the South Pacific, directly on outbreak response, and the development of comprehensive infection prevention and control programmes, infrastructure development and renovation, and integration of public health and acute care response in infectious disease emergencies in low- and middle-income country settings. Peta-Anne is a Board Director of the Australasian College for Infection Prevention and Control (ACIPC), ACIPC representative and senior faculty for the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN), and member of the ACIPC Credentialling and Professional Practices (CAPS) Committee.
Peta-Anne directs the Graduate Infection Prevention and Control Program at Griffith University and is a Visiting Research Fellow with the Gold Coast Hospital and Health Service, Australia. Her research focus is infection prevention and control, public health, and outbreak response, including novel approaches to the teaching and learning of this discipline, and health education in general.
Register now to attend the 2025 ACIPC International Conference in Hobart, Tasmania and online: