News and Updates

The NeoTREP observational study, part of the NeoSEAP collaboration, aims to improve understanding of congenital syphilis by examining epidemiology, diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes of affected infants in high-burden settings
This work directly responds to recent calls for improved and standardised surveillance definitions, as highlighted by Foley et al. (2026), a publication to which A/Prof Phoebe Williams contributed as a collaborator, by generating high-quality, multi-country data to support more consistent identification and management of congenital syphilis globally (Foley et al., 2026).
After a successful three-month recruitment period for the NeoCOL Study, the central NeoSEAP team recently travelled to Vietnam to conduct a study close-out visit with the teams at Hung Vuong Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City, and the Hanoi Medical University Laboratory. The tremendous efforts of the teams in Vietnam were instrumental in enabling the study to reach its recruitment target within the allocated timeframe. A total of 87 mother–infant dyads were recruited, and data analysis is now underway to investigate the colonisation and transmission dynamics of multidrug-resistant bacteria and fungi in neonates. We look forward to sharing the results of this study soon.

During the team’s visit to Vietnam, we also had the opportunity to meet with our collaborators for the NeoSEAP Prospective Study at Children’s Hospital 1, Ho Chi Minh City. We look forward to welcoming them to the study and to their valuable contribution of data on neonatal sepsis in the region.

Members of our University of Sydney team — Associate Professor Phoebe Williams and Michelle Harrison (NeoSEAP Project Co-ordinator) — had a busy and highly productive week at the WSPID Conference in October 2025 in Bangkok. Alongside the main program, they participated in several side meetings to strengthen existing partnerships and build new networks. The NeoSEAP network was strongly represented with eight posters, six presentations, and a collaborative dinner attended by 25 colleagues from seven countries. They also met in person with the CARES1 team, an invaluable opportunity as this LSHTM-led trial is set to commence in Indonesia very soon.

Our University of Sydney Project Lead, Associate Professor Phoebe Williams, recently travelled to London to speak at the GAMRIC Conference on antibiotic resistance in neonatal sepsis. The event brings together global researchers, clinicians, WHO and GARDP policy makers, and industry partners to tackle antimicrobial resistance (AMR). She also recommended Dr Phuc, Director of Hanoi National Children’s Hospital, who presented on the role of immunisation in reducing AMR. His talk was highly praised, and he has since been invited to join WHO working groups on AMR and child health — a great example of NeoSEAP’s impact in promoting LMIC leadership on the global stage. Learn more about GAMRIC.
See picture below of Phoebe and Dr Phuc at GAMRIC.

Two members of the NeoSEAP Sydney team have just returned from a site visit to Hanoi, Vietnam, where they attended the Sydney Vietnam Innovation Symposium — an event that brings together researchers from the University of Sydney and Vietnamese institutions to strengthen partnerships and showcase collaborative research. See photo below of the Sydney and Vietnam team. Robbie and Michelle and presented their NeoSEAP PS and NeoCOL posters during the visit.