Pathologically Speaking

Nigeline Sio’s passion for science began in high school, where she competed in chemistry titration competitions and discovered a love of laboratory work. Today, as Laboratory Manager at NSW Health Pathology’s Blue Mountains laboratory in Katoomba, she leads a team delivering vital diagnostic services to the local community.

In this episode of Pathologically Speaking, Nigeline reflects on a career that has taken her across rural and remote laboratories in Queensland and the Northern Territory before settling in NSW to raise her family. She talks about why improving health outcomes for remote and marginalised communities has been a driving force throughout her career, and the important role pathology plays in ensuring equitable access to quality healthcare.

In this episode we speak to Iain Hutchinson, Laboratory Manager at NSW Health Pathology's Moruya Laboratory on the state’s South Coast. Having started his career with NSW Health as a wardsman at just 18, Iain has built his expertise across some of Sydney's busiest laboratories before making the move to a small regional lab and taking up a management role.

Iain talks about the unique challenges and rewards of delivering pathology services in a large coastal catchment, leading a regional laboratory team through the Black Summer bushfires, and helping plan the new state-of-the-art laboratory at the Eurobodalla Regional Hospital.

In this episode we speak to Professor Sandra O'Toole, pathologist and Senior Staff Specialist at NSW Health Pathology's Tissue Pathology and Diagnostic Oncology Department at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. She is one of Australia’s leading breast cancer researchers and President of the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia (RCPA).

Professor O’Toole discusses the critical role pathology plays in the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer, the latest advances in research and where she sees the challenges ahead.

She also shares the personal experiences that have shaped her career, including her mother’s journey with breast cancer, and how it inspired a commitment to improving outcomes for patients and their families. She discusses the ups and downs of juggling study, travel, raising a family, and research. An insight into a career that’s been built on care and compassion.

Forensic Mortuary Technician Abby‑Lee Honeysett takes you inside NSW Health Pathology's state-of-the-art Forensic Medicine facility at Lidcombe. She explains the day-to-day work of a forensic mortuary technician and how they support the work of Forensic Pathologists. Abby-Lee also talks about how she and a colleague have started a special service creating precious keepsakes for families grieving the loss of a child.

⚠️CONTENT WARNING: this episode includes discussion of autopsy procedures and issues surrounding stillbirth.

In this episode of Pathologically Speaking, we sit down with Robyn Seberry, the long-serving lab manager and supervising scientist at NSW Health Pathology’s Forbes Laboratory.

Robyn talks about her passion for pathology and the joy of living and working in a close-knit regional community. She shares the variety that comes with her role, from working in the lab, seeing patients face-to-face in the pathology collections service, collaborating closely with the local health district and getting the best out of her “small but mighty” team of staff.

Robyn also reflects on some of the lab’s toughest moments, including the 2022 Central West floods, when the Forbes lab pulled together to keep vital testing services running safely and reliably, even as river levels rose and roads became inaccessible.

For four decades Neil Horton has been a driving force behind the quality of NSW Health Pathology laboratories across the New England region and beyond. A respected leader and mentor, Neil has dedicated his career to strengthening pathology services and supporting the people who deliver them.

In this episode, Neil reflects on what great leadership really looks like, how he brings out the best in his teams, and why embracing change has been essential to navigating the challenges of a rapidly evolving profession. He also shares how his lifelong love of theatre has kept him deeply connected to the community he calls home.

A career that has helped shape pathology in regional NSW.

Meet Danny Nugus, Senior Forensic Medicine Social Worker here at NSW Health Pathology, based in Newcastle. Our team of specialist social workers provide a crucial service right across New South Wales when a death has been reported to the coroner. Danny and his colleagues support families navigating a sudden or unexplained death. They assist families in the early hours, days and weeks of their grief through the coroner’s and forensic medicine processes, providing information, advocacy and choice, and offering emotional and practical support and guidance, including the facilitation of viewings and identifications. 

Danny discusses how he helps families through the toughest of times, shares some of his hardest moments, and describes how providing culturally sensitive care can help with the grieving process.

Dr Wieslawa Wielebinski is NSW Health Pathology’s Local Pathology Director for Western NSW and Far West Local Health Districts. It’s a role that spans some of the most remote and geographically vast regions in the state, taking in Broken Hill, Dubbo, Orange, Cowra, Forbes, Mudgee, Walgett, Bathurst and Bourke.

But her story begins far from rural Australia. In this interview, Wiesia reflects on her childhood in Poland and the profound impact of growing up during the early years of WWII before her family emigrated to Australia, building a new life in regional Tasmania. She describes moving away to study medicine in Queensland and later in the UK, eventually settling in regional New South Wales with her own family.

A highly skilled generalist pathologist with more than 40 years of experience across public and private practice, Wiesia shares some of the challenges and rewards of delivering pathology services in regional NSW. She also explains why pathologists are essential to the health and sustainability of regional communities.

Pharmacogenomics is transforming the way we think about medicine. It explores how a person's genetic makeup affects the way their body responds to certain drugs, whether they will benefit from a treatment, experience side effects, or gain no benefit at all.

In this episode, we sit down with Professor Ron Trent, NSWHP’s Clinical Director at the Department of Medical Genomics at RPA to find out how this field of medicine is shaping personalised healthcare.

Ron shares stories from his remarkable career, from studying the ‘new genetics’ at Oxford in the early 1980s, to his work on the Human Genome Project. A fascinating discussion about how your genes can hold the key to safer, more effective treatments. 

Bedbugs, ticks, maggots and mozzies. Sounds like the holiday from hell, right? Not for Stephen Doggett. The medical entomologist based at NSW Health Pathology’s Institute of Clinical Pathology and Medical Research, Westmead spends every working day with these tiny creatures and loves his work. In this episode, Stephen explains why bedbugs are making a comeback worldwide, what really happens when a tick bites, how maggots can help heal the most stubborn wounds and even how to appreciate the unexpected beauty of mosquitoes.