Pathologically Speaking

A landmark cancer treatment program is underway in Australia. Known as Prospect, the study is opening up new, potentially life-saving treatment pathways for 23,000 Australians with advanced, incurable or an earlier diagnosis of poor prognosis cancers.

We talk to Prof Rob Lindeman and Louise Carey about the vital services NSW Health Pathology is providing for Prospect, from genomic sequencing to blood collection and supply of diagnostic tissue.

We also hear from Matthew Webster, an engineer whose life was changed forever 10 years ago when he was diagnosed with a rare cancer, who explains how personalised cancer treatment has made all the difference.

For more information on the Prospect study go to https://www.omico.com.au/prospect/

Edwin Kirk is a genetic pathologist and clinical geneticist at NSW Health Pathology and Sydney Children’s Hospital. Over the years his work has focused on rare childhood diseases, reproductive genetic carrier screening and cardiac genetics. He is the co-lead of the Australian Government funded project Mackenzie’s Mission.

Edwin talks about what sparked his interest in genetics, explains the science of genetics and the power of modern genetic sequencing, and how ocean swimming and the odd saxophone solo keep him going outside of the laboratory.

From being the first in the family to go to university to creating a virtual hospital service treating hundreds of thousands of patients during the COVID pandemic, Vanessa Janissen has carved out an incredible career in the health sector spanning more than 25 years. Ms Janissen was appointed Chief Executive of NSW Health Pathology in 2023.

Here she shares her leadership secrets, and her plans for transforming health services and creating laboratories of the future at NSW Health Pathology, taking advantage of the latest technologies in genomics, virtual care and precision-medicine and investing in its most important asset, its people.

The importance of our statewide public pathology service has never been more evident than during the COVID-19 pandemic. From the beginning, NSW Health Pathology has been at the forefront of our public health testing response.

Meet the people who were on the frontlines of our pandemic response, from growing the live virus, sequencing its genome, delivering millions of results to patients and even travelling to China to investigate the origins of COVID-19.

Virologists, microbiologists, scientists, couriers, data analysts, information technology engineers and all types of support staff were vital in keeping our community safe. These are just some of their stories.

Susi Guinane is a midwife. She loves her work and is good at her job. In 2019 she was named NSW Midwife of the Year.

But when she meets new people, she thinks twice before deciding whether to tell them what she does. That’s because she’s ‘not that kind of midwife’.

Susi works for NSW Health Pathology’s statewide Perinatal Postmortem Service, assisting parents through one of the hardest experiences of their lives - the loss of a baby.

⚠ Trigger warning: this episode discusses issues surrounding birth trauma and stillbirth.

Associate Professor Cameron Webb is a medical entomologist at NSW Health Pathology’s Institute of Clinical Pathology and Medical Research (ICPMR) at Westmead.

His specialty is mozzies – catching them, counting them (yes, thousands of them!) and testing them to see if they are carrying the pathogens that make us sick.

Cameron’s work helps to keep all of us safe from dangerous mosquito-borne diseases.

When he’s wading in wetlands, Cameron also dabbles in creating beautiful soundscapes that reflect the stunning environments he works in.  

Professor Richard Scolyer is a world-leading pathologist who specialises in the diagnosis and treatment of the deadliest form of skin cancer, melanoma.

He and his colleagues have used immunotherapy to revolutionise the treatment of melanoma and are now applying that knowledge to treat Richard’s own brain cancer, after he was diagnosed in 2023 with incurable glioblastoma.

Richard and his oncologist colleague Prof Georgina Long were named Joint Australians of the Year in January 2024 for their ground-breaking work on melanoma and are on a mission to try to change Australia’s tanning culture. 

Sarah Dimmock is the Hospital Scientist in charge of NSW Health Pathology’s Blood Transfusion laboratory at Newcastle’s John Hunter Hospital.

It’s a daunting job, managing blood supplies not only for the state’s busiest trauma hospital, but also for the smaller regional hospitals across the Hunter New England.

Sarah talks about what led her to a career in a laboratory, why she developed a love of travel early on, and how being a proud Kamilaroi woman continues to shape her life. 

Sairita has been a forensic pathologist for more than 15 years.

Originally from South Africa, she now works in one of Australia’s busiest forensic medicine facilities at the Forensic Medicine and Coroner’s Court Complex in Sydney.

She’s passionate about finding answers for families and wants to inspire a new generation of forensic pathologists. 

He became the public face of pathology services during the COVID-19 pandemic and was the only Australian selected by the World Health Organisation to travel to China to investigate the origins of the virus.

Prof Dwyer retired in 2023 after more than 40 years dedicated to researching, diagnosing and treating infectious diseases.

Here Dominic speaks about his most rewarding work and how working in western Sydney changed his perspective on public health.