Pathologically Speaking

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.

Meet Gayle Warnock – NSW Health Pathology’s Associate Director for Point of Care Testing.

As one of the largest providers in Australia, NSW Health Pathology has more than 850 Point of Care Testing devices in use at rural, regional and metropolitan hospitals around the state. Gayle talks about how this incredible technology is being used to help deliver pathology services 24/7 even when there’s no local laboratory, and to improve workflows and deliver instant results when an urgent diagnosis is needed, such as suspected heart attack and sepsis.

Gayle discusses her science journey, which began in rice genetics and has culminated in providing the best of care for patients, no matter where they live.

Meet Daniel Arnold, an early career scientist who has gone from collecting pathology samples at our Wagga Wagga laboratory to researching virology and pandemic preparedness at Oxford University in the UK. We chat with Daniel about growing up in regional NSW, studying at a local university during the COVID-19 pandemic, taking his studies overseas and eventually landing a once-in-a-lifetime scholarship worth $270,000 to study at Oxford. He discusses his plans to study bird flu and other emerging viral threats and his ambition to start his own research lab here in Australia. An inspiring conversation that proves big dreams can start in small towns.

In this episode, NSW Health Pathology mycologist Dr Catriona Halliday shares her insights into the fascinating and sometimes dangerous world of fungi. From life-saving antibiotics to life-threatening infections, fungi play a complex role in human health.

Dr Halliday discusses emerging fungal threats like Candida auris, the challenges of diagnosing fungal infections, and why immunocompromised patients are particularly vulnerable.

With decades of experience in medical mycology, she offers a compelling look at how these often-overlooked organisms are becoming increasingly relevant in clinical settings.

Ever wonder how DNA is actually used to crack cold cases? Dr David Bruce is a forensic DNA specialist and the Cold Case DNA Casework Coordinator at NSW Health Pathology’s Forensic & Analytical Science Service (FASS).

He talks about the remarkable advances in this field over the past few decades, takes us behind the scenes of some high-profile cases that police have solved thanks to DNA breakthroughs and looks back over the highlights of his 40 year career in science.

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.