Pathologically Speaking

Hawkesbury District Hospital Pathology Laboratory Manager Blessings Ndlovu chats to host Liz Farquhar about his journey from Zimbabwe to Australia and a career dedicated to supporting patient care through pathology.

Blessings talks about how he developed a passion for science early on in life, the mentors who inspired him, his experiences working as a scientist in Zimbabwe, and the leap of faith that brought him to Australia. He al...

From growing up in a small village in Norway to leading research initiatives at NSW Health Pathology, Dr Bente Talseth-Palmer’s science career has been anything but ordinary.

In this episode, Bente shares how shewent from establishing a genomics laboratory in Iceland to pursuing a PhD in cancer genomics in Australia. She talks about the impact her mother’s cancer diagnosis had on her career and reflects on balancing a ...

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 acro...

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 pathol...

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 t...

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. She reflec...

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...

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 cha...

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 f...

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 an...

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 sh...

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 ...

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,...

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 Oxfo...

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.

Wi...

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 th...

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 diagno...

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 p...