Our Speakers
International Speakers
Marion Lanteri, Ph.D.
Marion oversees Research & Development at CTS, with expertise in emerging infectious diseases and blood safety. She has specialised in West Nile, Dengue, and Zika virus research, and holds an adjunct professorship at UCSF. She has authored or co-authored over 60 peer-reviewed publications.
Ms Atifa Mohammed
Atifa Mohammed is the Head of Section of Serology Laboratory at the Colonial War Memorial Hospital in Suva, Fiji. She has over 12 years of experience in the Medical Laboratory field, mainly focusing on infectious diseases Serology. Her presentation 'Navigating the Surge: Operational Resilience and Capacity Constraints of a Centralized Serology Laboratory amid Fiji’s HIV Outbreak' evaluates the impact of increasing testing demands on the laboratory infrastructure, human resources and supply chain continuity.
Australian Speakers
Dr Heather Machin
An ophthalmic nurse and global leader in eye tissue ethics, Heather heads the Lions Eye Donation Service and manages the CERA Biobank. She has worked in over 30 countries and co-developed the Barcelona Principles — a global eye tissue ethical framework.
Mr Dheeraj Nurani Venkatachalam
Dheeraj Nurani Venkatachalam is a PhD candidate at the University of Melbourne with a background in microbiology and infectious diseases research. His work focuses on improving diagnostics for sexually transmitted infections, particularly syphilis. His current research centres on the development of CRISPR-based multiplex point-of-care diagnostics capable of differentiating syphilis, herpes and mpox within a single assay. Prior to commencing his PhD, Dheeraj conducted research in viral protein biochemistry and pseudotyped lentiviral systems.
Jessica Bordessa
Jessica Bordessa is a Senior Medical Scientist specialising in Molecular Diagnostics, Serology, and Typing within the Department of Clinical Microbiology at the Fiona Stanley Hospital Network, PathWest Laboratory Medicine WA.
Kathy Vuhu
Kathy Vuhu is a Medical Laboratory Officer currently overseeing the Microbiology Department at Northern Provincial Hospital, Vanuatu, since 2019. She graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Medical Laboratory Science from the Fiji School of Medicine in 2016. In 2022 and 2024, she presented award-winning research at the Vanuatu Health Research Symposium on antimicrobial resistance and syphilis prevalence among antenatal mothers.
Ms Megan Gooey
Megan is the Deputy Section Head for the Blood Borne Viruses Laboratory at Victorian Infectious Disease Reference Laboratory (VIDRL) and has been working in the field for 20 years. She has a keen interest in molecular diagnostics and quality of testing within the laboratory, and has presented at meetings and conferences and authored multiple papers.
Mr Nasir Khan
Nasir is an Advanced Molecular Scientist at Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital with experience in real-time PCR assay validation, troubleshooting, and quality assurance in clinical diagnostics. His interests include assay optimisation, internal controls, and improving diagnostic accuracy in molecular testing.
Prof. Catriona Bradshaw
Professor Catriona Bradshaw is a clinician scientist, NHMRC Leadership Fellow and Head of Research Translation and Mentorship at Melbourne Sexual Health Centre, Central Clinical School, Monash University and Alfred Hospital. She leads a programme focused on translational research to improve treatment and control of STIs, including resistance diagnostics, antimicrobial stewardship, and interventions to optimise the vaginal microbiome.
Shraddha Swami
Shraddha Swami is the Director of the Devices IVD Section within the Medical Devices Authorisation Branch, overseeing the approval of IVD medical devices for supply in Australia and leading policy reforms shaping the IVD regulatory landscape. She holds a degree in Engineering, specialising in Biotechnology, and has over a decade of experience in health administration, policy development, and regulation of health technologies.
Silvy Ha
Silvy Ha is a highly skilled Molecular Senior Scientist with a strong foundation in laboratory science. After beginning her career in cytology and histology at ACL Pathology, she transitioned into molecular diagnostics and joined ACPCC in 2019. She returned to ACPCC as a Senior Scientist in 2025 following experience at Monash Pathology in bacteriology and serology.
Dr Susie Braniff
Susie is a scientist at the World Health Organization specialising in the prequalification assessment of diagnostic tests, where she coordinates product dossier reviews, trains assessors, and supports regulatory collaboration processes. She has over a decade of experience in quality assurance of in vitro diagnostics and public health.
Marco Ho Ting Keung
Marco Keung leads a dedicated molecular team at ACPCC, overseeing HPV testing for cervical screening and ensuring the highest standards of accuracy and operational excellence. He plays an active role in research and clinical validation, including evaluation of self-collection devices and multiple HPV assays, and provides technical training for cervical cancer screening programs across the Indo-Pacific region.
Mrs Rachelle Austin
Rachelle is a Medical Laboratory Scientist and Clinical Change Support Specialist with 20 years of experience at the New Zealand Blood Service. She has expertise in infectious serology and molecular screening and recently contributed to the implementation of 2 NAT at NZBS, supporting verification and validation activities associated with the testing solution.
Dr Courtney Lane
Bio coming soon.
Prof. Eric Chow
Bio coming soon.
Dr Michael Watson
Dr Watson has fellowships in Clinical Microbiology, Infectious Diseases and Public Health Medicine and has been working at Australian Red Cross Lifeblood since 2018. He is the supervising pathologist for infectious diseases testing at Lifeblood's Perth Processing Centre.
Karen Luna-Ramirez
Bio coming soon.