Our Speakers
International Speakers
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.
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.
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.
Australian Speakers
Ms Bernadette Portelli
Bernadette Portelli is the EQAS Lead at NRL Quality Assurance Services. She holds a Bachelor of Biological Science in Cell and Molecular Biology from Deakin University and has nearly a decade of experience in private pathology. Specialising in infectious disease serology and molecular diagnostics across human and veterinary applications, Bernadette has a strong interest in quality assurance in both serology and molecular testing. Notably, she played a key role in validating new diagnostic tests and developed several EQA programs at NRL, enhancing the reliability and quality of diagnostic 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.
Dr Courtney Lane
Dr. Courtney Lane is a leading research scientist and epidemiologist specialising in integrating pathogen genomics into public health surveillance. As Lead Epidemiologist at the Microbiological Diagnostic Unit Public Health Laboratory, WHO Collaborating Centre for AMR and Centre for Pathogen Genomics, she bridges genomic data and public health intervention, particularly for antimicrobial resistance (AMR) control. Dr. Lane plays a key role in establishing genomic surveillance programs in Australia and supporting implementation across the Asia-Pacific, driving the translation of pathogen genomics into sustainable disease control strategies.
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.
Prof. Eric Chow
Professor Eric Chow is an STI epidemiologist and biostatistician at the Melbourne Sexual Health Centre (MSHC), The Alfred Hospital, where he heads the Health Data Management and Biostatistics Unit and co-heads the Clinical Evaluation Unit. He is also a Professor at Monash University's School of Translational Medicine and an Honorary Principal Fellow at the University of Melbourne's Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, and was named Australia's top researcher in Sex and Sexuality in 2024.
Dr Heather Machin
Dr Heather Machin is an ophthalmic nurse and Head of the Lions Eye Donation Service, also managing the CERA Biobank and leading the Hygelix and BIENCO projects. She has a global profile in eye care and eye tissue, having led reforms including the Barcelona Principles, an international ethical framework for eye tissue. She chairs the Eye Bank Association of Australia and New Zealand and the Global Alliance of Eye Bank Associations, and co-developed the WHO's Global Action Framework for Tissue in Transplantation. She is immediate-past President of the Australian Ophthalmic Nurses Association and holds a PhD, MBA, and Bachelor of Nursing. She's passionate about donor awareness, equitable access to tissue transplantation, and nurse retention in eye care.
Asso. Prof. Jason Roberts
Associate Professor Jason Roberts is a Virologist and Senior Medical Scientist leading the Electron Microscopy and Structural Virology Facility. With over 25 years of experience in clinical virology, public health surveillance, and laboratory-based outbreak response management, his expertise spans diagnostic development, electron microscopy, computational biology, and emerging AI applications for pathogen characterisation. Formerly Deputy Head of the National Enterovirus Reference Laboratory and WHO Western Pacific Regional Reference Laboratory for Poliomyelitis, he now advises on global polio eradication through the Australian National Certification Committee. He holds an Honorary Senior Fellowship at the University of Melbourne and is an Adjunct Associate Professor at RMIT University.
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.
Dr Karen Luna-Ramirez
Dr Karen Luna-Ramirez is the Principal Technical Advisor in the In Vitro Diagnostics Section at the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA). With experience spanning academic research, the biotechnology industry and regulation, she has worked across the full lifecycle of IVDs, from research and development through to validation, quality and regulatory oversight.
Dr Linda Hueston
Associate Professor Linda Hueston is the Chief Serologist at NSW Health Pathology – ICPMR. Currently she is an adjunct professor at Griffith University, and the deputy director of the RCPA QAP Serology Advisory Board. She serves as an advisor to NSW Health, WHO and defence groups in Australia, New Zealand and the USA. She has developed more than 60 diagnostic serology tests for a variety of arboviral, and emerging/reemerging diseases including, SARS, SARS-CoV-2, MVE, Kunjin, JEV, Dengue, WNV, RRV, BFV, Sindbis and most recently monkeypox. She has undergraduate and post graduate qualifications in arbovirology, has authored and co-authored over 55 reviewed publications, book chapters and training modules. She has held several management and advisory roles in infectious and emerging diseases at state, national and international level.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Sivly Ha
Sivly 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.
Theo Karapanagiotidis
Theo Karapanagiotidis is the Deputy Senior Scientist in the ID Serology Department at VIDRL. Theo has been employed in a large Public Health Laboratory for more than 25 years and has collaborated with external stakeholders on various projects including WHO missions and workshops for HBV and measles. Areas of interest include assay development and assay verifications and evaluations.