Dr Sudha Pottumarthy-Boddu

Areas of Interest:

Specialities:

Clinical Microbiologist, Microbiology

Dr Sudha Pottumarthy-Boddu comes to us from Houston, Texas, where she was Assistant Professor in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of Texas, School of Medicine. She was also the Technical Director of the Clinical Laboratory Services at the Houston Department of Health and Human Services.

After graduating from medical school in India, Dr Pottumarthy-Boddu migrated to New Zealand and completed her Pathology/Microbiology Fellowship training with the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia. She is a recipient of various awards and scholarships, including the Neil Prentice Memorial Prize of RCPA. She is also a Diplomate of the American Board of Medical Microbiology.

Over the last 10 years she gained experience in various hospital, research, and public health laboratories in the US, publishing over 30 articles in peer-reviewed journals and presenting at various national and international conferences. Detection of the first USA isolate of Enterobacter spp., with NmcA carbapenem hydrolyzing enzyme and establishing clinical significance of Nocardia verterana are noteworthy. Dr Pottumarthy-Boddu’s main research interests are antimicrobial susceptibility trends and molecular methods in the diagnosis of infectious diseases.

 

Dr Stella Pendle

Areas of Interest:

Specialities:

Microbiology

Dr Stella Pendle completed a Master of Science degree in 1983 prior to graduating in Medicine from the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. She initially worked at the Hillbrow Hospital in Johannesburg and then at the Rietfontein Tropical Diseases Hospital. She obtained a Diploma in Tropical Medicine during this time. In 1999, Stella emigrated to Australia and worked as a resident at Gosford Hospital after completing the AMC exams. She proceeded to specialist training in Pathology (Microbiology) at Royal North Shore Hospital and ICPMR Westmead.

On completion of her training, she moved to Symbion Laverty Pathology where she worked for four years as a Clinical Microbiologist. In 2009, she joined Pathology NSW as the supervising pathologist in charge of the microbiology, infectious serology and molecular diagnostics departments. She has continued in this role after the company merged with Australian Clinical Labs (formerly Healthscope Pathology).

Dr Pendle has published several papers in her fields of interest, including VRE, chlamydial infections and HIV. She actively participates in Infection Control and promotes rational antibiotic prescribing at Healthscope Hospitals. She is a member of the Australian Society for Microbiology, the Australasian Society for Infectious Diseases and the Antimicrobial Society of Australia.

Dr Linda Dreyer

Areas of Interest:

Specialities:

Infection Control, Microbiology

Dr. Linda Dreyer completed her undergraduate studies in 1996, receiving a Bachelor’s degree in Medicine and Surgery (MBChB) from the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Pretoria, South Africa.

Following four years of clinical practice, as Medical Officer in the Department of Family Medicine she commenced specialisation in 2000. She was appointed as Registrar in Clinical Virology at the University of Pretoria/ Gauteng Province where she worked for two years and in 2003 she was appointed as Senior Registrar in Microbiology.

Dr Dreyer received her Master’s degree in Clinical Microbiology (MMed (Path)) from the University of Pretoria in 2006. She worked as a consultant for the National Health Laboratory Services (NHLS) in Pretoria until January 2008. During her time at NHLS she was involved in teaching medical students and microbiology registrars and gave lectures to nursing staff, medical students and specialists. She also sat on the Infection Control Committee and the Antimicrobial Stewardship Committee of the Pretoria Academic Hospital.

She came to Melbourne and joined Australian Clinical Labs (formerly Healthscope Pathology) in 2008 as a Senior Registrar and obtained Fellowship of The Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia (FRCPA) in 2010.

Dr Dreyer has special interests in the appropriate use of antimicrobials, infection control and molecular diagnostic assays in contemporary clinical microbiology.

Assoc. Prof. Mirette Saad

Areas of Interest:

Specialities:

Chemical Pathology

Associate Professor Mirette Saad is a Consultant Chemical Pathologist and the National Director of Molecular Genetics at Australian Clinical Labs. She has a Fellowship with honours in Chemical and Molecular Pathology, with Microbiology sub-speciality, from Suez Canal University, Egypt. A/P Saad received her NHMRC sponsored PhD degree in Cancer Genetics from Melbourne University and Peter MacCallum Cancer Institute.

Along with her teaching and research roles, A/P Saad is a registered medical practitioner with AHPRA, a Chemical Pathology Fellow (FRCPA) at the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia and a Member of the Australasian Association of Clinical Biochemists (MAACB). She is a Chair of the RCPA Chemical Pathology Advisory Committee, Member of the RCPA Genetic Advisory Committee, AACB and a Chair of the Precision Medicine Services at Australian Clinical Labs.

At Clinical Labs, A/Prof Mirette Saad leads the Molecular Genetic testing for non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT), antenatal screening, personalised drug therapy and cancer.

Assoc. Prof. Louise Smyth

Areas of Interest:

Specialities:

Allergy & Immunology

Associate Professor Smyth is a graduate of the University of Western Australia and a Fellow of, and former state representative of the RCPA. Associate Professor Smyth designed and implemented the Pathology programme for the School of Medicine at the University of Notre Dame Australia, Fremantle where she is a founding member of, and Associate Professor in the School of Medicine. She has a Graduate Certificate in University Teaching, qualifying her to supervise candidates for higher degrees as well as teaching undergraduate students.

She is most interested in autoimmunity but has extensive experience including autoimmunity, transplantation, immune deficiency and allergy.

Her publications are predominantly in the field of Bone Marrow Transplantation. Dr Smyth joined St John of God Pathology (now Australian Clinical Labs) in 2016.