OUR 2025 PROGRAMME
The 2025 programme is shaped around the theme: Pathology in Partnership: Strengthening Collaboration Across Healthcare
The organisers reserve the right to make changes to the programme
Day 1 - Wednesday 22nd October
Te Aro and Waterfront Room, Harbour City Function Centre, 4 Taranaki Street
8.00 am - Registration opens
9.00 am - Welcome and karakia
SETTING THE SCENE
9.30 am - What are New Zealand’s biggest health system challenges and how do we respond to them?
Sir Ashley Bloomfield
Chief Executive, New Zealand Institute for Public Health & Forensic Science
New Zealand’s health system faces a range of challenges – funding, workforce, equity, waiting lists and unmet need. The system is often described as being in crisis or “broken” – but none of these issues is new or unique to New Zealand. This presentation examines the key drivers of the challenges our system is facing, and how we might go about addressing them in a financially sustainable way.
10.00 am - The Cancer Landscape, challenges and opportunities – a perspective from the Cancer Society
Martin Witt
Research Manager, Cancer Society New Zealand
Over the next two decades global cancer numbers are projected to rise significantly. What does our landscape look like here in Aotearoa New Zealand, what challenges does this present to health and society and how can we best address them?
10.30 am - Morning Tea
PATHOLOGY IN A COLLABORATIVE HEALTHCARE SYSTEM
11.00 am - Improving population health with genomic-integrated disease risk prediction
With thanks to Rhythm Biosciences
Carl Stubbings
Commercialisation Lead, Rhythm Biosciences
How implementation of integrated risk assessment tests, using a combination of genomic and clinical information can provide an accurate assessment of an individual’s risk of developing a particular disease. Integrated risk assessments testing enables disease prevention through personalised medicine by providing actionable results to improve access to existing screening and risk-reduction guidelines. Supporting clinicians who are looking for ways to provide proactive solutions to their patient’s healthcare. Moving from “sickcare” to healthcare.
11.30 am - Wellness and primary care: keeping clinicians in the wellness conversation
With thanks to BODYiQ
Jeremy O’Donnell
Senior Product Manager, Awanui
The wellness industry is booming as people focus on optimising their health. While primary care have been an important arbiter of the clinical value of wellness initiatives, public perception of the role of GPs is changing. This presentation will explore the drivers, risks, and challenges behind the wellness boom, how patients’ relationships with GPs are changing and what that means for the role of GPs in wellness. We will finish by exploring ways that clinicians can help patients get clinical value from this developing industry.
12.00 pm - The power of collaboration for innovation
Stella Ward
CEO, Digital Health Association
Stella will present some reflections on her experience both locally and globally in building relationships across industry and borders to drive impactful change.
12.30 pm - Lunch
TECHNOLOGY WITH PURPOSE
1.30 pm - Test Today, Treat Today: A Peer-Led Revolution in STI Response
With thanks to Cepheid
Mark Fisher
Executive Director, Body Positive Inc
This session highlights the community-driven approach to STI diagnostics, focusing on how peer-led initiatives and organizations like Body Positive are expanding point-of-care (POC) testing to populations often missed by traditional healthcare pathways. It showcases real-world impact, rapid testing, and treatment models that reduce barriers, speed up care, and minimize onward transmission.
2.00 pm - Technology to better serve humankind
Danu Abeysuriya
Chief Technology Officer and Founder, RUSH
Danu Abeysuriya reveals his philosophy and repeatable methodology for consistently delivering world-first innovative technological applications at enterprise and nation scale. His framework centers on building a high-performance culture and change management that emphasises accountability without toxicity and a flexible application of risk taking and process adherence. Danu explains and demonstrates how the key to managing innovation risk lies in his "surface area reduction" approach - isolating a single technical challenge while using proven components for all other aspects, allowing teams to focus resources and paranoid planning on the core innovation.
3.00 pm - Afternoon Tea
INNOVATION IS ALIVE - LETS CELEBRATE IT!
With thanks to Roche Diagnostics
3.30 pm - Innovation is Alive
A new quick-fire session designed to get a quick preview of innovative projects happening in the laboratory sector. Presenters will go up against one another in this energetic and competition style session. The judging panel will deliberate across the afternoon to select the winner. Thank you to Roche Diagnostics who have sponsored this session.
Innovation participants
Sally Annan
Medical Laboratory Scientist, Te Whatu Ora - Waikato
Early Detection, Better Outcomes: The Case for a National Haemoglobinopathy Screening Service
Sally has conducted research into the prevalence of haemoglobinopathy in the Waikato and Bay of Plenty regions. This presentation summarises what this data means for the rest of New Zealand, and what the benefits and cost of setting up a national haemoglobinopathy screening service might be.
Leigh Lauv
Medical Laboratory Scientist, Awanui
Chasing the Sun: Patterns of Vitamin D Testing
Why are vitamin D tests skyrocketing in New Zealand, and are we testing the right people? This talk takes a closer look at more than 260,000 vitamin D tests carried out nationwide between 2019 and 2024. We’ll explore how testing varies by age, gender, ethnicity, and region, uncover why some clinicians order far more tests than others, and discuss the real-world impact of over-testing. Most importantly, we’ll look at smarter, fairer ways to use vitamin D testing to support patients who need it most.
Dr Jacqui Gale
Immunology Registrar, Te Whatu Ora - Capital and Coast
Closing the Gaps: Investigating Equity in ANA and Coeliac Screening
Dr Jacqui Gale is a final-year clinical immunology trainee at Auckland City Hospital. She’s interested in how diagnostic and service-level data can be used to understand current practice, identify gaps, and inform quality improvement. She is always looking for ways to improve clinical systems, both for the people delivering care and for those receiving it.
Margot Allais
Senior Technician, New Zealand Institute for Public Health and Forensic Science
This presentation explores the development of New Zealand’s integrated surveillance system for Candidozyma auris, an emerging fungal pathogen that is stealthy, stubborn, and rapidly spreading. With rising antimicrobial resistance and increasing global transmission, the presentation highlights how cross-sector collaboration can protect patients, empower clinicians, and strengthen national health security before C. auris becomes a larger threat.
Elizabeth Chernysheva
PhD Candidate, University of Otago
Improved diagnostic method for leprosy, a neglected tropical disease not yet eliminated
Describing leprosy, the world’s oldest disease; discussing challenges in current leprosy diagnostic strategies; introducing new CRISPR-Cas12a based method for detecting M. leprae DNA in patient samples as an improved diagnostic test. Also showcasing the point-of-care potential of CRISPR-Cas12a diagnostic assays, and how this could improve patient outcomes and slow antimicrobial resistance development.
4.30 pm - Innovating research projects for Medical Laboratory Science placement students
Assoc. Prof Tania Slatter
Associate Professor, University of Otago
Otago University Medical Laboratory Science students partake in mini research projects as part of their clinical placements within their host laboratory. This presentation will propose opportunities for expanding upon the research projects to offer improved innovation and implementation of research into the diagnostic sector.
5.00 pm - Closing Remarks
5.30 pm - Networking Drinks Function - with thanks to Mediscope International Limited
6.30pm - Dinner Function - with thanks to BD
Day 2 - Thursday 23 October
8.45 am - Welcome Day Two – Reflections
MEETING THE NEEDS OF TOMORROW THROUGH PARTNERING
9.00 am - Opening Presentation by Hon Matt Doocey
Hon Matt Doocey
Minister for Mental Health and Associate Minister of Health (Rural)
With thanks to Hologic
Caroline Lavender
Deputy Section Head, Mycobacterium Reference Lab, VIDRL (Victorian Infectious Diseases Laboratory)
Buruli ulcer is a bacterial skin infection caused by Mycobacterium ulcerans. This presentation will provide an overview of the epidemiology, clinical features, and different laboratory testing methods, including the development of the first high-throughput, random-access assay for M. ulcerans to meet increased demand for testing.
10.00 am - Connecting pathologists with clinicians using a smarter way of communicating
With thanks to Foxo
Luke Fletcher
CEO, Foxo
Our time is our most precious resource, healthcare is under pressure and our diaries are full to the brim. Yet we seemingly waste hours of our time "on hold" or being put through to the wrong clinician. Here I discuss a partnership with Foxo which has brought to life "Awanui Connect": a secure and smart portal to connect busy clinicians with busy clinical pathologists to discuss important clinical cases.
10.30 am - Morning Tea
DIGITAL INTEGRATION AND AI
11.00 am - The role of collaboration to deliver rapid innovation and fully integrated solutions in healthcare
Greg Mirams
Founder and Managing Director, Techion Group
This presentation walks through real world examples of how the right partners can collaborate to address the delivery of complex diagnostic services. Well executed, this approach is not only cost effective, but it can also speed up innovation and the deployment of fully integrated solutions.
11.30 am - Awanui Digital Pathology (Whole Slide Imaging) journey: past, present and future
With thanks to Leica Biosystems
Dr Michael Lau
Anatomical Pathologist, Awanui
Michael will present an overview of how Awanui Labs scoped Digital Pathology (Whole Slide Imaging) to replace the glass slides for primary diagnosis in Anatomical Pathology. He will talk about overcoming barriers to the implementation as well as the benefits and uses of Whole Slide Imaging. He will discuss how to harness the future potential of Digital Pathology in a stretched pathology workforce, including the use of Artificial Intelligence to augment pathology reporting. He will also touch on digital data, and how to work towards a paperless pathology system.
12.00 pm - The AI Collaboration Revolution: Transforming Pathology from Diagnostics to Discovery
Dr Louise Schaper
Global Digital Health Leader & Innovator
12.30 pm - Lunch
WORKFORCE COLLABORATION AND FUTURE READINESS
1.15 pm - Pathology Starts Here: Elevating Pre-Analytical Careers Through a Strategic Partnership
Andy Hearn
Programme Leader / Senior Lecturer, Ara Institute of Canterbury
Heather Compton
Head of Organisational Capability, Awanui
Sharing the educational-industry partnership journey to co-design a NZQA qualification that recognises educational achievement in a workplace setting. Awanui and Ara Institute of Canterbury collaborated on filling the void for pre-analytical medical laboratory technicians nationally with a tertiary qualification, endorsed by NZQA and the Medical Sciences Council. Focused on lifelong learning and on-the-job skills, it prepares graduates for registration requirements and can open career pathways in the sector. As the first point of contact in the diagnostic process, pre-analytical technicians play a critical role: pathology starts here — with the quality of samples they collect and process for testing. Collaboration between subject matter and pedagogy experts was key and with a shared purpose and co-created content, an industry relevant qualification is available for all, across the motu.
1.45 pm Change, Challenge, and Chemistry: A Doctor’s Move Across Continents
Dr Owen Wiese
Chemical Pathologist, Awanui
When a chemical pathologist swaps continents, the journey is about more than just new lab equipment. In this talk, Dr. Owen Wiese shares his experience of relocating from South Africa to New Zealand—navigating professional challenges, cultural shifts, and the surprising parallels between science and starting over. It’s a story of adaptation, resilience, and the chemistry that binds both medicine and life.
2.15 pm - Building a technology capable workforce - Q&A session
Chaired by Samantha Ford, Chief People Officer, Awanui
Panelists:
Dr Louise Schaper, Global Digital Health Leader & Innovator
Stella Ward, CEO, Digital Health Association
Scott Bishop, Chief Commercial Officer, Awanui
3.00 pm - Closing remarks
Join us for a final networking drink at the Shed 22 on the waterfront.
See registration desk on the way out to get a drink on us.