Our Pathologists

The Victorian Cancer Cytogenetics Service arose from the Department of Cytogenetics at St. Vincent's Hospital, Melbourne.  With the recognition of the department as an acknowledged State wide reference centre, it was deemed appropriate that the department assume a name more in keeping with its status.

The department had its origins in a research interest of Drs. Albert Baikie and Margaret Garson in the Department of Medicine at St. Vincent's Hospital in the early 1960s.  Since then, the department has become the provider of cancer cytogenetics services for the State of Victoria.

The referral base of the department has evolved over the years to include not only the teaching hospitals of Melbourne, but country centres and also private pathology services.

Cytogenetics has become an integral part of the management of haematological and other malignancies.  Cytogenetics can provide diagnostic and prognostic information and provides a marker of disease status which can be used to assess of remission or relapse.  In recent years, cytogenetics has been increasingly used to monitor patients post bone marrow transplantation where, particularly in patients with sex mismatch donors, engraftment and remission status can be evaluated.

Phone: (03) 9288 4154