Dr Ben Carnley

Dr Ben Carnley is Head of the Department of Haematology at Royal Perth Hospital and Director of Cell and Tissue Therapies WA. A dual-trained clinical and laboratory haematologist, he has broad expertise in adult haematology, with particular interests in multiple myeloma, lymphoma and paroxysmal nocturnal haemoglobinuria.

Having worked overseas and across regional Western Australia, Dr Carnley is committed to providing patients with access to high-quality specialist care, clinical trials and advanced therapies. Through Cell and Tissue Therapies WA, he leads the delivery and development of stem cell and cellular therapies for patients with blood disorders.

Dr Carnley graduated from the University of Western Australia in 1994 and has held fellowships of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians and the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia since 2005. He is actively involved in clinical research, quality assurance and medical leadership.

 

Dr John Balendra

Dr John Balendra is a locally trained clinical and laboratory haematologist and Senior Clinical Lecturer at the University of Western Australia. He completed his undergraduate medical degree at Monash University and general medical training at Fremantle Hospital.

He has a special interest in improving patient experience through digital health platforms, including artificial intelligence, and in creating shared-care models with general practitioners, palliative care and allied health professionals. As a clinical trial investigator, he is actively involved in multiple trials that provide patients with access to new therapies.

Dr Balendra is a Medical Advisor to Cancer Network WA, the Department of Health body responsible for improving cancer outcomes and equity of care throughout Western Australia. In this role, he advocates for addressing the effects of a cancer diagnosis on patients' lives, with a particular focus on delivering cancer care closer to home.

 

Clinical Associate Professor Tony Calogero

Dr Calogero is a dual-trained clinical and laboratory haematologist who consults at Royal Perth Hospital and St John of God Midland Public Hospital.

He completed his haematology training in Western Australia, followed by a post-fellowship role in translational and clinical research at The Alfred Hospital, Monash Medical Centre and Monash University's Myeloma Research Group in Melbourne.

He also works as Clinical Director of Haematology for the WA Country Health Service, reflecting his interest in ensuring equitable access to cancer care and providing haematology and oncology care to rural and remote patients.

Dr Calogero has broad expertise in malignant and non-malignant haematology, with particular clinical interests in multiple myeloma, myeloproliferative neoplasms, thrombosis and haemostasis.

His academic interests focus on teaching undergraduate health professionals and junior doctors. He is a member of the academic staff at the University of Western Australia, where he co-leads haematology teaching in pathology and internal medicine. He also supports physician training as a member of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians National Examining Panel.

 

Associate Professor Collin Chin

Associate Professor Collin Chin is a clinician-researcher and haematologist who graduated from the University of Western Australia in 2011 and completed specialist training in Western Australia. He undertook fellowship training in aggressive lymphoma and CAR-T cell therapy at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, followed by subspecialty training in lymphoma and myeloma at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas.

A/Prof Chin's clinical interests include haematological malignancies, particularly B-cell lymphoma and advanced cellular therapies such as CAR-T and T-cell-engaging antibodies.

He is an active clinician-researcher with publications in leading peer-reviewed journals, has been invited to speak and chair at national and international meetings, and has secured more than $1.5 million in competitive research funding. He is principal investigator for multiple commercial and investigator-initiated clinical trials and leads translational research in patients receiving immune effector cell therapies through the Translational Cancer Pathology Laboratory at the University of Western Australia.

 

Associate Professor Hun Chuah

Dr Hun Chuah is a clinician-scientist and dual-trained clinical and laboratory haematologist at Royal Perth Hospital, with an adjunct academic appointment at the University of Western Australia. He completed his PhD at UWA, focusing on genomic profiling and disease monitoring in acute myeloid leukaemia.

His clinical and translational research interests include acute myeloid leukaemia, myelodysplastic syndromes, myeloproliferative neoplasms and plasma cell myeloma. He is principal investigator for multiple commercial and investigator-initiated clinical trials and has authored peer-reviewed publications spanning blood cancer genomics, diagnostic innovation and clinical research.

A recipient of the Raine Clinician Research Fellowship and a Royal Perth Hospital Research Foundation Research Innovation and Impact Grant, Dr Chuah leads research aimed at improving the early detection of leukaemia through innovative laboratory diagnostics. He is also committed to education, teaching medical students and mentoring future haematologists and researchers.

 

Dr Melita Cirillo

Dr Melita Cirillo trained as a haematologist in Perth, Western Australia. She holds dual fellowships of the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia and the Royal Australasian College of Physicians. She trained at Royal Perth Hospital, King Edward Memorial Hospital, Hawke's Bay Hospital in New Zealand and Fiona Stanley Hospital before returning to Royal Perth Hospital as a consultant haematologist.

She completed a research fellowship with Cell and Tissue Therapies WA at Royal Perth Hospital and holds a Master of Clinical Research for her work on cellular immunotherapies in myelodysplastic syndrome in 2022.

Dr Cirillo worked with the German Hodgkin Study Group in Cologne, Germany, from 2018 to 2019 and has published multiple papers in Hodgkin lymphoma. She continues to undertake research in lymphoma biology, novel disease monitoring and cellular therapies. She is principal investigator for multiple lymphoma trials at Royal Perth Hospital, covering Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and has ongoing projects with international investigators.

She has a strong interest in teaching at all levels of medicine. She has been a Director of Physician Training at Fiona Stanley Hospital since 2021 and a Senior Lecturer at the University of Western Australia since 2023. She is an accredited fellowship examiner for both colleges.

 

Professor Wendy Erber

Professor Wendy Erber is a diagnostic haematologist with expertise in blood and bone marrow morphology and immunophenotyping. She is internationally recognised for her expertise in diagnosing leukaemia and other blood cancers. Professor Erber has contributed to significant discoveries in malignant blood disorders, including the JAK2 mutation, and translated these findings into diagnostic practice to improve patient care and outcomes.

Alongside her diagnostic work, Professor Erber undertakes research at the University of Western Australia, teaches medical students, and mentors future haematologists and researchers.

 

Professor Michael Leahy

Dr Michael Leahy is a clinical haematologist at Royal Perth Hospital and PathWest Laboratory Medicine. Before 2015, he was a consultant haematologist at Fremantle Hospital.

He completed his haematology training at Hammersmith Hospital and the Royal Postgraduate Medical School, and at the Royal Free Hospital, University of London.

His current interests include the role of clinical trials in improving outcomes for patients with haematological malignancies and the use of patient blood management programs in medical and surgical care.

In 2008, Fremantle Hospital was a pilot site for a WA Health-supported patient blood management project that preceded a statewide program. In 2017, Dr Leahy and colleagues published a paper in Transfusion demonstrating improved patient outcomes and economic benefits from this jurisdiction-wide program. The findings contributed to World Health Organization endorsement and recommendations for patient blood management programs worldwide, with a particular focus on improving anaemia management for women and children in resource-limited countries.

 

Dr Annalise Martin 

Dr Annalise Martin is a haematology fellow at Royal Perth Hospital with an extensive background in haematology and microbiology. Her clinical interests include malignant and non-malignant blood disorders.

She is actively involved in research, has an extensive publication record, and has supervised many PhD students. Dr Martin has received numerous research awards in Australia and overseas, and her work has been presented at international conferences.

Dr Martin studied medicine at the University of Notre Dame Australia in Fremantle and completed specialist training with the Royal Australasian College of Physicians and the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia.

 

Dr Zi Yun Ng

Dr Zi Yun Ng is a dual-trained clinical and laboratory haematologist with a subspecialist interest in myeloproliferative neoplasms.

She graduated from the University of Western Australia and completed advanced haematology training in Western Australia. She subsequently undertook a translational research fellowship supported by Cancer Network WA in 2022, followed by an overseas fellowship in London under Professor Claire Harrison, an internationally recognised expert in myeloproliferative neoplasms. She currently practises at Royal Perth Hospital and Rockingham General Hospital.

Dr Ng's interests span clinical trials, clinical and translational research, patient education and advocacy, including active involvement with MPN Alliance Australia. She also holds a diploma in palliative care and values a holistic approach supported by empathetic communication. She has received multiple national and international awards and authored numerous publications.

 

Dr Ram Tampi

Dr Ram Tampi graduated from the University of Liverpool in the United Kingdom and completed training in clinical and laboratory haematology at Flinders Medical Centre in South Australia and Royal Perth Hospital.

His interests include the diagnosis and management of myelodysplastic syndromes, myeloma, lymphoma, thrombosis and thrombocytopenia. He has particular interests in outpatient iron infusions for iron deficiency anaemia and the management of haemochromatosis, and is involved in research in both fields.

Dr Tampi's private clinical practice is based at WA Specialist Clinic in Osborne Park. He is also a sessional staff member at Royal Perth Hospital.

 

Dr Shao Tneh

Dr Shao Tneh is a clinical and laboratory haematologist who consults at Royal Perth Hospital and St John of God Subiaco Hospital. After completing his medical training at the University of Queensland, he undertook basic physician and specialist haematology training in Queensland and was awarded fellowships of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians and the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia in 2020.

Dr Tneh moved to Western Australia for a research fellowship. He was awarded the WA Cancer and Palliative Care Network Fellowship in 2021 and the Sam Machin Scholarship by the International Council for Standardization in Haematology in 2022 for his translational research in collaboration with the University of Western Australia School of Biomedical Sciences. He is a principal investigator and sub-investigator in several clinical trials.

Dr Tneh holds an academic appointment as Clinical Senior Lecturer at the UWA Medical School and is actively involved in training medical students and junior doctors.

 

Associate Professor Agnes Yong

Dr Agnes Yong trained in clinical and laboratory haematology and stem cell transplantation at Hammersmith Hospital in London, and obtained her PhD in chronic myeloid leukaemia from Imperial College, University of London.

After postdoctoral research at the National Institutes of Health in the United States, she was a consultant haematologist at the Royal Adelaide Hospital and Senior Research Fellow at the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute before relocating to Perth.

Her research interests include chronic myeloid leukaemia, haematopoietic stem cell transplantation and chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy. She also has clinical research interests in myeloma, acute leukaemia and lymphoma, and affiliations with the University of Western Australia and the University of Adelaide. She has received multiple research grants and published extensively in chronic myeloid leukaemia and transplantation.

Dr Yong enjoys teaching and mentoring and received the Professor Derek Frewin Citation for Excellence in Clinical Teaching from the University of Adelaide.