Platinum Partner

Keynote Speakers

Dr Gerald J. Kost

David Rothfield Memorial Oration

Dr. Gerald J. Kost is an accomplished medical professional with a distinguished career in point-of-care testing (POCT) and clinical chemistry. He holds multiple degrees, including a PhD in Bioengineering and an MD from prestigious institutions, and is an Emeritus Professor at the University of California, Davis. Dr. Kost has contributed significantly to the development of POCT, which allows for diagnostic testing near the patient, improving rapid medical responses in various settings. He has invented key concepts in this field and co-authored seminal books and research on POCT, particularly for global health challenges like COVID-19. Dr. Kost has worked internationally, including as a Fulbright Scholar in Southeast Asia, and has been instrumental in implementing POCT in countries such as Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia. He has received numerous awards, grants, and honors, including the Marquis Who's Who Lifetime Achievement Award. His research spans geospatial POCT, disaster resilience, and the application of POCT in rural and resource-limited settings. He has published nearly 900 works and continues to be a leading figure in advancing medical testing and diagnostics globally. Additionally, Dr. Kost is an avid trumpet player and has performed internationally, including at Carnegie Hall.

View full bio here.

Dr Dianne Webster

David Curnow Plenary Lecture

Dr Dianne Webster studied chemistry at the University of Auckland (New Zealand; 1972) and received her PhD from the University of London (UK; 1981). She worked as research assistant and later as post-doctoral fellow on orotic aciduria and on the purine/pyrimidine metabolism. She became involved in neonatal screening in 1991, as director of the National Testing Centre, Auckland District Health Board and was also involved as senior lecturer at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Auckland School of Medicine. Dr Webster has served in various capacities in several professional societies, notably the ISNS but also the Human Genetics Society Australasia. She directed the New Zealand national newborn metabolic screening programme for more than twenty-five years. In 2007, Dr Webster was appointed a Companion of the Queen's Service Order for services to public health, in particular paediatrics. In 2020, she was appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to health, particularly paediatrics.

Dr Tze Ping Loh

APFCB Travelling Lecturer

Dr Tze Ping Loh was born in Penang, Malaysia. He obtained his undergraduate medical degree from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland-Penang Medical College, and undertook his Fellowship (Royal College of Pathologists, UK) training in chemical pathology at the National University Hospital, Singapore. He currently serves as Senior Consultant and Research Director at Department of Laboratory Medicine, National University Hospital, Singapore. His areas of interest include biomarker discovery and translational research (molecular diagnostics and chemical pathology), outcome research of established/ novel biomarker, paediatric general biochemistry and laboratory management.

Prof Mario Plebani

RCPAQAP Plenary

Prof Plebani is professor of clinical biochemistry and clinical molecular biology at the University of Padova school of medicine and chief of the department of laboratory medicine at the University Hospital of Padova in Italy. He is also dean of the university’s medical school and director of its postgraduate course of clinical pathology and clinical biochemistry. He served as president of the International Society of Enzymology for four years, president of the Italian Society of Clinical Biochemistry and Molecular Clinical Biology for five years, and president of the Federation of Italian Societies of Laboratory Medicine for three years. Dr. Plebani is editor-in-chief of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine and co-editor-in-chief of Diagnosis. He serves on the editorial boards of seven journals and as a referee for 17 more. He has published 1100 papers, more than 900 abstracts, 20 books, and 50 book chapters. He has delivered 150 lectures—including opening and keynote lectures—at national and international conferences. Among his many honors, he has received the King Prize for achievement in clinical enzymology from the International Society for Clinical Enzymology, an award for outstanding contributions from the AACC Management Sciences Division, the AACC award for outstanding contributions to patient safety, an honorary professorship from the University of Buenos Aires in Argentina, and an International Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine award for laboratory medicine and patient care.

Invited Speakers

Conference Secretariat

Australasian Association for Clinical Biochemistry and Laboratory Medicine
PO Box 7336, Alexandria NSW 2015
P: (61) 2 9669 6600 E: conference@aacb.asn.au
www.aacb.asn.au