Our Specialists

Dr Emma Verner

Head of Department, Haematologist
MBBS BMedSci FRCPA FRACP
 

Dr Emma Verner is a clinical and laboratory haematologist who joined the team as a staff specialist in 2012. 

She is the new Head of Haematology, having been the Medical Director of the Bone Marrow Transplant and Apheresis Unit since 2014. As a passionate clinician researcher, she has a strong interest in clinical research and is a chief investigator on a national Australasian Leukaemia and Lymphoma Group study of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma therapy in older patients. 

She has been the local principal investigator on numerous clinical trials at Concord that have led to changes in the treatment of these diseases. Her clinical interests are in malignant haematology, in particular lymphoma and chronic lymphocytic leukaemia, but she has diverse clinical experience in the diagnosis and management of both malignant and non-malignant haematological conditions.

Clinical Associate Professor Ilona Cunningham

Director of Cancer Services and Palliative Care, Haematologist
MBBS FRACP
 

Ilona Cunningham is the Director of Cancer Services and Palliative Care for Sydney Local Health District and continues her haematology practice at Concord, with a strong commitment to clinical research incorporated into her care of haematology patients. 

While she has a special interest in myeloproliferative disease and chronic myeloid leukaemia, she also looks after patients with other blood cancers and non-malignant blood disorders.

She trained in Melbourne and at Stanford University in California as a post-doctoral fellow in haematology. She is a fellow of The Royal Australasian College of Physicians and a member of a number of professional organisations, including the American Society of Haematology.

Professor Judith Trotman

Haematologist
MBChB FRACP FRCPA
 

Judith Trotman trained in New Zealand, Australia and France. She was Head of Haematology (2019-24) and founding Director (2004-19) of the Clinical Research Unit, nurturing a culture of research for delivery of world class care at Concord. She is Scientific Chair of the Australasian Leukaemia Lymphoma Group and provides global leadership in the development of new lymphoma therapies, PET scanning for response assessment, and empowering the patient voice in research. She was awarded the 2022 Peter Bing Humanitarian Award for extraordinary global humanitarian service and activism for patients with the lymphoma Waldenström macroglobulinaemia.

She is the founding chair of Women in Lymphoma – an international alliance building leadership of women in lymphoma care and research. She is the Pride of Concord Awardee 2019 and a board member of Foundation for A Bloody Great Cause.

Associate Professor Vivien Chen

Head of Discovery and Translational Research, Haematologist
MBBS BA PhD FRACP FRCPA
 

Vivien Chen is a staff specialist haematologist at Concord Hospital, Head of Discovery and Translational Research in Haematology with a research and clinical focus in coagulation disorders.

A NSW Health Cardiovascular Capacity Building Program Senior Clinician Researcher, Vivien heads the Platelet and Thrombosis Research Laboratory at the ANZAC Research Institute. She is Chair of the Thrombosis and Haemostasis Society of Australia and New Zealand (THANZ) advisory group for vaccine-associated thrombosis and thrombocytopenia.

Her research focus is on the biology of the procoagulant platelets with a translational focus on the predictive and prognostic role of these pathological platelets in disease states such as immune thrombosis, coronary artery disease, stroke, myeloproliferative disease and sepsis with a growing intellectual property portfolio for diagnostics and drug discovery. Vivien’s other clinical research efforts relate to venous thrombo-embolism, in particular the predictors and management of cancer associated thrombosis. Clinical innovations include the first VTE stewardship program in NSW.

Dr Nicole Wong Doo

Director of Haematology Clinical Research Unit, Haematologist
MBBS PhD FRACP FRCPA GradCert ClnTch
 

Nicole Wong Doo trained in Sydney and Melbourne with a fellowship at Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre. She is the Director of the Haematology Clinical Research Unit at Concord Hospital and Senior Lecturer at the University of Sydney.

Her interests are in multiple myeloma and lymphoma. She is an active clinician investigator leading myeloma and lymphoma clinical trials both at Concord Hospital and nationally, and leads the implementation of the multiple myeloma clinics in Concord Cancer Centre. 

She is dedicated to promoting excellence in haematology in Australasia as NSW Councillor for the Haematology Society of Australia and New Zealand, as a teacher and examiner for the RACP, and as a member of the Pathology Education Outreach Committee for the College of Pathologists.

Dr Robin Gasiorowski

Deputy Head of Department, Haematologist
MA (Cantab) MBBS PhD FRACP FRCPA
 

Robin Gasiorowski completed medical training at Cambridge University and University College London, before moving to Australia in 2004. His specialist haematology training at Royal Prince Alfred and Concord Hospitals. He now has an appointment at Concord as the Deputy Head of Department. In 2017, he completed his PhD with the Dendritic Cell Research group at the University of Sydney. 

As a Senior Lecturer at the University of Sydney and Macquarie University, he is involved in training medical students and junior doctors at all stages of their careers. He also has a strong interest in clinical research, particularly in the development of novel immune therapies for patients with haematological malignancies. He is a principal investigator on a number of clinical trials for patients with lymphoma and acute leukaemia.

Dr Riana van der Linde

Head of Laboratory Haematology, Haematologist
 

Riana van der Linde is a laboratory-based haematologist with experience in diagnosing a broad range of benign and malignant haematological disorders and implementing new testing practices. She received her medical training in South Africa, obtaining her medical degree from the University of the Free State and a Master’s degree from Limpopo University. Riana currently holds a staff specialist position at Concord Hospital and a clinical lecturer position at the University of Sydney. 

In addition to her clinical work, Riana is an accomplished researcher with a particular interest in flow cytometry. She is undertaking a doctoral degree from the University of Sydney researching novel methods for detecting minimal residual disease in acute myeloid leukaemia using flow cytometry. 

Dr Ibrahim Tohidi-Esfahani

Haematologist
 

Ibrahim Tohidi-Esfahani is a haematologist at Concord Hospital, Clinical Senior Lecturer at the University of Sydney and post-doctoral researcher at the ANZAC Research Institute. His focus is on improving health outcomes in complex and rare diseases, and his clinical and scientific research extends nationally and internationally.

After completing his PhD at University of Sydney, he undertook an overseas fellowship in antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) at the world-leading APS centre at University College London Hospital, UK. He is a leader in patient-partnered research in Waldenström’s macroglobulinemia (WM), heading the global WhiMSICAL Registry study in WM, and has co-authored international consensus treatment guidelines for WM.

Dr Marc Ellis

Haematologist
BSc MBBS PhD FRACP FRCPA

Dr Marc Ellis graduated medicine from the University of Queensland in 2009 and completed haematology specialist training in Brisbane, primarily at the Princess Alexandra and Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospitals. In 2018, he relocated to Sydney to further his research career by undertaking a PhD investigating models of platelet generation, through the Heart Research Institute and the University of Sydney.

While completing his research studies, he worked part time in a subspecialist thrombosis and haemostasis role at Concord Hospital. In 2022, he completed his PhD and now has clinical appointments at Concord and Macquarie University Hospitals. He is a Clinical Senior Lecturer with the University of Sydney and is involved with teaching medical students and junior doctors. He maintains a clinical interest in haemostasis, thrombosis and myeloproliferative neoplasms. He is actively involved with medication safety, particularly anticoagulation guideline development.

Dr Janlyn Falconer

Director Bone Marrow Transplant and Apheresis Unit, Haematologist
BMedSci MBBS FRACP FRCPA
 

Dr Janlyn Falconer is a staff specialist haematologist who joined the department in 2023. She graduated from the University of New South Wales and completed her specialist haematology training in Sydney before completing a two-year postgraduate clinical research fellowship as Concord Hospital’s inaugural Haematology Clinical Research Fellow. 

She then moved to the United Kingdom to undertake a Lymphoma Clinical Research Fellowship at University Hospital Southampton, with experience in both early and late phase research. She joined the Haematology Department in Southampton as a Consultant in late 2019, working within the Lymphoma and Myeloma subspeciality services gaining invaluable experience within this large, transplant and CAR-T cell therapy referral centre, where she served as departmental lead for Clinical Research and Acute Oncology. 

Janlyn maintains a strong commitment to education and clinical research with particular interests in lymphoma, multiple myeloma and cellular therapies.

Our Nurses

Elizabeth Newman

Nurse Practitioner, Bone Marrow Transplant and Apheresis
 

Elizabeth Newman is a Nurse Practitioner specialising in Haematology/Blood and Marrow Transplant/Apheresis and Cell Therapies. Elizabeth graduated as Nurse Practitioner in 2007 from the University of Newcastle and has also completed education in bone marrow transplant (BMT), apheresis, chemotherapy, immunisation and operating suite nursing at the Australian College of Nursing.

The nurse practitioner led Apheresis and Cell Therapies Unit also offers a post BMT vaccination clinic, a venesection service, comprehensive stem cell collection for autologous patients and donors, autologous BMT planning and education, tissue typing for BMT transplant and oversight of bone marrow biopsies with conscious sedation. Elizabeth participates in donor and clinical research in apheresis and haematology both locally and internationally with several publications.

Alisha Ganesh

Clinical Nurse Consultant, Haematology
 

Alisha is the Haematology Clinical Nurse Consultant at Concord Hospital. She has worked at Concord for over 10 years in haematology. She graduated from her bachelor’s degree in nursing at the University of Technology Sydney, and a master’s degree in Cancer and Haematology Nursing at the University of Sydney. 

As Haematology Clinical Nurse Consultant, Alisha works closely with patients with malignant haematological disorders to help coordinate their care, provide extensive education about their disease and treatment, and provide support and advice on supportive care management throughout their treatment.

Alisha is a strong patient advocate, with a focus on providing evidence-based care to ensure patients get the best possible outcome throughout their cancer treatment journey.