Dr Margaret Janu is calling time on a pathology career spanning more than four decades – where she’s cared for patients at Concord Hospital, led the Chemical Pathology Clinical Stream and been a Local Pathology Director. Retirement life is beckoning, and she plans to spend lots of quality time with family and grandchildren!
Chemical Pathologist and Local Pathology Director for Concord, Dr Margaret Janu began her working life at Concord Hospital as an intern in 1982 and undertook post-graduate training in pathology. She then went on to build a celebrated career spanning 43 years in various leadership roles at NSW Health Pathology.
“From very early on, I developed a love of science and medicine and wanting to understand the very basis of disease led me into a career in pathology,” Margaret said.
“I was keen to be exposed to all the pathology disciplines. I studied General Pathology and passed examinations in Basic Sciences, Chemical Pathology, Haematology, Microbiology and Anatomical Pathology prior to landing in Chemical Pathology.
“I was awarded the Fellowship of Royal Australasian College of Pathologists in 1992, and commenced at Concord Hospital as a Staff Specialist in 1995.”
This was the perfect springboard to her appointment as Director of the Diagnostic Pathology Unit at Concord Hospital, the core laboratory and the first NATA accredited multidisciplinary laboratory in a tertiary teaching hospital in Australia in the late 1990s.
“Over the years, I took the opportunities that came my way, and held various positions as Director of Biochemistry, Head of Department of the Diagnostic Pathology Unit (DPU), Clinical Stream Lead in Chemical Pathology NSW Health Pathology from 2018–2024 and have been the Local Pathology Director of Concord Hospital since 2019,” Margaret said.
“I’m extraordinarily proud of the achievements in leading the DPU during many years of change and advances in laboratory medicine. The hard-working team maintains a service that is efficient, effective and relevant to the needs of our patients,” she said.
“There was always a huge focus on ensuring the profile of pathology in the hospital community was maintained as a clinical speciality, and elevating the important work we do behind the scenes to enhance patient care and support research, education and training.
“As technology advances and new ways of working emerge, I have always advocated for the latest state-of-the-art equipment, whilst balancing the needs and wants with financial constraints. I was so proud to oversee the recent $29 million statewide investment, where NSW Health Pathology is rolling out new chemical analysers to harmonise testing and ensure all our laboratories have access to the latest technology.
“This initiative is so important, as it supports consistency in testing and enhances the quality of diagnostic services provided to clinicians and patients across New South Wales,” she said.
Recognition at the NSW Health Pathology Awards
The seven years I served as Clinical Stream Lead was another a career highlight and in particular, leading the team that won the NSW Health Pathology Chief Executive’s Award for the “Chemical Pathology Harmonisation Project” in 2023.
“My personal award as a RITES Staff Member in 2024 was the epitome of recognition from my peers and team and left me humbled yet very proud – it was a wonderful high note to finish up on, and I’m so grateful for this recognition.”
There’s been changes and challenges over four decades
Margaret says she’s witnessed so many changes over her working life.
“The advances in genomics, instrumentation, robotics, software advances, and machine learnings, just to name a few! The explosion in point-of-care diagnostic instrumentation is another area that’s come ahead in leaps and bounds,” she said.
“There has also been everyday changes in the way we do business – pen and paper have been relegated almost to history. From a people perspective, I think we are much more in tune with balancing family and work commitments – such as job sharing, working from home and on-line meetings. Then there is the considerations around personal safety and risk, which are very much in the forefront of what we do, and that’s the way it should be!” she said.
Margaret strove to foster collaborative leadership amongst the medical and scientific staff through respect, collective problem-solving and embracing diverse perspectives.
“When I reflect back on my working life, these principles were always the key to successfully leading my various teams to the great outcomes we achieved.”
Tribute to Margaret
Director of Clinical Transformation, Professor Robert Lindeman paid tribute to Margaret’s pivotal role in fostering cohesion and cooperation among her colleagues, and how she always approached challenges with measured judgement to reach consensus on complex issues.
“Margaret served as the inaugural Chemical Pathology Clinical Stream Lead, a role she maintained until shortly before commencing leave prior to her retirement. The establishment of clinical streams facilitated enhanced collaboration across sites, and she consistently ensured that the perspectives of Chemical Pathologists and scientists were communicated effectively to the NSW Health Pathology Executive. Margaret was also a strong champion of the organisation’s values and setting the standard for communication of Clinical Stream activities across the organisation,” Rob said.
“In her capacity as specialty lead within the Chemical Pathology Community of Practice, Margaret guided her colleagues through the review of an enormous number of orderables, reportables and reference intervals, achieving alignment in preparation for the new statewide laboratory information system,” he said.
“She has also provided key leadership in the rollout of chemistry analysers, leading the progress to automation and standardisation across sites and laying the groundwork for alignment and process improvement.”
“At the same time, Margaret was the Local Pathology Director and acknowledged representative of pathology on the Concord campus, where she was a steadfast advocate for both local and statewide objectives,” said Rob.
Margaret is respected not just for her specialty expertise and judgement, but also for her deep understanding of and empathy for her professional colleagues – these attributes underpin her success in simultaneously managing so many complex roles.
And so, with all these achievements, Margaret embarks on a well-deserved retirement, which will include more European walking adventures, tending to her large garden of camellias and azaleas, and spending precious “nanna time” with her five grandchildren.
From everyone here at NSW Health Pathology – we wish you all the best in this next chapter of life Margaret.
We hope you know just how much you are appreciated for the many outstanding contributions you have made to the health and safety of your community!
