An ‘exceptional leader, colleague and mentor’, Catherine Janto is both loved and respected by all those who work with her.
In early 2020, the Nepean Microbiology lab’s second-in-charge had just returned from maternity leave when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Her initial plan to return part-time quickly shifted to working full-time and overtime to support her staff and protect them from burnout.
During the Delta outbreak, she supported other labs by helping set up overflow COVID-19 testing at the Elizabeth Macarthur Agriculture Institute (EMAI).
No task is too hard for Catherine, from writing test procedures one minute to suddenly procuring multiple extension cords to redirect power to keep vital laboratory instruments running during an outage. No matter the issue, she’s on top of it and driven to ensure our services are unaffected, her colleagues are safe and patient care is uncompromised.
On many occasions, she has come into work in the middle of the night to ensure urgent patient samples are processed by the morning. Her hard work motivates all those around her.
If someone needs Catherine, she will drop whatever she is doing to lighten their load. Catherine is empathic and listens without interruption. If she doesn’t have a solution, her answer is always “Leave it with me, I will figure it out” and she does.
Catherine is never without a smile on her face. Her positive nature has made the lab a safe space and brought a team of diverse staff together in the toughest of times.