A/Prof Vanathi Sivasubramaniam

Associate Professor Vanathi Sivasubramaniam MBBS, FRCPA is an experienced specialist in cardiovascular and pleuropulmonary pathology, with a particular focus on transplant-related pathology. Her expertise encompasses both tumour and non-tumour diseases, with additional interests in mediastinal pathology and cytopathology. She has played a pivotal role in advancing PD-L1 immunohistochemistry protocols for non-small cell lung cancer in Australia, contributing significantly to clinical trial work, the establishment of standardized reporting regimes, and the development of training programs for pathologists across Australia and New Zealand. Vanathi has also been instrumental in creating frameworks for ongoing quality assurance practices in collaboration with the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia (RCPA). She is heavily involved in several major research projects involving both on and off campus collaborators, delving into both cardiac and pulmonary diseases.

Vanathi completed her medical degree at the University of Queensland and obtained her Fellowship in Anatomical Pathology in 2011. Her specialist training was predominantly at St. Vincent’s Hospital (Sydney), supplemented by rotations that culminated with her undertaking the Geraldine Colby Zeiler Fellowship in Lung and Cytopathology at the Mayo Clinic, Arizona in 2011.

Vanathi maintains active membership in several professional organizations, including the International Academy of Pathology, the Pulmonary Pathology Society, the Society for Cardiovascular Pathology, the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer, the Australian Society of Cytology, and the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation (ISHLT). Her engagement with ISHLT has expanded to include significant international research collaborations, participation in multiple subcommittees focused on enhancing transplant consensus guidelines, and her appointment as the Pathology Professional Community Representative to the Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant (AHFTX) Interdisciplinary Network Steering Committee for 2024–2027, and chair of the Pathology Professional Community Committee for the year 2025-2026.

In addition to her position as Senior Staff Specialist, Vanathi also holds a position as Associate Professor at the School of Clinical Medicine, UNSW Medicine & Health. She is deeply committed to medical education and research, and has been actively involved in admissions, undergraduate teaching, and examinations since 2006. Over many years, she has contributed extensively to the training of specialist registrars, including serving as joint registrar supervisor within Anatomical Pathology at SydPath and as an examiner for the RCPA.