Leadership Team

Gloria Crossley

Gloria Crossley

Interim General Manager Canterbury Health and WCDHB Laboratories

Biography

Gloria has over 40 years’ experience in the health sector as a Registered Medical Laboratory Scientist (MLS) and whose roles have included Charge Scientist, Quality Manager, and Laboratory Manager. In addition, Gloria has worked across the sector taking responsibility for areas such as Pharmacy, Allied Health and Support Services.

Gloria has been a member of the National Directors of Allied Scientific & Technical, and a Board Member of Health Workforce New Zealand. She continues to be a member of the National Roundtable of Laboratory and Pathology Services.

Gloria’s passion for the health sector and particularly pathology services, leads her to work to assist with initiatives that will improve outcomes for the workforce and the community. As part of this, a major focus is working with people to encourage, foster and allow them to reach their full potential. She supports a team approach with a focus on the right person with the right skills, providing what is required to the right person, at the right location.

Assoc Prof Anja Werno

Assoc Prof Anja Werno

Chief of Pathology and Laboratories

MD, PhD, MBA, FRCPA, FFSc

Special Interests

Virus pathogenicity, respiratory viruses, novel & molecular diagnostics

Biography

Anja trained as a Clinical Microbiologist & Virologist in Auckland and Christchurch, and became a Fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia (FRCPA) in 2004.

Anja’s research interests focus is on virus pathogenicity and diagnostics, novel diagnostic methods and application of next generation sequencing in the diagnostic space.

She has had a longstanding interest in respiratory virus pathogens and their diagnosis as well as HPV molecular diagnostics and has been part of an advisory group on quality issues pertaining to the implementation of HPV primary screening in NZ.

During the Covid-19 pandemic Anja has been a member of the National COVID-19 Technical Advisory Group.

Lada Mariyeva

Lada Mariyeva

Finance Manager

Biography

Coming soon

Peter Daws

Peter Daws

Service Manager Core and Microbiology

Biography

Coming soon

Vanessa Buchan

Vanessa Buchan

Patient & Client Services Manager

Biography

Coming soon

Greg Devane

Greg Devane

Anatomical Pathology Service Manager

BSc, Dip HSM, AFCHSM

Special Interests

Service design, capacity planning, technology, lean workflow processes and contracting

Biography

Greg has proven experience in building and leading high-performing teams across health, academic and laboratory settings. Greg’s work history includes roles at Otago, Lincoln and Canterbury Universities, 10 years with the Institute of Environmental Science Research (ESR), and most recently 18 years with the Canterbury DHB (Corporate Services, Burwood Hospital and Canterbury Health Laboratories).

Greg graduated with a BSc from Otago University and a Diploma in Health and Safety Management from the New Zealand Institute of Management. Greg has been a member of the Australasian College of Health Service Management for 10 ten years and is a Certified Health Manager.

Greg’s role at Canterbury Health Laboratories has seen him heavy involved with the delivery of hospital and community pathology services including several national screening programmes and forensic pathology and mortuary services.

Dr Joanne Mitchell

Dr Joanne Mitchell

Quality Manager

BSc Hons, PhD

Biography

Jo came to Canterbury Health Laboratories from the UK in 2012. She started her career in medical research and completed a PhD at the University of Birmingham looking at host-microbe interactions in chronic infective lung disease. After a stint of post-graduate research, she joined an independent rapid molecular diagnostic laboratory and became a Clinical Scientist and Quality Manager. Her first role at CHL was as research coordinator and PC3 facility coordinator.

Jo took on her current role as Quality Manager in 2016.

Jill Westgarth

Jill Westgarth

Operations Facilitator and Acting Service Manager for Genetics & COVID-19

Biography

Jill graduated from University of Glasgow with a BSc(Hons) Genetics and MSc Medical Genetics. Jill trained as a clinical cytogeneticist in the UK and joined CHL as a scientific officer in Cytogenetics. Her professional qualifications include UK PG Cert Clinical Cytogenetics and MHGSA (Part 1).

Over the last 20 years, she has worked in various line manager roles in CHL and successfully planned and implemented several new services alongside managing general operational requirements.

Currently, Jill is Acting Genetics and COVID-19 Service Manager at CHL.