Biography

Dr Lydia Pitcher is a paediatric haematologist at Icon Cancer Centre Chermside with dual fellowships in paediatrics and pathology (haematology), and extensive clinical and laboratory experience in blood disorders in children and young adults. In 1988 he graduated from the University of Queensland with Honours; Dr Pitcher interrupted her medical degree in 1985 to undertake a Bachelor of Medical Science, with a thesis concerning the prognostic assessment of breast cancer. In 1992, she began her paediatric and haematology fellowships in Brisbane and completed her training as honorary registrar at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children in London.

She has worked as a consultant haematologist at the Mater and Royal Children’s Hospitals in Brisbane, as well as overseas including London and the Starship Hospital in New Zealand. Dr Pitcher has been actively involved in research and medical ethics throughout her career with publications and presentations in the fields of malignant blood disorders, stem cell transplantation, molecular genetics of leukaemia and inherited stem cell disorders, haemophilia, paediatric thrombosis, neonatal blood disorders, aplastic anaemia, iron deficiency and late effects of therapy. She has been a member of national and international committees in these areas, and has continued involvement in undergraduate, postgraduate and nursing education.