Adjunct Professor Dr Annabelle Farnsworth AM (1971) MBBS (Hons), FRCPA, FIAC, Dip Cytopath (RCPA), RANZCOG (Hon), was awarded an AM at this year’s Australia Day awards for significant service to medicine, and to women’s health. ­­She is highly regarded throughout Australia and internationally for her contributions to cytology and gynaecological pathology.

After completing the HSC at MLC School where she was an all-rounder with a talent for singing, drama and science, Annabelle completed an MBBS with First Class Honours at the University of Sydney and trained as a histopathologist at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital.

For a number of years, Annabelle was Director of Anatomical Pathology at the Royal Hospital for Women, Paddington, before joining Douglass Hanly Moir Pathology (DHM) in 1995. At DHM she is a specialist gynaecological histopathologist and cytopathologist and is the Director of Cytopathology and GynaePath; she also holds the position of Chief Medical Officer.

Annabelle is a member of numerous prestigious national and international organisations. She is a past President of the Australian Society of Cytology and has served on various committee and Boards for the Society; currently she is Chair of the Society’s Board of Education. Annabelle is also a member of the Australian Society of Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology, and a past member of the Executive Committee of the International Academy of Cytology. She is a Fellow of both the Royal College of Pathologists Australasia and the International Academy of Cytology. In 2013, she was made an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RANZCOG).

In addition to her clinical practice, Annabelle’s academic affiliations include the DHM Chair in Pathology at the School of Medicine at the University of Notre Dame, and the Clinical Associate Professor of Pathology at Macquarie University.

Annabelle has published extensively in the areas of gynaecological cytology and pathology with a particular interest in quality standards and screening. She is also a manuscript reviewer for a range of medical journals. In 1997, Annabelle co-authored the highly-regarded book ‘Surgical Pathology of the Ovaries’ which received glowing reviews from publications such as the British Medical Journal.

As a leading expert in gynecological histopathologist and cytopathologist, and cervical cancer and its screening, Annabelle frequently appears in Podcasts, such as those of the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia and Healthed.