Scientific Committee
Jo McCann
Jo is a senior sonographer from Hamilton, New Zealand where she divides her time working for a private imaging company and teaching ultrasound skills to a diverse group of ultrasound users.
Jo has worked in several different clinical settings across New Zealand, Australia and Canada which gives her a strong appreciation for the issues facing all users of ultrasound. Jo has a keen interest in head and neck ultrasound, outreach work and musculoskeletal ultrasound. Jo has taught several ultrasound programmes and is currently a guest lecturer in Australia and Malaysia.
Jo is a Registration Examination Assessment examiner for the New Zealand Medical Radiation Technologists Board and a sonographer technical expert for International Accreditation of New Zealand. She has served on the DMU board of Examiners as the general representative and board chair. Jo was elected President of the ASUM Board in 2024.
Karen Brennan
Karen is a skilled, Kimberley based sonographer and radiographer who graduated as a radiographer in 2010 and completed the WACHS Country Ultrasound Training Program in Derby, WA in 2019. After several years working in remote Derby, she joined Broome Radiology in late 2022, continuing to deliver high-quality imaging services across the Kimberley.
She has a strong interest in health promotion and Indigenous health, focusing on culturally responsive, patient-centred care. Karen incorporates some local Indigenous language and songs where appropriate to build rapport and support patient understanding. It is not strange to hear The Pigram Brothers, Frozen soundtrack or Taylor Swift playing in CT or US to create a calm, fun environment and distract patients of all ages. She is currently undertaking postgraduate studies in Emergency Management and serves on the Kimberley Health Professionals Network committee.
In addition to her clinical work, Karen has volunteered as a firefighter for nine years and enjoys giving back to her community.
Sam Burgoyne
Sam Burgoyne is the Lead Facilitator at Perth Cardiac PoCUS. She has been working in the field of Cardiac Physiology since 2004 and has worked in both the public and private sectors, throughout Australia and overseas. She is involved in various teaching positions including facilitating cardiac point-of-care workshops at Perth Cardiac Pocus, EMUGs (Emergency Medicine Ultrasound Group) and RACGP (Royal Australian College of General Practitioners).
Sam is employed by AdvaraHeartcare in WA as a Senior Cardiac Sonographer, covering outpatients, and the private and public inpatients, and the College of Intensive Care Medicine (CICM) as a Sonographer Educator and Focussed Cardiac Ultrasound Assessor in Bunbury ICU. She is the current Chair of PiCSA (Professionals in Cardiac Sciences Australia) and on various committees within CSANZ (The Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand). She has previously worked as a Cardiac Sonographer at Vancouver General Hospital, a Clinical Cardiac Applications Specialist for Lifehealthcare, a Notre Dame University “cardiac anatomy with ultrasound” Tutor, and a Secondary Science and Maths teacher.
Sam’s main professional interest lies in improving patient outcomes through quality, evidence-based professional development. She currently is the co-lead for the Quality Assurance at Advara WA. Sam has recently been awarded an Associate Fellowship of Australasian Sonographers Association (AFASA). She was also nominated for the 2023 ASUM Awards of Excellence – Educator of the Year, and 2023 ASA Awards of Excellence – Tutor/Clinical Supervisor of the Year Award.
Kirstie Geiger
Kirstie is a highly experienced general sonographer based in Broome, Western Australia, with nearly 20 years of clinical experience in medical imaging. Her expertise spans general, musculoskeletal, vascular, small parts, and obstetric sonography, along with a background in general radiography.
After completing the WACHS Country Ultrasound Training Program in Derby in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, Kirstie went on to spend 12 years practicing in Alice Springs. Throughout her career, she has remained committed to delivering high-quality, contemporary medical imaging services to rural and remote communities.
Above all, Kirstie brings warmth and positivity to her work — brightening clinical spaces with her vibrant collection of themed scrubs and her sparkling personality.
Sandra O’Hara
Sandra O’Hara is the Deputy Ultrasound Supervisor and senior tutor Sonographer at SKG Radiology in Perth. She obtained the General DMU in 1993, a research-based Master of Medical Sonography in 2015 and became a Doctor of Philosophy in Medical Imaging Science in 2020.
Sandra is a Fellow of the Australasian Sonographers Association and received the award for Western Australian Sonographer of the year at ASA 2016 and 2024. Sandra is committed to maintaining high standards of practice in the field of Sonography and has produced a number of peer reviewed publications and is an associate editor with the Australasian Journal or Ultrasound in Medicine.
Michelle Pedretti
Biography coming soon.
Ben Roberts
Ben has over 25 years of experience in radiology, with 18 years dedicated to sonography. His career spans both private practice and tertiary hospitals across Australia and the UK. Throughout this time, he has contributed to research initiatives and held key leadership roles.
Currently, Ben serves as Sonographer Manager at Perth Radiological Clinic, where he provides professional and operational leadership to a large sonography team. His focus is on delivering quality at scale, fostering teamwork, ensuring efficient service delivery, and maintaining rigorous quality standards.
Marilyn Zelesco
Marilyn Zelesco is a Western Australian trained diagnostic radiographer who gained a post graduate ultrasound qualification in 1991. Marilyn completed her Masters in Ultrasound through the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in 2007.
Marilyn has received professional awards from the Australian Institute of Radiography, the Australian Sonographers Association and the Australian Society for Ultrasound in Medicine.
Marilyn is the Lead Sonographer at the Fiona Stanley Hospital in Perth. Marilyn has an interest in hepatic, bowel and male reproductive tract ultrasound, elastography, CEUS, renal transplants, research, education and sonography in indigenous health care.