Veterinary Referral Hospital

Dr Sarah Helmond

Medicine Specialist

BVSc (Hons)
Head of Internal Medicine at VRH

Sarah Helmond graduated from the University of Melbourne in 2001.  She worked in general practice for 5 years before moving to the USA to undertake a residency at the University of Minnesota in Small Animal Internal Medicine.  During that time she performed research into immune-mediated diseases and treatments for blood clotting disorders.  Sarah was awarded Diplomate status with the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine in 2010.

After Sarah’s residency, she went on to work as Clinical Research Fellow at Cornell University working in the Comparative Coagulation Laboratory. Following completion of this position she moved to California and worked in private speciality practice. In 2015, Sarah moved back to Australia initially working at a speciality hospital in Sydney, then moving back to Melbourne in 2018 to join VRH.

Sarah has a particular interest in immune mediated diseases, especially hematological (blood) diseases, prevention and treatment of blood clots and kidney disease. Sarah is passionate about providing her clients and patients with a high level of care. It’s not unusual to find her in the kennel of a patient giving them ‘an extra check’ or an extra pat.

Sarah speaks about why she enjoys working at VRH:
“I work at VRH because of the people. It is amazing to be able to work in the same building as specialists in so many fields. We are able to collaborate and work together to achieve excellent patient outcomes – we all learn and help each other every day. ”

Outside of work Sarah spends time with her family including 2 children, 2 fish and cat named ‘Mr Sparkles’. One of her favourite past times is looking after her garden.

Dr Catherine Bovens

Medicine Specialist

DVM, DipECVIM-CA, MRCVS

Catherine Bovens is a Diplomate of the European College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (ECVIM) for companion animals. Catherine is from Belgium and graduated from the University of Liege, Belgium in 2005.

After a one-year small animal internship in the same university, she went to the UK for a three-year Senior Clinical Fellowship in Internal Medicine at the Animal Health Trust, obtaining the RCVS Certificate in Small Animal Medicine in 2009. This was followed by further intensive training in internal medicine with a three-year residency programme at the University of Bristol in the UK. Catherine obtained her European Diploma in Veterinary Internal Medicine in 2014.

When deciding to move to Australia, it was very important to Catherine to find a hospital where she could work in such a way that she could achieve the best standard of care for her patients.

“I was keen to join VRH because it already had a good team of other specialists, including specialists in surgery and imaging, as well as a good team of vets to look after my patients out of hours. This gave me the confidence that I could do my work at the best possible standard.”

Catherine enjoys all areas of feline and canine internal medicine; her areas of particular interest include haematology, liver diseases and endoscopy. She has published articles in several veterinary journals, including the Veterinary Times and the Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery, and has lectured in several countries. She has received awards for her presentations at conferences, including the Best Medicine Abstract at the UK National Veterinary Congress and the Best Case Report at the Small Animal Medicine Society conference.

Catherine has three cats, all coming from rescue centres, and outside work she enjoys exploring the countryside playing board games.

Dr Lucia Yu

Medicine Specialist

Dr Lucia graduated as a veterinarian from the University of Queensland in 2012 and worked as a general practitioner for some years before pursuing her passion in small animal internal medicine.  This career journey has included a rotating internship at the University of Sydney, followed by a small animal internal medicine residency at U-Vet Werribee Animal Hospital through the University of Melbourne, which was completed in 2018. Over the past four years, she has been admitted as a Fellow of the Small Animal Internal Medicine chapter of the Australian and New Zealand College of Veterinary Scientists, and completed a post-graduate degree of Master of Veterinary studies. She is currently completing a  post-graduate research degree (Master of Veterinary Science), investigating the dosing of oral radioiodine for treatment of hyperthyroidism in cats, as well as how the renal parameters change in this population of cats. In the remainder of her time, Lucia and her Labradoodle Henrietta-Coriander Yu enjoy long walks on the beach together.

Dr Matt Munro

Medicine Specialist

Dr Cameron Broome

Surgery Specialist

Cameron is a Fellow of the Australian College of Veterinary Scientists in Small Animal Surgery. He graduated from the University of Queensland in 1993.  He then completed a surgical internship at Queensland Veterinary Specialists before undertaking a surgical residency at Massey University in New Zealand.  Since then, he has worked in a number of private practices and Universities in Australia and overseas, including three years as Head of Surgery at the University of Glasgow.  Cameron has a keen interest in veterinary education and has been published on a range of topics. He is interested in all aspects of surgery, but has a particular interest in minimally invasive surgery and efforts to minimise the impact of surgery on patients.

Dr Jana Kolichis

Surgical Resident

Dr Claire Cannon

Specialist Oncologist

Claire joined the VRH team in 2021.  She graduated from the University of Melbourne in 2003 and spent several years in general practice in Australia and the United Kingdom before deciding to specialise.  During her internship, she worked veterinary oncologists for the first time and realised that there are always options for animals with cancer, ranging from surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy to palliative or comfort care, and she decided that oncology was the career path for her.  She moved to the United States in 2009 to undertake a residency in veterinary oncology at the University of Minnesota.  She became board certified in 2013 and went on to undertake additional training in research.  She has been on faculty at the University of Minnesota, University of Tennessee, and most recently was a senior lecturer and head of the U-Vet Small Animal Medicine and Oncology service the University of Melbourne.

She has authored multiple peer-reviewed journal articles and textbook chapters, presented her research at several international conferences, and has an ongoing interest in clinical research, having coordinated and participated in several clinical trials of new therapies in dogs and cats with cancer.

Claire is passionate about providing excellent care to all animals with cancer, and their owners, with a focus on maintaining the best quality of life possible for her patients.

Dr Rob Turner

Specialist Radiologist

BVSc PGCertSci MVS FANZCVS (Veterinary Radiology) 

Rob is a Massey University-trained veterinarian. He later did advanced studies in veterinary medicine (PGCertSci and MVS). After undertaking a residency in veterinary diagnostic imaging residency at U-Vet Werribee Animal Hospital, Rob successfully achieved ANZCVS Fellowship in Small Animal Radiology in 2021. He is currently doing a PhD, investigating the ultrasonographic characteristics of the pancreas and body composition in dogs, particularly the distribution of visceral abdominal fat.

Rob is from Zimbabwe and has previously worked in general veterinary practice in Adelaide, Cairns and for a short period – Jaipur, India. He has been to India twice and to China to assist in small animal welfare clinics and to volunteer at the Animal Asia Centre in Chengdu.

Rob has particular interest in neuroimaging, vascular imaging, swallow studies, interventional ultrasonography and interventional radiology. Working alongside every department within VRH, Rob’s days are never predictable and are always full of interesting cases.

Rob speaks about why he enjoys working at VRH:
“I love working with the amazing VRH team dedicated to high-end veterinary medicine.”

When not at work, Rob spends time with his family and chasing after his two kids. He also enjoys running with his ever-energetic German Short-haired Pointer. Teka is a Blood Donor Hero and has saved many patients at VRH.

Dr Adrian Bryce

Radiology Registrar

Dr Lyssa Neilson

Veterinary Radiographer

Lyssa came to VRH with over 10 years of experience as a radiographer, having previously worked at human hospitals before making the switch to the veterinary world.

She has an interest in MRI and CT imaging and has focused her career on these areas.

When Lyssa is not at work, she enjoys spending time at home with her horses, dogs and cat.

Dr Leah Bradbury

Specialist Anaesthetist

Leah graduated from the University of Sydney as a veterinarian in 1999. Following graduation, she worked in a number of veterinary practices in Australia and the UK before commencing a residency in anaesthesia and critical care at the University of Liverpool in the UK in 2003.  During this residency Leah was a awarded a Royal College Certificate in Veterinary Anaesthesia.  In 2008 she became a Diplomat of the European College of Veterinary Anaesthesia and Analgesia by examination.  She is also a member of the Australian and New Zealand College of Veterinary Scientists.

Following completion of her residency she returned to work in Australia at the University of Melbourne where she led the anaesthesia team for 5 years.  Leah then relocated to Charles Sturt University in Wagga Wagga where she was involved in clinical work, teaching and research into animal welfare.  Leah remains an adjunct senior lecturer for Charles Sturt University.  She is also actively involved in a number of education programs for both veterinarians and nurses.

Leah is passionate about all aspects of veterinary anaesthesia and has a particular interest in perioperative pain relief and pain assessment.

Dr Eleanor Holden

Specialist Anaesthetist

After graduating from the University of Queensland, Eleanor spent time in mixed general practice in Lilydale followed by a small animal rotating internship at the University of Melbourne. After returning to the University of Queensland as a clinical anaesthetist for a few years, she undertook a residency in veterinary anaesthesia and analgesia at the University of Glasgow, Scotland. Eleanor became a Diplomat of the European College of Anaesthesia and Analgesia in 2017. Eleanor joined the VRH team in 2021.

Eleanor enjoys many aspects of her work but has a special interest perioperative patient care and multimodal analgesia including locoregional anaesthetic techniques.

When not at work Eleanor loves getting out in the outdoors hiking, taking photos and gardening.