MEET THE TEAM
Dr Kirstin Fearnhead
Dr Kirstin (Kirsty) Janine Fearnhead (neé Coetzee) completed undergraduate training at the University of Cape Town, and graduated in 2004 with first-class honours, having achieved distinction in the pre-clinical, clinical and final clinical examinations. She was awarded the Will-Frid Exner Baumann Memorial medal for the best results in final year Medicine (including Paediatric Medicine), the University Gold Medal in Medicine for the most distinguished MBChB student graduating with honours, the Jack Prisman Prize for the best final year MBChB student and the Barnard Fuller Prize for the best student qualifying for MBChB with first-class honours. She also held the Moffat Memorial Prize in 2003 for a student who has shown excellence in Surgery and an interest in the humanities (MBChB V), the Welch Allyn SA Ltd Prize for the student obtaining the highest marks in the final Otorhinolaryngology exam (MBChB V) the Chemical Pathology Class Medal (MBChB III), the BJ Ryrie Book Prize for Anatomical Pathology (MBChB III), and the Health and Society Class Medal (MBChB I). Her interest in anatomical pathology was sparked by a 5th year elective at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, USA, and has grown into a lifelong passion.
Following internship and Community Service in Johannesburg, Dr Fearnhead completed her fellowship training in the University of the Witwatersrand Department of Anatomical Pathology, obtaining her FCPath in May 2013 and her MMed in 2015. During her work in the department as a junior pathologist she fostered ties with the Helen Joseph breast unit, honing her skills in breast pathology. Her attendance of the Placental Pathology for Africa course also sparked a love of placental and foetal/neonatal pathology.
In private practice since May 2018, Dr Fearnhead has broad capabilities as a general pathologist with particular active interests in dermatopathology, breast, placental and gastrointestinal/hepatobiliary pathology. She is a member of the Breast Wellness, Morningside Head and Neck Forum and Sandton Mediclinic Multidisciplinary teams. She spends her days doing frozen sections, with an emphasis on skin cancer and breast excisions, and in the laboratory grossing and reporting specimens. She prides herself in a close working relationship with the dedicated team of clinicians she serves. She is a perfectionist, passionate about service delivery and patient-centred results directing surgical and oncological treatment decisions. Staying up to date with developments in cancer diagnostics and terminology is paramount to her, and her continuing professional development includes participating in online courses and seminars and perusing the latest WHO tumour classifications as they are released.
Dr Casey McCusker
Casey McCusker (Powell) qualified with an MBChB from Pretoria in 2009 and completed internship at Addington Hospital and community service at Prince Mshiyeni Memorial Hospital. She began her Anatomical Pathology training at NHLS Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital/UKZN and completed it at NHLS Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital, qualifying with an FC Path (Anat) SA and MMed (Anat Path) in 2019. Post-qualification, she joined the NIOH (National Institute of Occupational Health) in the Pathology Department, reporting surgical pathology from Limpopo, cardio-thoracic biopsies from Johannesburg hospitals, and conducting and reporting autopsies of ex-miners for compensable lung disease. She was supervised by Kirstin for her MMed, titled ‘Adenomyoepithelioma of the breast: a single-institution study of 17 cases’, and together they journeyed into motherhood together in 2017. She joined KF Histopathology as the second pathologist in February 2022. Between building Lego with her son and exploring nature with her daughter, road running keeps her in check. She hopes to complete her first marathon within the next year.
Dr Nicola (Nicky) Scholfield
Nicky is the Lab Manager and main prosector at KF Laboratories. She really appreciates the variety of her work, from macroscopic pathology to assessment of equipment and reagents. She is a medical doctor with an interest in histopathology and laboratory science, partly informed by her experience with a MSc in Biochemistry. She is grateful and proud to be a part of our patient-centred team and strive to contribute to the highest standard of care and attention to detail provided by our team. She lives in Ridgeway with her beautiful family who keep her sane and centred!
Ms Francina Mokatse
Francina is a young, vibrant medical technologist qualified in Anatomical pathology. She has 5 years of experience under her belt and holds a strong work ethic. Francina believes in doing things right the first time and is a good communicator. She is a strong team player who is not afraid of taking on challenging roles and meeting deadlines head-on. She is a mother of two beautiful girls currently residing in Sky City Alberton.
Mr Meshack Sithole
Meshack is the main operating driver at KF Laboratories, with over 21 years of ongoing driving experience working for Uber, Taxify and Endemol. He is a hardworking individual who aims to grow and learn through any company he is a part of. Being a driver has really taught him the importance of patience and adapting to his surroundings. Being on time is very important to Meshack, as it is his job to ensure that the specimens he collects are returned to the lab in a safe and timely manner. He feels very blessed to work among such a diligent team that constantly strives for excellence in everything they do.
Ms Jordan McNeill
Jordan is a personal/lab assistant for Kirstin Fearnhead, currently completing her honours degree in Clinical Psychology through the University of Unisa. Her duties are both within and away from the lab. Whilst she helps Kirsty with personal tasks, she is very competent at macroscopic specimen analysis and put-through at the laboratory grossing bench, both alone and assisting Nicky and the pathologists. Jordan is very versatile and has an astonishing ability to bring order to chaos. She believes in tackling any task to the best of her ability and prides herself on her efficiency in completing tasks in a timely manner. She feels very grateful to be working amongst such an inspiring team, that really knows the value of hard work and commitment.
Mrs Tasneem Mahamood
Tasneem Mahamood is a medical transcriptionist with excellent knowledge of medical terminology. She has been in the field for over ten years and has worked for many prominent medical institutions and is now happy to be part of Dr Fearnhead’s team. She is mother to one little boy and has recently welcomed a new baby into her family.