Associate ProfessorFreda Passam

Associate Professor Freda Passam is a Clinical Academic Haematologist at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, University of Sydney, with expertise in thrombosis and haemostasis. She leads the Haematology Research Group in the Charles Perkins Centre, dedicated to basic science discovery and translational research in platelets and thrombosis.

Freda received her medical degree and PhD in Greece on the role of angiogenesis in Hodgkin's lymphoma. She trained in clinical and laboratory Haematology in Greece and Australia. Her postdoctoral research was on mechanisms of immune thrombosis in the antiphospholipid syndrome at the University of New South Wales, followed by studies of a new class of clotting enzymes, named thiol isomerases, at Harvard University, Boston, USA. Freda returned to Sydney in 2013 as a clinical academic haematologist at St George Hospital and UNSW. She joined the RPA Hospital and the University of Sydney in 2018. She has established the Thrombosis Clinic of RPA Hospital and consults on patients with bleeding/clotting problems and complex thrombosis.

The focus of Freda's research is on platelet and endothelial cell biology with expertise in the endoplasmic reticulum and antibody-driven blood clots. Her group aims to discover new mechanisms, diagnostics and therapies to combat some of the most severe thrombotic problems, heart attack, stroke, peripheral artery disease and deep vein thrombosis, caused by platelet hyperactivity and endothelial inflammation. The Haematology Research lab utilizes state-of-the-art flow cytometry, mass spectrometry, the Nano Institute Prototype Foundry facilities for microfluidics fabrication, intravital microscopy which allow investigation of platelet function, and thrombosis at high speed and resolution in microfluidics and animal models. We collaborate with Sydney Health Partners and the Charles Perkins Centre RPA Clinic enabling easy access of patients and consumer partnership.