Dr Lucy Law, BSc (Preclin Human Bio), Grad Dip (Ultrasound), AMS (Cardiac), ESCVI CHD, PhD

After completing a Bachelors of Biomedical Science (Preclinical Human Biology) at Curtin University of Technology (Perth, Western Australia) I perused further education in the cardiac physiology field. This led me to learn the skill of echocardiography. In 2015 I relocated to Sweden where I was introduced to the field of medical research. I was given the opportunity to work as an echocardiographer on many projects and trial studies across many different fields of medicine, and this opened my eyes to the way range of uses and information that can be gained from echocardiographic assessment. Additionally, I was trained as a paediatric and congenital echocardiographer and completed accreditation with the European Society of CardioVascular Imaging (ESCVI) in congenital heart disease (CHD) echocardiography. In 2020 I formally commenced my PhD (Topic: Subclinical Cardiovascular Changes and Health Related Quality of Life in Patient with Ankylosing Spondyloarthritis), graduating in 2024. On my return to Australia, I was interested in using the skills and knowledge I had gained as a researcher and specialised echocardiographer to work in a space where this knowledge could help improve the access to, and quality of cardiovascular health in Indigenous Australians and under resourced settings. While working for the Northern Territory I have helped to train non expert sonographers, including Aboriginal Health Practitioners (AHPs) and Aboriginal health works (AHWs), the skill of using handheld echocardiography to screen for rheumatic heart disease (RHD) in their communities as part of the NEARER SCAN Study (Menzies School of Health Research, RHD team). I have also worked in Central Australia and Timore-Leste on screening projects helping to combat and manage RHD. I am passionate about helping communities and the people that live in them learn skills that can help them combat RHD as well as improving access to echocardiography and education.