Dr Damien Stark awarded Medal of the Order of Australia You are here:HomeNewsroomNews Dr Damien Stark awarded Medal of the Order of Australia 13 Jun 2024 Congratulations Dr Damien Stark, Principal Hospital Scientist, Molecular Diagnostics and Precision Medicine, for receiving a King’s Birthday Honour – Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in the General Division for service to medicine in the field of microbiology. Damien has been a valued St Vincent’s team member since 2000, and has led the Microbiology Laboratory within SydPath | St Vincent’s Pathology Sydney since 2016. His dedication and leadership particularly came to the fore during the hospital’s pandemic response, when SydPath processed over 1.6 million COVID-19 test samples, and diagnosed 57,000 cases. Under Damien’s leadership, the lab increased its capacity 50 fold to accommodate community demand and during the busiest times, processed over 12,000 tests per day. Since then Damien has been instrumental in implementing and growing our Cancer Genetics Pathology department with the establishment of next generation sequencing (NGS), a technology for determining the sequence of DNA or RNA genetic variation allowing for targeted and personalised treatment. Congratulations Damien, this is recognition well deserved! We are grateful for your contribution to our hospital and our community. Photo courtesy of Catholic Weekly.