ICSH 2025 Morphology Symposium News

The ICSH 2025 Morphology Symposium, organised by the ICSH in collaboration with the University of Western Australia, was held in Perth from 24th to 26th November 2025. The event gathered more than 130 participants from across the Indian Ocean region, including invited speakers and distinguished guests. This year, 11 recipients were awarded for the ICSH Educational Grant. Unfortunately, two were unable to attend as they could not get a visa to enter Australia. The awardees represented institutions from Zambia, Fiji, Indonesia, Cambodia, Malawi, Tanzania, Namibia, and myself from Malaysia.

ICSH extends its heartfelt thanks to “Siemens Healthineers, Sysmex, URIT, Business Events Perth, and Cancer Council Western Australia for their generosity and sponsorship, as well as to the University of Western Australia for the warm hospitality including the excellent plenary and breakout venues, the delicious meals, and the comfortable accommodation provided at St George’s College.

Each participant received a symposium pack bag, complete with the programme book and, most valuably, the 230-page Morphology Course Notes. This treasured resource will undoubtedly be placed at the multi-headed microscopes during slide reviews in my institutions, allowing other haematology students and colleagues to benefit from the knowledge shared.

The scientific programme opened with three plenary lectures by Professor Wendy Erber, who provided comprehensive updates on ICSH standards and bone marrow reporting, building on the 2008 guidelines. The following day, Professor Anna Schuh delivered an excellent plenary on CLL and liquid biopsy, highlighting its faster turnaround compared with conventional histopathology, followed by Dr Ben Hedley, who presented on standardising flow cytometry for leukaemia diagnosis and monitoring using CLSI guidance.

A major highlight of the symposium was the series of morphology sessions structured from red blood cells to white blood cells, and concluding with lymphoid disorders and metastatic infiltration delivered by Dr Matthew Wright, Prof Wendy Erber, Dr Jason So, and Dr Katharine Lowndes. And this was followed by the Morphology Quiz, which I had the honour of conducting using Kahoot. There were noise, excitement and joyful chaos, thanks to the delightful diversity of answers! Congratulations to Dr Lai Ngan Shan, the winner of the Quiz. Each session was captivating, insightful, and filled with memorable teaching moments, including a charming new term introduced during the plasma cell discussion: “Amphophilia!” describing their affinity for both haematoxylin and eosin.

The afternoon breakout sessions were equally enriching, offering a mixture of Meet-the-Expert discussions, free paper presentations, which provided excellent opportunities especially for non-native English speakers to build confidence. Many challenging and fascinating cases were showcased, offering important learning points, particularly from resource-limited settings where diagnostic constraints influence outcomes. After all, morphology remains the fundamental starting point in haematological diagnosis.

The intimate morphology revision sessions with Prof Erber were among the most sought-after activities, and I was fortunate to secure a place on Day 1. Other participants also greatly enjoyed the always fully booked PathWest (QEII) laboratory visit, expertly guided by Tracy Dixon, including personalised slide reviews that reinforced the learning from the morning sessions.

My sincere appreciation goes to the organising committee, the distinguished faculty, all presenters, and every participant who contributed to the great success of the ICSH 2025 Morphology Symposium.

A)    Morphology teaching session with the Morphology Course Notes.

B) Nine-headed microscope session with Prof Wendy Erber reviewing MPN cases.

C) Free Communication presentation by 2023 Sam Machin Scholar, Dr Zi Yun Ng.

D) Part of the organising committee (Steve Weston not pictured).

E) 2023–2024 Sam Machin Scholars with ICSH Board Members.

F) Eight recipients of the ICSH 2025 Morphology Educational Grant holding Diagnostic techniques in haematological malignancy book received! Top row (from left): Dr Sophanith Seng (University of Health Sciences, Cambodia), Dr Esther Niilonga Kalambi-Matengu (Namibia Institute of Pathology, Namibia), Dr Inonge Akekelwa (University Teaching Hospital, Zambia), Dr Ahlam Nassar (Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Tanzania), Mr Terry Fawcett, and Mr Theophilus Panji Musachi (Mua Mission Hospital, Malawi). Front row: Dr Razan Hayati Zulkeflee, Professor Wendy Erber, Dr Katharine Lowndes, Ms Chantha Hou (Calmette Hospital, Cambodia), and Dr Aruna Devi (Fiji National University, Fiji). (Dr Yetti Hernaningsih, Airlangga University, Indonesia, is not pictured.)

G)   The fun group photo where everyone cheered “MorphologYYYYY!” together.

This symposium was truly phenomenal. What did I learn from it? Honestly: everything!: expanded morphology knowledge, enriched perspectives, meaningful networking with fellow morphologists and reunion with dear colleagues. Above all, I was reminded that despite our different languages, countries, ethnicities, and professional backgrounds, we all share the same universal language of morphology a vocabulary that unites and inspires us.

Allow me to express my sincere gratitude to the ICSH for awarding me the Educational Grant. I am truly grateful for this support.

With that, wishing everyone a wonderful year ahead and looking forward to many more inspiring ICSH events to come. Happy New Year!

Thank you so very much. Till then,

Best wishes,

Dr Razan Hayati Zulkeflee

ICSH 2025 Morphology Educational Grantee

2024 Sam Machin Scholar