Staff Bios

Graduated from the University of Adelaide in 1981 with a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery and worked in the Adelaide Hospitals for about 4 years. Brian began private practice as a General Practitioner in 1986 in North Adelaide. He was involved with the Divisions of General Practice as Treasurer for 4 years for ACE Division until 2002.

Brian started Travel Bug in 1993 along-side his general practice. In 2004 he ceased general practice to allow the focus to be solely on travel medicine. He has a Certificate in Travel Health (CTH) – 2005 – through the International Society of Travel Medicine (ISTM). He currently consults at Adelaide’s only pure travel medicine clinic, Travel Bug Vaccination Clinic, which is celebrated 25 years in 2018!

He is an intrepid traveller and has been to Peru – including hiking the Inca trail, Bolivia, Vanuatu, Thailand, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Cambodia, Singapore, USA, Canada, UK, France, Belgium, Holland, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, Liechtenstein and New Zealand

In 2015 he became the treasurer of the Himalayan Children’s Development Foundation. This organization is rebuilding a village in Nepal (Ghunsa) and Travel Bug matches the donations of it’s clients who contribute to this worthy cause.

Lani Ramsey is a graduate of Vancouver General Hospital School of Nursing in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

She has worked passionately in Travel Health since 2002 and has been a part of creating new clinics and running them outside of the Greater Vancouver area. She moved to Australia in 2007 and has worked at Travel Bug since her arrival.

She completed a Masters of Nurse Practitioner through Flinders University in 2012 and is endorsed in South Australia.

For professional accountability, she has written the Certificate of Travel Health (CTH) – 2005 – through the International Society of Travel Medicine (ISTM); has a Diploma of Travel Medicine (DTM) – 2007 – through Glasgow’s Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons; holds a professional certificate of Immunisation through Uni SA (2010) and is a Nurse Immuniser through the Department of SA Health. She has completed a Diploma of Hypnosis through the SASH – South Australian Society of Hypnosis.

Lani participates in Travel Medicine research in conjunction with the TMA – Travel Medicine Alliance. Three studies Travel Bug has participated in have been “Vivaxim in children 2-15 years”, the “3MAT – Malaria study” and “Seroconversion with Intradermal Rabies Vaccine”. She has co-created learning modules for Travel Health through GSK, AusMed and other nurse based teaching agencies.

Lani has travelled extensively to areas such as the Caribbean, Mexico, Japan, South East Asia, Europe/UK and South America – including hiking the Inca trail.

Cath has worked in Travel Medicine for over 25 years.

She has travelled to developing countries around the world including travelling through South America, driving from Kenya to Jordan, trekked in the Indian Himalayas and cruised to Papua New Guinea. Through her personal experiences she has a good appreciation of travellers and their risks and needs.

Her commitment to Travel Medicine has seen her extend her knowledge by completing Immunisation courses, a Masters in Public Health and in 2019 completed a Masters in Nursing and is an endorsed Nurse Practitioner in Travel Medicine.

Cath believes that travel vaccinations are just one part of the Travel Medicine experience. She is passionate about educating her clients in safe travel practices and providing them with the tools to assist them in self-treatment of common travel related health problems, if necessary.

Kate McGowan, Registered Nurse

Kate is an Adelaide girl who travelled Australia and completed her Nursing Degree in Launceston, Tasmania. She has been nursing for 20 years across many disciplines including Emergency, Intensive Care, Radiology, Primary Health Care and Refugee Health. Kate has lived and worked across Australia and around the world – Saudi Arabia, Christmas Island, PNG. She also spent a year working on a Superyacht with a worldwide itinerary which introduced her to some amazing opportunities.

Kate believes travel is not just about holidays, it’s a lifestyle choice. She feels exposure to other countries, cultures and experiences opens our eyes to the world beyond our own and gives a great sense of appreciation for what we have.

In early 2019, Kate spent some time volunteering in Uganda at a government clinic and was amazed at how much can be done, and how many people can be serviced with such little resources. The clinic had no running water, no alcohol gel, no antiseptic, no gloves, no dressings and no electricity yet was able to serve people coming from far and wide. Volunteers vaccinate hundreds of children, witness up to 5 births per day, assist in the antenatal clinic and family planning, diagnose and treat tuberculosis and HIV plus participate in public health initiatives administering vitamin A and worming tablets.

Kate has now discovered the world of travel medicine and is combining her love of travel with her career in nursing and plans to study further in the near future.

Renee’s focus in the final years of school was mathematics and the sciences. She moved directly into laboratory work at the Red Cross Blood Service in Adelaide after graduating. She started within the Blood Products laboratory and made her way into Immuno-Genetics where she gained knowledge and insight into the research involved. From the laboratory, she spent several years in an administration role until heading to Clinpath laboratories where she combined both her enjoyment of medical/clinical environments with her admin experience.

Prior to starting at Travel Bug early in 2014, Renee spent 6 years as Business Manager/Practice Manager for a speech pathology practice specialising in voice pathology.

She has done a little overseas travelling, though not as much as she’d like. She has explored the volcanoes in Hawaii, gone off the beaten track in China, marvelled the night lights in Hong Kong, scootered around Bali, saw the sights in the UK and had a fleeting but extraordinary visit to Paris. Her next adventures will be in New Zealand and throughout Europe.