Our Team

Dr. Michelle Rassool

BSc DVM

Michelle graduated with a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from the University of Melbourne. Originally a Templestowe local, she now works between Vets on Balwyn and sister clinic, Vets on Parker.

Michelle has a special interest in veterinary behavioural medicine. She enjoys the practical aspects of behaviour and training, particularly working hands on with dogs, cats and horses. She is also a keen animal welfare advocate and works with greyhound rescue in rehabilitating ex-racing dogs for adoption, as well as presenting seminars to owners and foster carers on greyhound behaviour and health.

Michelle has a black and white border collie called Herriot who loves to learn. They both enjoy training, practicing new skills together, and going running. Michelle is passionate about community education in being safe around pets. Together she and Herriot have performed and presented at many educational events and seminars.

Dr. Kate Campbell

B.Bus.Sys, B.V.Sc

Kate graduated from Melbourne University in 2007 and joined the team at Vets on Balwyn in 2018. Previously she worked at a busy clinic in Blackburn for 10 years.

Kate has a keen interest in dermatology and feline medicine. She is committed to meeting the unique needs of individual clients to achieve the best possible health outcomes for your pet.

When not at work, Kate enjoys keeping fit at the gym and singing in a band, The Ravens. Family down time in spent in Blackburn with her husband Brett, children Ed and Bonnie and two very important moggies, Pippin and Sadie.

Dr Vivienne Tran

BSc DVM

Vivienne graduated with a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from The University of Melbourne. She originally worked as a mixed practice veterinarian in North Victoria to chase her passion for large animals. She soon realised that her passion lies in small animal medicine and found herself moving back to Melbourne to work at various clinics before settling at Vets on Balwyn.

Despite being born and raised in Melbourne, she is fluent in Vietnamese. Being an only child, Vivienne has always grown up with animals. Currently, she has 1 dog (Oscar, a Tibetan Spaniel Cross) and 2 cats (Bingo and Oliver). She enjoys all aspects of veterinary medicine but has a particular interest in medicine and imaging. What she loves the most is getting to know the clients and their beloved pets. She believes that client education is a very important part of veterinary medicine and tends to spend time educating clients as much as possible.

Outside of work, Vivienne can be found building puzzles, playing indoor soccer and helping her dad at his cafe in Auburn. She just started lion dancing, so you may see her around for performances in Chinatown and surrounds!

Mikaela Munro

Mikaela is the Head Nurse at Vets on Balwyn, and has been at the clinic since 2015.

Mikaela has always had a keen interest in animals and medicine, and completed a Bachelor of Science in 2011, obtained her Certificate IV in Veterinary Nursing in 2016, and a Diploma of Veterinary Nursing in 2023.

She loves discussing complex cases with the vets, and advocating for all patients in the clinic, as well as all things relating to anaesthesia and surgery.

Mikaela also holds a Certificate IV in Training and Assessment, and enjoys teaching the junior nurses and placement students at Vets on Balwyn.

At home, Mikaela has her lovely Border Collie x Kelpie, Evie (who spends many days at Vets on Balwyn too), and loves travelling the world. She has spent time volunteering at an animal shelter in Namibia, working with a wide variety of animals, and in Thailand working with Elephants, and is always thinking about the next volunteering or holiday destination.

Lacey Byatt

As a child, Lacey always had to bring home every stray animal she found, always wanting to make sure they would be safe and well cared for. This compassion extended to animals of all sizes from small birds and dogs, to work with larger animals during her volunteer work in Africa. She is currently studying her Certificate IV in veterinary nursing. At home Lacey is kept busy with her cattle dog cross, Hendrix, who enjoys going to the beach for a big run and play.

Chanel Assetta

From a young age, Chanel showed a keen interest in animals, spending most of her childhood with the neighbours’ pets and finding any excuse to do anything animal-related.

Chanel is currently studying her Certificate IV in Veterinary Nursing after completing her Certificate III in Animal Studies in 2018.

At home, Chanel is kept busy with her two Spoodles Lulu and Lexie and two rescue cats Chilli and Dinkle. All four love the sun and enjoy running around in the garden together, especially when a ball is involved!

Dr Tori Ip

Tori graduated from Murdoch University in 2018 and has been working in primary care practice in Melbourne since. She is passionate about providing the best care for pets.

Tori is fascinated by all aspects of general practice, with a keen interest in small animal surgery, diagnostic imaging, and feline medicine. She is constantly keeping up with new advancements and putting evidence-based medicine into practice via learning from varies education platforms. She is currently working toward her Postgraduate Certificate (small animal surgery) and General Practitioner Certificate in International School of Veterinary Postgraduate Studies.

Tori grew up in Hong Kong and speaks both Cantonese and Mandarin. She always welcomes clients to have a chat with her in those languages.

Outside of work Tori loves backpacking, running, cycling with her partner (who is also a vet) and her adventurous cat called Cheeto.

Vicky Smith

Vicky is one of our bright and bubbly Receptionists. Holding a Bachelor of Science degree in Animal Management and Welfare, she is a passionate animal lover and has been working in different animal health and welfare industries for over 20 years.

Vicky enjoys working closely with our furry patients; however she finds the most rewarding part of her role is helping and greeting everyone that comes into our clinic. She loves meeting and interacting with all of our lovely owners and their pets, helping to reassure them and ensuring they are happy. Vicky aspires to make everyone’s day a little better, whether you are furry or not.

Kiara Caldarelli

After completing high-school, Kiara knew she wanted to go directly into the animal industry and began her certificate IV Vet nursing. She is looking forward to furthering her knowledge in surgical nursing and animal behaviour.

She currently owns a Hungarian vizsla X Brittany spaniel named Roughy, who is her best friend.

Alex Soule

Alex completed their Bachelor of Vet Nursing in 2022 and has had a keen love for animals since they were young. Before joining Vets on Balwyn they were previously working with race horses in South Africa, show horses and farm animals in Queensland, followed up with dogs, cats and a range of exotic pets in an animal shelter after moving to Victoria. They have a love for exotic pets and wildlife.

In their free time they love travelling and exploring Victoria’s national parks and marine sanctuaries with their camera in search of wildlife to photograph. At home they are kept busy with their domestic medium hair cat Awen, a large assortment of tropical fish and the occasional possum joey.

Gemma Carta

Gemma has always had a love for animals, and when growing up could often be found playing outside with her childhood dog, Lucky.

Gemma completed a Bachelor of Science in 2023 and is now studying her Certificate IV in Veterinary Nursing.

Despite not currently having any pets of her own, Gemma has taken up many opportunities of dog sitting and dog walking in her area, and cannot wait to become a pet owner in the future.