Connor Allen
Connor Allen
Bachelor of Medical Science (Honours)
I'd recommend an Honours year to anyone interested in research within a chosen field. I believe having the right supervisor is more important than getting the exact fit of the project, and you should really invest your time in reaching out to previous students, to hear first-hand what their experiences were like.
Connor Allen’s Honours year wasn’t his first experience of the world of research, but he walked away from it more confident in his ability to engage in research at a higher level, and endowed with skills and knowledge to incorporate critical evaluation of medical literature into his medical practice.
He completed Honours in 2022, through our Medical Science stream, available as a ‘break-out’ year to fourth year Monash Medical students.
He says, “I’d been involved I research with the Melbourne Sexual Health Centre, and had undergraduate level experience through the CURIE initiative at Monash University. Those opportunities made me want to experience it in a more formalised way, so I could figure out how research might fit into my future career.
“Public health was an area I was naturally curious about, and so I attended an information night about the public health honours program. It was there that I saw a former student presenting on their project, which really piqued my interest. I followed up with the student and met my eventual supervisor.”
Connor’s project – under the supervision of Prof Joshua Vogel, Dr Annie McDougall, and Katherine Eddy – saw him enrolled within the Monash School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine’s (SPHPM) program, but embedded in our partner organisation the Burnet Institute. The Burnet Institute is co-located with SPHPM at the Alfred precinct in Melbourne, and has emphasis on infectious diseases and global health.
His project explored the cost-effectiveness of screening, diagnosing and managing pregnant women with anaemia. Anaemia is characterised by low levels of haemoglobin, the component of blood that shuttles oxygen around to our organs. Globally around 40 per cent, or some 56 pregnant million women, suffer from anaemia at some stage during their pregnancy. Unfortunately, many of these women will have no or extremely limited access to affordable and effective care
“With so many pregnancies disproportionately affected in low resource settings, it’s a huge challenge in the field of global women’s health, and therefore it is vital that we have a good understanding of what the most cost-effective strategies to identify and manage cases are. So, I undertook a systematic review of the literature, synthesising economic evaluations related to the various steps involved in caring for pregnant women with anaemia.”
With his supervisors, he developed a search strategy to scour the existing literature, and extracted relevant papers and data. He focussed primarily on three aetiologies of anaemia; malaria, iron deficiency and post-partum haemorrhage.
“I was quite taken aback at how little research has been done into this topic, given it’s clinical importance and prevalence. Much greater investment in cost-effectiveness studies is needed so that we can build evidence-based systems of care, that meet both the immediate needs of individual women whilst simultaneously being accessible and economically feasible, especially in low resource settings.”
Connor’s work was presented at the Perinatal Society of Australia & New Zealand annual congress, and he is in the process of finalising his draft for publication.
“I absolutely loved my experience. Both my supervisors at the Burnet Institute, and the program staff at SPHPM were really supportive. The people I worked with were also very diverse, which grew my ability to work with a variety of people and see things from fresh perspectives, it’s been great preparation for working in multi-disciplinary teams. I’m not quite sure yet when or how I’ll incorporate research into my medical career, but regardless it’s added a valuable layer of nuance in my approach to clinical practice.”
“I think the Honours experience will have set me apart from other candidates applying for this internship, so it’s already been a valuable undertaking. Even with another year to go in my medical studies back home, I’m considering a future specialisation as a public health physician.
After an intermission year travelling in Europe and working with the World Health Organization in Geneva on sexual and reproductive health projects, Connor returned home to finish his final year of medicine.
He's now working as a medical doctor at the Western Health network, enjoying rotations through neurology, general surgery, general medicine, emergency medicine and psychiatry. He's looking forward to Basic Physician Training in 2026.
Alongside his clinical work, he's been happy to complete a number of long-term research projects, and has had several first-author papers published, including some arising from his Honours work, and from his WHO internship.
"Reflecting on my own experiences," he says, "I believe having the right supervisor is more important than getting the exact fit of the project, and you should really invest your time in reaching out to previous students, to hear first-hand what their experiences were like.”