Prior to becoming a Member of Parliament, Katie was a paediatrician at the Royal Children’s Hospital, a Professor at the University of Melbourne and the University of Manchester and Director of the Population Health Research Theme at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute. Katie has also been on the Board of Cabrini Hospital and Chairman of Melbourne Girls Grammar School.
Katie has published more than 350 scientific papers and was elected as an inaugural Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences. She has been internationally recognised for her work at the World Health Organisation and the US National Academy of Science.
Katie’s research interest in haemochromatosis was triggered by her uncle’s death in 1992, the result of a late diagnosis of haemochromatosis. She was co-lead of three important haemochromatosis studies including
Implementation of HaemScreen, a workplace-based genetic screening program for hemochromatosis
ironXS: high-school screening for hereditary haemochromatosis is acceptable and feasible
Iron-Overload–Related Disease in HFE Hereditary Hemochromatosis
Dr Katie Allen was elected Member for Higgins in May 2019. She currently sits on 7 Parliamentary committees including Trade and Investment Growth; Industry, Innovation, Science and Resources as well as Communications and the Arts. She is a Member of the National COVID-19 Health and Research Advisory Committee which reports to the Chief Medical Officer of Australia.
As a member of the Health, Aged Care and Sport committee she participated in the inquiry into “Approval processes for new drugs and novel medical technologies in Australia”.
Katie is a co-chair of several Parliamentary Friends Groups including Haemochromatosis, Preventive Health, Cancer Care and Cure, Dementia and Medical Research, and UNICEF. In her first speech she outlined her desire for better health care including ensuring we don’t just have a healthcare system “with the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff” as well as advocating for strong action on climate saying, “it’s not just an environmental imperative but an economic one”. Katie’s action on climate, COVID and culture this term has reflected her skills and expertise as a scientist, public health professor and professional family women. She has led advocacy that includes: a commitment to reach net zero emissions by 2050; a strong public health response to COVID; and significant professionalisation of Parliamentary workplace practices.