23/12/2025
It is with great sadness we acknowledge the passing of our friend and colleague, Professor Katie Allen, who was a trailblazer in the field of Paediatric Allergy. She was also a mentor of Dr Rebecca Werther. She formally opened our clinic in early 2019. Katie’s dedication to allergy research has made a profound impact on current allergy practice and protocols both in Australia and worldwide. She will be dearly missed but her legacy will continue.
Condolences to her husband, Malcolm, and her four children.
We are deeply saddened by the passing of Professor Katrina (‘Katie’) Jane Allen – a leading paediatric allergist whose research reshaped the understanding, prevention and treatment of childhood food allergy and whose public service extended from the clinic, community and laboratory to the Australian Parliament.
“It is with a heavy heart that we announce that our beloved Katie passed away peacefully … surrounded by her family,” a statement from her children said, describing her as a devoted mother, partner and doctor who faced illness with courage and optimism.
Professor Allen built her scientific career at Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI) and The Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, where she became one of the world’s foremost experts in paediatric allergy, and the Institute’s first director of the Population Health theme.
As head of MCRI’s Population Allergy Research Group, she established the landmark HealthNuts study in 2007, the first population-based investigation to accurately measure food allergy in infants. Tracking more than 5,300 children, the study redefined allergy prevalence and risk, influencing clinical practice and infant feeding guidelines internationally.
Her leadership in a twice-funded NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence, the Centre for Food Allergy Research (CFAR), united clinicians, scientists and families to deliver a new understanding of allergy determinants and inform international guidelines on infant feeding and allergy management. CFAR is also recognised as a World Allergy Organization Centre of Excellence and was funded for a third iteration under Professor Kirsten Perrett’s leadership.
Allen entered Australian federal politics in 2019, serving as the Liberal member for Higgins until 2022, where she continued to advocate for evidence-based health policy.
She is survived by her husband, Malcolm, and their four children Monty, Jemima, Arabella and Archie. Katie will be sorely missed for her magnificent energy, self-deprecating wit and intelligence, honesty and above all, kindness.
Vale Professor Katie Allen. Read more 👉 https://direc.to/oiiS
