The Health Science Faculty Dinner ensured an interesting and inspiring evening on March 21. Forty-five guests attended the event, many of whom are studying the fascinating degree. The Melbourne School of Health Science provides a sound foundation and broad overview of health care, with skills in identifying, investigating, analyzing and assessing health issues.

Esteemed alumni members, Dr Kieran Barr and Dr Clare Parker, were kind enough to speak at the Faculty Dinner.

Former GC President in 2013, Clare commenced her Biomedicine degree at the University of Melbourne in 2011. After four years of study, including a slight hiatus during which she experienced health sciences from the patient's perspective, she completed her undergraduate studies majoring in Cell and Developmental Biology. Clare’s postgraduate studies began in 2015 and at the end of 2018 she graduated with a Doctor of Medicine, again at the University of Melbourne.

During her MD, she spent 6 months at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute involved with a research program for rare cancers. In January 2019, she commenced an internship at St Vincent's Hospital, Melbourne. Clare’s medical interests include paediatrics and oncology.

Kieran, who is married to fellow alumni, Phoebe Barr, also has a Bachelor of Biomedicine from the University of Melbourne, 2008-2010. GC president in 2010, he is a Doctor of Medicine and Surgery (ANU) and completed his postgraduate degree in 2015.

Kieran’s internships and career have been varied and interesting, he once had the privilege of holding Roger Federer’s sweaty towel when he worked as a ball-kid at the Australian Open. He is also a former tractor driver, telemarketer, waiter and wardsman.

Kieran was an Intern and Resident Medical Officer at ACT Health from 2016 to 2017. A House Medical Officer (3) at the Alfred Hospital last year and currently works at the Alfred Hospital as an Emergency Medicine Registrar. This starts the (long) journey to becoming an Emergency Physician (a Fellow of the Australian College of Emergency Medicine - a FACEM) in a few years’ time. Kieran looks forward to working and travelling around Australia along the way!

Our accomplished alumni were kind enough to answer all student questions and motive the current cohort! We wish all our Health Science students the best of luck with their studies this year.

If you are a member of the St Hilda’s alumni community and would like to be a guest speaker at a Faculty Dinner, please email your expression of interest to communitas@hildas.unimelb.edu.au

Alternatively, we also have the brand new ‘Connections’ mentor program for second and third year students. If you would like to be a mentor and assist students with professional development opportunities, or require further information, please email communitas@hildas.unimelb.edu.au