Rate My Professor Allen Cheng

Professor Allen Cheng is an infectious diseases physician serving as Professor and Director of Monash Infectious Diseases at Monash Health within the School of Clinical Sciences at Monash University. He earned his PhD from Flinders University, Master of Public Health from Monash University, and Master of Biostatistics from the University of Queensland. His early career included positions as an infectious diseases and general physician in Darwin and Geelong, with experience in remote communities in Australia's Top End, and international work in Papua New Guinea, Thailand, the United States, and Finland. From 2009 to 2023, he was Director of the Infection Prevention and Healthcare Epidemiology Unit at the Alfred Hospital. Cheng's research encompasses sepsis, influenza and vaccine effectiveness, hospital-acquired infection prevention and control, antibiotic pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, antimicrobial stewardship and drug policy, and clinical infectious diseases. He has produced over 400 peer-reviewed publications, more than 50 letters and editorials, and 17 book chapters. Notable publications include "Pathophysiology, transmission, diagnosis, and treatment of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): a review" (JAMA, 2020), "Melioidosis: epidemiology, pathophysiology, and management" (Clinical Microbiology Reviews, 2005), "Interleukin-6 receptor antagonists in critically ill patients with Covid-19" (New England Journal of Medicine, 2021), and "The epidemiology and clinical spectrum of melioidosis: 540 cases from the 20 year Darwin prospective study" (PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 2010).

In addition to his academic and clinical roles, Professor Cheng has significantly influenced infectious disease policy and practice. He served as primary author for Australia's national guidelines on H1N1/09 influenza and Clostridium difficile infection and contributed to Therapeutic Guidelines: Antibiotic and Respiratory. As a technical advisor to the World Health Organization, he helped draft international guidelines for sepsis management and severe H1N1/09 infection. He is Past President of the Australasian Society for Infectious Diseases, chaired the Australian Government's Advisory Committee for Vaccines from 2017 to 2022, and co-chaired the Australian Technical Group on Immunisation from 2018 to 2022. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he was seconded to the Victorian Department of Health as Deputy Chief Health Officer from 2020 to 2021. His accolades include the Companion of the Order of Australia (2025), NHMRC Excellence Award (2014), Victorian Public Healthcare Award for Healthcare Innovation (2013), and the Frank Fenner Award for Advanced Research in Infectious Diseases (2012).