Tammy Allen

Tammy is an experienced public health practitioner, researcher and dedicated educator with over 25 years experience working in the public health field - including 16 years at JCU. Tammy has gained international recognition for her research, practice and technical knowledge in two important public health areas 1) community engagement and mosquito-borne disease control and 2) public health emergency operation centre management. 

Tammy is currently serving a second term as the community engagement advisor to the World Health Organization's, Technical Advisory Group on Arbovirus (TAG-Arbovirus). Her research and technical guidance is reflected in several best practice guidance, policy briefs and frameworks. Recent contributions include:

'Policy Considerations For Strengthening Preparedness and Response to Arbovirus Epidemics and Pandemics (2025)';

'WHO Risk Communication and Community Engagement Readiness and Response Toolkit: Dengue Fever (2024)';

'WHO Risk Communication and Community Engagement Readiness and Response Toolkit: Zika Virus (2024)'.

In addition, Tammy has been a long-term advisor/consultant (10+ years) to the World Health Organization's Emergency Operations Centre Network (EOC-NET), Geneva. She has provided research and technical input into foundational guidance in EOC management including:

'Framework for a Public Health Emergency Operations Centre (2015)'; 

'Handbook for developing a public health emergency operations centre, Part A – policies, plans, procedures' (2018);

'Handbook for developing a public health emergency operations centre Part C: Training and exercises'; 

WHO Systematic Review of Public Health Emergency Operation Plans and Procedures (2015); 

In 2021, Tammy led a team in conducting a global scoping review, and cross-sectional survey on the barriers and enablers to using EOCs in public health emergency management. This work underpinned version 2 of the Framework for PHEOC (to be published 2026).

Tammy has been an invited speaker to global audiences in the WHO AFRO, SEARO and EURO regions., presenting guidance, research and chairing panel discussions. Examples include:

Guest speaker invitations

2024 - 'Community Engagement and Arbovirus Control', Fondation Merieux Arbovirus Meeting, France.

2024 - 'Citizen Science and Medical Entomology' World Health Organization TAG-Arbovirus Meeting, France.

2024- 'Communication for Behavioural Impact in Dengue Fever Outbreak Response'. WHO-AFRO Dengue Fever Webinar Series.

2023-'Communication for Behavioural Impact in Dengue Fever Outbreak Response'. WHO-SEARO Dengue Outbreak Control Webinar Series.  

2023-‘Best practice community engagement in Arbovirus control in the Asia-Pacific Region’. WHO TAG Arbovirus Meeting, Ghana.

2019- Invited chair - panel discussion: Emergency Operations Centers, Research and Innovation, WHO Health Emergency Operation Centres Network Meeting, Chiang Mai, Thailand.

2017-‘Community Engagement and Risk Communication' Health and Humanitarian Action in Emergencies Course, Center for Excellence in Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance, Hawaii (presented in Cairns)

Expert contributor/temporary advisor:

Tammy has been an invited expert contributor/temporary advisor to many global meetings in mosquito borne-disease control and emergency operation management including:

Invited Temporary Advisory - WHO EOC-NET Working Group & Annual Meetings: Geneva (2015,2016,2017); Chiang Mai (2019); Dubai (2024).

Invited WHO TAG-Arbovirus Member - Meetings: Ghana (2023); France (2024)

Invited expert contributor - Asia-Europe Foundation and European Centre Disease Control: How can we better prepared for the next global health threat: planning & implementing risk communication. Sweden (2016)

Awards

2020 - Team Lead, JCU Citation Teaching Award

2017 - First Author, Best Paper: Journal of Tropical Medicine and Health : Impact of the Lymphatic Filariasis Control Program towards elimination of filariasis in Vanuatu: 1997-2006.

Conference Presentations

2023 - Oral Presentation - Factors influencing community participation approaches in Aedes management in the Torres Strait, 15th Mosquito Control Association of Australia Conference, Brisbane

2023 - Poster Presentation - Aedes mosquito management in the Torres Strait: what is impeding a community-based model of practice? 2nd Annual Southern Cross Tropical Medicine Conference, Sydney, Australia

2021 - Poster Presentation - The buzz factors influencing community engagement in Aedes aegypti management in north Queensland. Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service Symposium, Cairns, Australia

2019 - Poster Presentation ‘Gaps and Opportunities in EOC Research’, WHO Health Emergency Operation Centres Network Meeting, Chiang Mai, Thailand

2019 - Allen, T, Crouch, A, Topp, SM. Mosquito-borne disease and community engagement in high-income countries: scoping review. Global Health Security Conference. Sydney, Australia (Poster Presentation)

2014 - Spencer, R, Allen, T. ‘Systematic Review of PHEOC Plans and Procedures’, First Public Health Emergency Operation Centre Framework Meeting, WHO, Geneva (Oral Presentation).

2014 - Spencer, R. Allen, T. Using a disaster management system to respond to public health emergencies, Australasian Tropical Health Conference, Cairns, Australia (Oral Presentation)

2011 - Allen, T. Long, S. Dengue Fever Social Mobilisation Pilot Project, Australian Health Promotion Association Conference, Cairns, Australia.