Lay summary
Dr Natalie Allen is a Postgraduate Year 3 doctor and an aspiring academic ophthalmologist. She is a registered doctor after completing her preliminary years rotating through various hospital based specialties. Natalie undertook research alongside her clinical work and has 8 peer reviewed publications to date. At the start of 2023, she commenced her doctoral thesis on the topic of corneal transplantation. Her doctoral studies include (1) the corneal graft donation process within Aotearoa New Zealand and how this can be ameliorated to increase tissue donation rates(2) the COVID-19 pandemic affect on corneal transplantation, including distribution of resources and ethnic disparities (3) identify novel cellular characteristics of corneal grafts comparing in vivo with in vitro tissue (4) understand how these cellular characteristics and laboratory factors interact to affect clinical outcomes. This research will benefit not only those with corneal disease but the greater NZ population in relation to pandemic resource distribution.