Helen O'Connell

Helen E. O'Connell (born 3 April 1962) is an Australian professor of urology and a pioneer in the anatomical study of the clitoris. She is a leading researcher in the area of female pelvic anatomy and was the first woman to complete training as a urologist in Australia. Education In 1994, O'Connell graduated from Melbourne University with a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery degree as Australia's first female urological surgeon. From 1994 to 1995, she moved to the United States for advanced training (a fellowship), with neuro-urologist Edward J. McGuire in Houston, Texas. In 1997, she obtained a Master of Medicine degree for a project on female urinary incontinence. In 2004, she graduated from the University of Melbourne, Royal Melbourne Hospital, and Melbourne Private Hospital with a Doctor of Medicine in the field of female pelvic anatomy. Career Since 2016, she has been director of the urology department of Western Health in the Australian state of Victoria. O'Connell was director of the Royal Australian College of Surgeons (RACS) between 2005 and 2014 and elected Director of the Urological Society of Australia and New Zealand from 2005 to 2010. She was Chair of the College's Surgical Research Board from 2007 to 2009. Her clinical and research focus is on the surgical treatment of lower urinary tract problems, particularly incontinence and bladder sphincter obstruction. In 2019, she was appointed director of the International Continence Society meeting to be held in Melbourne in 2021.