Holly Egan
Each year, around 2,000 of our graduates take up public services roles, with around 10,000 graduating from healthcare programmes, including medicine.
This article is an edited version that originally appeared on the Manchester Evening News on 30 June 2025.
A dream to help women across the world
Holly Egan is one remarkable graduate striving to make a difference to our communities and beyond.
An aspiring gynae-oncologist with big dreams of making a difference to her community, Holly had always dreamt of studying at the university closest to her heart, and home.
After studying MBChB Medicine at The University of Manchester, she graduated with her degree in 2024 and has since gone on to secure a specialist foundation doctor post at Wythenshawe Hospital.
On the frontline, Holly contributes to patient care in one of the most diverse and dynamic regions of the UK, underpinned by her steadfast commitment to contributing to the medical innovations she hopes will improve outcomes for future patients in Greater Manchester and beyond.
"I always wanted to study medicine, from being knee-high to a grasshopper," she said.
"I applied to study medicine when I was in college but unfortunately, I didn't get the grades. I still knew I wanted to study medicine, so I went and did another degree in bio medicine first. That opened doors into research, something I'd never considered doing alongside clinical medicine, but medicine was the one, and it was always going to be at The University of Manchester.
"It meant so much to study here, not only because of how world-renowned it is as a university, but also because I am from the area and being able to live, work and study here meant a lot. Family means everything to me too, so being able to be close to the people I love while studying at a place as great as this truly meant everything.
"Working on the frontline as a doctor means so much to me. We have a massively diverse population here in Manchester, and I see those people at their absolute worst times, and through some of their best times too, and being able to be involved in that, whether I'm making a small contribution or a huge one, means everything.
"Academically, I'm involved in a research project where we look at early biomarkers for ovarian cancer. Unfortunately, at the moment, it's quite poorly detected. Women tend to present quite late, because their symptoms are often non-specific, such as bloating and pain that can be attributed to other things, and by the time it's diagnosed they can be quite late stage.
"We're looking at developing tests to reverse that, looking at how we can identify women with the disease early on, and women who are more at risk of developing it early on, to hopefully prevent the deaths caused by late detection. I am hopeful that our research will save lives.
"I am proud to be involved in research that is going to make huge contributions to how we treat women with cancer. Whether I can help one patient or thousands, whether it's in five years or 10 years, or even just in my lifetime, I dream of being able to help women across the world, but first and foremost I am passionate about making a difference to the people in my community.
"From the small acts of helping people within the hospital find where they need to be, to sitting with them through chemotherapy and even taking the time to talk to an elderly patient with no family, my job means the world to me."
Find out more about how Holly is making a difference by watching the video below.
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