Rate My Professor Mike Armour

Associate Professor Mike Armour is an Associate Professor in reproductive health and Director of Research at the NICM Health Research Institute, Western Sydney University. He earned a Bachelor of Science with Honours in Biomedicine from the University of Auckland in 2003, a Bachelor of Health Science in Acupuncture in 2009, and a Doctor of Philosophy in Women's Health from Western Sydney University in 2016. Armour's career began in 2001 as a summer research scholar in cardiovascular biophysics at the University of Auckland's Faculty of Medicine. He served as a research assistant at Waitemata District Health Board, tutored in research methodology at the Faculty of Medicine and the New Zealand School of Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine from 2010 to 2016, and operated a clinical practice focused on women's health. Joining NICM Health Research Institute in 2016 as a postdoctoral research fellow, he now leads clinical trials on endometriosis, dysmenorrhea, and menstrual health literacy. He holds positions as Academic Lead of the Menstrual Cycle Research Network, Chair of the Australasian Interdisciplinary Researchers in Endometriosis, World Endometriosis Society Ambassador, and complementary medicine expert on the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists’ Endometriosis Expert Working Group, which produced Australia's first endometriosis guidelines in 2021. He has secured over $7.1 million in research funding.

Armour's research specializations encompass endometriosis, primary dysmenorrhea, chronic pelvic pain, menstrual health literacy, acupuncture, traditional Chinese medicine, herbal medicine for period pain, and medicinal cannabis for endometriosis symptom management. He has published over 140 peer-reviewed articles and several textbook chapters, with his work cited more than 8,400 times. Key publications include the Cochrane systematic reviews 'Acupuncture for dysmenorrhoea' (2016), 'Exercise for dysmenorrhoea' (2019), and 'Acupuncture or acupressure for pain management during labour' (2020), as well as 'The prevalence and academic impact of dysmenorrhea in 21,573 young women: a systematic review and meta-analysis' (2019). His contributions have received widespread media coverage, including features in The Conversation, SBS Insight, and international outlets reaching an estimated 120 million readers. Awards include Best Oral Presentation at the International Congress on Complementary Medicine Research (2015) and Best Poster Presentation at the International Scientific Acupuncture and Meridian Symposium (2015).