Global Health

Global Health

We support a broad portfolio of research in global health, addressing critical issues such as infectious diseases, maternal and child health, health systems strengthening, and climate change impacts for some of the most vulnerable communities in our region.

Driven by a deep commitment to improving health equity across the indo-pacific, we’re working to strengthen interdisciplinary collaborations and support community-driven solutions.

Our focus areas

Research units

Climate, Air Quality Research

Our team uses start of the art methods to model the impacts of climate change and pollution on human health in a range of geographic regions, informing planning for resilient health services about to meet the needs of our rapidly changing planet.

Head of Unit

Professor Yuming Guo

Department of Forensic Medicine

We build forensic capability and capacity through educational partnerships with low-resourced neighbouring nations, and undertake research and investigations that enable forensic support and drive evidence-based injury and death prevention policy.

Head of Department

Professor Richard Bassed

Epidemiological Modelling

Our bespoke modelling software predicts the path of infectious diseases through communities and the likely efficacy of control strategies, underpinning health policy in Australia and our Asia-Pacific neighbours.

Head of Unit

Associate Professor James Trauer

Global and Women’s Health

With an emphasis on the Indo-Pacific region, our expertise and vital partnerships help us understand and reduce health inequities in local and global contexts, and build capacity in resource-poor settings.

Head of Unit

Professor Jane Fisher AO

Infectious Diseases Epidemiology

We advance the prevention and control of infectious diseases by creating new knowledge around prevalence, risk factors, and how climate change and urbanisation are pushing infectious diseases into areas once considered safe.

Head of Unit

Professor Karin Leder

Centres and major initiatives

Framework for Evidence Evaluation in Vaccine Assessment

This four year collaborative project between the Australian Living Evidence Collaboration and the Kirby Institute is developing world-first methods for assessing preclinical evidence for vaccine development.

National Forensics Institute of the Philippines

We’re partnering with the Australian Government and University of the Philippines to establish this crucial missing link in the Philippines’ ability to investigate unexplained deaths and take an evidence-based approach to injury and death prevention.

Revitalising Informal Settlements and their Environments

RISE is an ambitious research program working at the intersections of health, environment, and water and sanitation, trialling innovative and sustainable water and sanitation solutions in 24 informal settlements in Fiji and Indonesia.

Travel vaccine decision-aids

Access the first in our suite of consumer-facing decision aids, helping travellers make informed decisions about whether to proceed with vaccinations prior to overseas travel.

WHO Collaborating Centre in Acute Care

This Centre formalises the extensive regional support we already provide across emergency, critical and perioperative care, strengthening acute care systems, especially in low-resource settings, where timely, high-quality care is critical.

World Health Summit Regional Meeting 2024

Proud hosts of the 2024 World Health Summit Regional Meeting in Melbourne, we brought together more than 1250 thought leaders and game changers in global health to focus on health priorities in our region. Read the look back report and key takeaways.

Our courses

Visit our Professional Education page for a list of upcoming short course dates, including:

Our impact in action

New decision-making tool helps travellers move from Japanese encephalitis vaccination information to action

For many Australians heading overseas, travel vaccinations can sit at the end of a long to-do list, may cost hundreds of dollars and require repeat trips to the GP for multiple doses, and might not seem all that urgent or necessary, especially for a
Public Health and Preventive Medicine 5 June, 2026

Australia-first study predicts annual heatwave deaths could reach 6000 by 2100

The first study of the health impacts of increasing heatwaves predicts that almost 6000 Australians will die from heatwaves in the year 2100 under climate change, compared to around 250 deaths per year during 2016–19.
Public Health and Preventive Medicine 4 May, 2026

Study of over 46 million deaths globally reveals who is most at risk from non-optimum temperatures and which diseases are most affected

A large international study of the health impacts of cold and heat has just been published in The Lancet’s eClinicalMedicine journal, finding that 4.4 percent of deaths between 2000 and 2019 can be attributed to short-term exposure to
Public Health and Preventive Medicine 4 May, 2026

New research shows impact of home environments on early childhood development across East Asia and the Pacific

Two new studies by researchers in the Global and Women’s Health unit in the School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine have shed light on how home environments shape the development of children aged two to five years in the East Asia and
Public Health and Preventive Medicine 30 April, 2026

Over 15,000 Victorians attend hospitals every year because of climate-change related heat exposure, study finds

A Monash-led study of 460 communities and 6.3+ million hospital visits across Victoria has found that heat exposure was associated with significantly increased risks of hospital admissions and emergency department visits, particularly among women,
Public Health and Preventive Medicine 13 April, 2026
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