Therapeutic Program Areas

 

Therapeutic Program Areas bring together researchers with shared interests and complementary expertise around a particular area of health need. They provide a framework for connecting research groups across disciplines, supporting collaboration and knowledge exchange, and building pathways from drug discovery research through to therapeutic development. TPAs also help strengthen connections with clinicians, patients, industry and external research partners, enabling us to respond to emerging health priorities and opportunities.

Our research covers a range of diseases, with a particular focus in three major therapeutic areas:

Neuroscience and Mental Health

The Neuroscience and Mental Health TPA brings together multidisciplinary expertise to address unmet medical needs in psychiatry, neurodegenerative disorders, pain, and other neurological and mental health conditions. Research spans fundamental discovery through to translational therapeutic development.

Cardiovascular and Metabolic Health

The Cardiovascular and Metabolic Health TPA focuses on developing new therapies for cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. Its expertise spans basic research, preclinical disease models, and translational studies to advance new treatments towards clinical application.

Global Health

The Global Health TPA aims to improve health and promote health equity worldwide. Research focuses on addressing major global health challenges, with particular strengths in infectious diseases and maternal, child, and reproductive health.

Latest news from the TPAs

Monash University joins TGA Academic Outreach Program

Combining Monash’s research expertise with the TGA’s regulatory leadership, we can advance innovation while also creating meaningful opportunities for student engagement and exposure to real-world regulatory challenges
16 July, 2026 Research

New research makes critical discovery for the global fight against antibiotic resistance

MIPS researchers used a validated laboratory infection system to expose bacterial samples from infected patients to simulated antibiotic dosing regimens, as would actually occur in hospitalised patients.
25 June, 2026 Research

Monash University publishes new clinical data on innovation to address the leading global cause of maternal mortality

A phase 1 evaluation of inhaled oxytocin: Physiologically-based pharmacokinetic model informed dosing of a novel heat-stable oxytocin delivery system.
4 April, 2026 Research

Safeguarding critical medicines as climate change drives extreme heat

A new Monash University Incubator project is investigating how rising temperatures and extreme heat could affect the stability of critical medicines, particularly in regions with vulnerable supply chains across the Western Pacific.
1 November, 2025 Research
mRNA Core

Revealed: new vaccine target to block malaria transmission

Researchers used cutting-edge cryo-electron microscopy to visualise a key connection between two proteins that’s critical to allowing malaria parasites to reproduce inside mosquitoes.
6 August, 2025 Research
Dr Emily Pilkington checks the concentration of an mRNA product prior to packing it into a lipid nanoparticle formulation.

Leading the charge: Tackling tuberculosis and other diseases with mRNA

mRNA Core’s COVID mRNA-LNP vaccine shows promise in overcoming the challenge of immune imprinting, and scientists work to overcome these challenges to generate the next generation of mRNA medicines.
9 April, 2025 Medicine & health
Dr Greg Stewart, Associate Professor Jess Nithianantharajah and Professor Chris Langmead

Phrenix secures major funding boost from US and Australian venture capital firms to advance new therapeutics for psychiatric disorders

Phrenix Therapeutics, a biotech company focused on next-generation medicines for psychiatric and neurological disorders, has secured investment from specialist biotech venture capital firms Curie.Bio and Brandon Capital.
3 February, 2025 Research
Arthur Christopoulos

Monash Dean named 2024 Fellow of the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics

Professor Arthur Christopoulos FAA FAHMS has been named a 2024 Fellow of the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET).
28 November, 2024 Research
Monash Parkville Campus

2024 Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences Awards - Celebrating Professional, Research, and Teaching Excellence

The 2024 Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences Awards were held on 27 November and celebrated the outstanding contributions of staff to professional, research and teaching excellence.
28 November, 2024 Research