Message from the Dean
Professor Arthur Christopoulos, FAA FAHMS.
Welcome to Issue 38 of Alchemy, our Faculty’s annual alumni magazine.
2025 has marked an inflection point for our Faculty: the year we shifted from consolidation to acceleration. I believe what's made this transformation possible isn't any single initiative or achievement, but the strength of our community.
Last year, I described 2024 as our Faculty's “year of change”. This year, as I complete the first year of my second term as Dean, I can confidently say we’ve entered a new phase entirely. We’ve moved from reacting to circumstances (such as the COVID-19 pandemic, changes to tertiary education policy and funding challenges) to proactively shaping the future of Pharmacy and the Pharmaceutical Sciences. In fact, the momentum that’s now visible across our Faculty’s research, education, enterprise and engagement activities is nothing short of extraordinary.
Just this year, we've launched our joint Master of Global Medicines Development (MGMD) together with The University of North Carolina (UNC) Chapel Hill Eshelman School of Pharmacy, as well as our upcoming Graduate Certificate of Pharmacist Prescribing. We’ve made significant inroads into the construction of our new building situated at 343 Royal Parade as a “Drug Discovery Translation Hub”—a centrepiece of Monash’s future and one that is, at the time of writing, running both ahead of time and within budget. We’ve also appointed our first Associate Dean, International—Professor Joseph Nicolazzo—to help build and strengthen relationships around the globe. More broadly, Monash University made a substantial investment in MAVERIC—an advanced AI supercomputer that will help scientists meet global health challenges through better managing chronic diseases, detecting cancer at an earlier stage, developing more effective clinical trials and identifying new medicines.
The common factor that’s driving this momentum is also the theme of this year’s edition of Alchemy: community.
For our Faculty and its staff, students and alumni, community isn't an abstract idea. It's the engine that drives our progress. It's the staff who give their time to lift others, the students who support one another through the toughest parts of their degrees and the alumni who stay connected with us long after they graduate. It's the generosity, collaboration and shared purpose of the industry professionals who volunteer their expertise and share their knowledge to help our students succeed. Moreover, it underpins the culture on our Parkville campus, where we aim to remain “silo-free”, because we know that success at our local communal level ensures that the whole Faculty—and profession—becomes stronger.
This community strength is now translating into extraordinary momentum across research, education, enterprise and engagement. But it's not just happening within our walls.
Community also lives in the role we all play beyond Parkville—as pharmacists, pharmaceutical scientists and advocates embedded in suburbs, regional towns, companies, hospitals and clinics across Australia. In a time when trust in science and medicine is under unprecedented pressure, it's our graduates who are often the first and most trusted point of contact for people seeking evidence-based advice and/or reassurance. This trusted relationship is about to become even more significant: as Victorian pharmacists finally gain the right to prescribe medicines to treat certain conditions, our role in the community will expand in ways that will reshape both practice and education.
But community, for us, isn't bounded by geography. The same collaborative spirit that strengthens our work in Victoria drives our growing global reach—from the research partnerships we're building internationally to links with our Indo-Pacific campuses, the development of international opportunities for our students, and our 10-year commitment to our ‘PharmAlliance’ partnership with UNC and University College London, which has just been renewed for five more years via the signing of a new memorandum of understanding. This renewal reflects a shared commitment between the three top-10 global Pharmacy schools to deepen collaboration and address major healthcare challenges together. Whether local or global, it's the quality of our connections that defines our impact.
As we look back on the year’s achievements, I also want to recognise some of the people who have gone above and beyond to make this community possible. I want to thank our amazing Faculty and MIPS Executive Leadership Groups, Associate Deans, our Heads of Themes and all our staff—including our incredible academic and research staff, professional operations, administration and our marketing and communications colleagues—who have each carried an extraordinary workload with professionalism and collegiality. I also particularly want to acknowledge and thank, on behalf of the entire Faculty and our extended community, Professor Susan Charman, for her outstanding and innumerable contributions to our Faculty and—indeed—to the national and international drug discovery and development landscape—for over 35 years. As a co-founder and immediate past Director of our world-leading Centre for Drug Candidate Optimisation, Sue’s unwavering vision and foresight have been vital to our Faculty’s current standing as a global medicinal research powerhouse. I wish Sue the very best in her retirement and pursuit of new and exciting ventures.
We’re also extremely grateful to our donors and supporters and the many alumni who give their time, expertise and resources to strengthen and develop our community. Their generosity helps us support students, build opportunity and invest in the next generation of pharmacists and pharmaceutical scientists.
In 2026, you’ll see exactly how this sense of community will usher in a new era for the Faculty. The Drug Discovery and Translation Hub will come online; our first MGMD cohort will begin their studies; strategies aiming for full-scope of practice will reshape pharmacy education, and our global connections will continue to expand. There has never been a more exciting time to be part of this Faculty, and I’m deeply proud of what we’re building together.
As we head into the end of the year, I encourage all of you to take a moment to step back and reflect on what you’ve achieved in your respective fields of endeavour and in your communities. Celebrate your successes, enjoy a well-earned break and I look forward to re-engaging with you to shape the next chapter of our shared future.
Professor Arthur Christopoulos, BPharm, PhD, FAA, FAHMS
