Medicinal Chemistry

Creating next-generation drug molecules for drug discovery and therapeutic development

About us

Find out more about the Medicinal Chemistry theme.

Research groups

Our research groups work with a wide range of collaborators within and external to Monash to develop molecules to treat disease.

Research areas

Discover more about our major areas of expertise, including chemical biology and G-protein coupled receptor drug discovery.

PhD programs

Discover what a higher degree with us entails and find out about available projects.

Capabilities and research platforms

Learn more about the techniques we employ and the tools we use.

Contact us

For any enquiries please contact Nicki Penny at +61 3 9903 9614 or nicki.penny@monash.edu.

Latest news from Medicinal Chemistry

Image of a murine kidney with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease. Green represents collecting duct epithelia and their derived cysts. Blue represents DAPI staining of nuclei. Tissue preparation, sectioning and staining were performed by Dr

Monash research drives launch of new biotech targeting genetic kidney disease

xCystence Bio is developing a pipeline of Targeted Protein Degraders (TPDs) designed to remove the Aurora kinase A (AURKA) protein, which plays a key role in cyst formation and disease progression in ADPKD.
30 March, 2026 Research
Professor Maxim Itkin from the University of Pennsylvania

Monash researchers develop new imaging tools to unlock hidden lymphatic diseases

Monash University researchers are part of a US-led team working together to develop the first imaging agents that could transform the way lymphatic-related diseases are diagnosed and treated.
21 January, 2026 Research
Monash invention progresses to Phase 3 clinical trial for treatment of advanced breast cancers.

Monash invention progresses to Phase 3 clinical trial for treatment of advanced breast cancers

Pfizer Inc has commenced a Phase 3 clinical trial to study a potential new medicine for advanced breast cancer, based on pioneering research from Monash University and CTx.
16 October, 2025 Research
A tenebrosa_Pete

Monash University joins national effort to decode and harness venoms for science and innovation

Researchers from MIPS are among the team supporting the newly established Australian Venom Innovation and Discovery (AVID) Initiative.
1 October, 2025 Research
Professor Ray Norton and Dr Dorothy Wai

Commonwealth government backs national venom project

Australian scientists have received a $3M NHMRC Centres of Research Excellence grant to explore both the health impacts of venom and its therapeutic potential.
4 September, 2025 Research
Image of a murine kidney with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease. Image acquired with the fluorescent slide scanning services of the Monash Histology Platform.

CUREator backs Monash biotech to advance new therapeutics for polycystic kidney disease

Monash University biotech company, xCystence Bio, secures top-up funding boost from Brandon BioCatalyst’s CUREator incubator to drive the development of therapeutics for Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD).
4 September, 2025 Research

Melbourne scientists identify potential new target for neurodegenerative diseases

Monash University scientists have identified a potential new drug target to alleviate neuroinflammation which is reported in many neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and motor neurone disease.
9 May, 2025 Research
Professor-Peter-Scammells-and-Dr-Mahta-Mansouri

MIPS researchers take home prestigious awards for outstanding contributions to medicinal chemistry

Professor Peter Scammells and Dr Mahta Mansouri have received awards at the recent Royal Australian Chemical Institute (RACI) Medicinal Chemistry and Chemical Biology 2025 Conference.
29 April, 2025 Research
NHMRC

MIPS scientists awarded more than $10 million in NHMRC Investigator Grants

Research projects to improve treatments in obesity, schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s Disease and cancer are among the successful projects from MIPS, to receive a total of $10,145,035 in NHMRC Investigator funding.
24 February, 2025 Research

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