About us

Many of the challenges we face as a society are the consequence of the stresses that we are placing on our natural world. Our goal, in The School of Biological Sciences, is to understand how these stresses impact on our health and the health of our planet, and to design innovative solutions that improve ecological, environmental or health outcomes. To achieve this goal, we have assembled an exceptional group of academics, and are training the future leaders in life sciences.

Our strengths span the life sciences including the fields of genetics and genomics, evolution and bioinformatics, emerging infectious diseases, ecology and conservation biology, and environmental sciences. Our research is integrated into three broad multidisciplinary themes: 'Ecology and Conservation', ‘Evolution in a Changing World’, and ‘Genetics, Genomics and Health’. In order to facilitate field-leading research, the School, and Monash University as a whole, has made an enduring commitment to the provision of outstanding infrastructure including research laboratory space, high end bioinformatics, cutting edge light and electron microscopy, metabolic profiling facilities, greenhouses and plant growth rooms, marine and freshwater aquaria, and access to a range of model and non-model organisms. Our field-based research takes place in locations throughout Australia and the world, including Fiji, Indonesia, Costa Rica, Sweden, South Africa, the USA, Canada, and Antarctica.

Our teaching laboratories and class rooms are among the best equipped of any tertiary institution globally. They combine state-of-the-art teaching technologies with an exceptionally gifted group of educators to produce a truly first class, international education. We instill in our students a passion for science, and we equip them with transferrable skills that will allow them to analyze the data-heavy future their careers will demand. In addition to receiving an outstanding on campus education, we have invested heavily in our field program. We run field training in South-East Asia, Queensland, and locally in the Melbourne area, including extensive use of the Jock Marshall Reserve on campus. Innovative use of new sensor and smart computing technologies enable us to integrate field results with laboratory assessments, and to marry these with national and international activities such as the Atlas of Living Australia and the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

The School offers a truly international set of research and education activities, and hosts students from Australia, Asia, Africa, Europe, North America, and South America. Our students are given opportunities to work in many of these areas and at our campuses around the globe. Our commitment is to produce graduates who are bold, enterprising, and eager to engage in an internationalized world. Our graduates are our future leaders, who will embrace a wide range of careers spanning research, industry, government and non-governmental organisations, and contribute to solving the global challenges facing human and environmental health.