The College includes both undergraduate teaching departments and several research schools, with a focus upon different areas of the medical and health sciences. The College includes the John Curtin School of Medical Research, ANU Medical School, National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, and Research School of Psychology.
History
The College forebears were grounded in 1946 when the ANU was established by an Act of Federal Parliament, with medicine being one of the four founding research institutes. Through the influence of Howard Florey, in 1952 laboratories for the Research School of Physical Sciences were opened; and during the 1960s the Research School of Biology was established. By 1967, the University established the Research School of Chemistry and the Research School of Biological Sciences; and several years later, the Research School of Earth Sciences was created, separated from the Research School of Physical Science; and the Centre for Resources and Environmental Studies was established by Professor Frank Fenner.[3] Formerly the ANU College of Medicine and Health Sciences, following independent reviews of the ANU disciplines of Chemistry[4] and biosciences,[5] the College of Medicine, Biology and Environment was formed in August 2008.[1][6]
In 2017 the College of Health & Medicine was established to incorporate the John Curtin School of Medical Research, ANU Medical School, Research School of Population Health and Research School of Psychology.[7] However, in October 2024 the College of Health & Medicine was flagged for dis-establishment as a part of the Renew ANU reform program, due to overarching university-wide funding cuts,[8] in spite of the College's consistent high performance and upcoming plans to build a new national health precinct.[9] In the month prior to the Renew ANU announcement, the Dean of the College Professor Russell Gruen stepped down from his position after six years in the role, with Professor Ross Hannan stepping-in as interim Acting Dean. The John Curtin School of Medical Research and the School of Medicine and Psychology were flagged to merge with the ANU College of Science, to be re-branded as the ANU College of Science & Medicine.[8]
The College's academic research themes include ageing, applied epidemiology, biochemistry, biomedical science, biotechnology, the brain and the thinking mind, cancer, chemistry, chronic illness management, emotions, forensic psychology, genetics, genomics, health policy, human behaviour, human resources and organisational performance, immunology, infectious diseases, understanding and treating mental health, neuroscience, obesity and metabolic disorders, perception, public health data, social cohesion, and more.
