About us

The National Drug Discovery Centre (NDDC) is an initiative of the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute and offers Australian medical researchers access to a fully staffed facility with drug screening expertise and the latest in robotic high-throughput technologies.

Government and philanthropic funding

Support from the Australian and Victorian Governments has enabled the expansion of the NDDC, and subsidises the cost of access for Australian researchers.

This funding builds upon the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute’s own $32 million investment, as well as previous Victorian Government support and generous donations from AWM Electrical, Mr Mike Fitzpatrick AO and Ms Helen Sykes.

Meet the experts

We have a team of world-class experts with academic and industry experience and a proven track record of advancing novel drugs.

Professor Guillaume Lessene

Theme Leader, New Medicines and Advanced Technologies

Professor Lessene's major research focus has been the development of small molecules that target the apoptotic and necroptotic cell death pathways.

Associate Professor Kym Lowes

Head of Screening

Associate Professor Kym Lowes received her PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Western Australia in 2002.

Dr Jeff Mitchell

Head, National Drug Discovery Centre

Dr Jeff Mitchell is a medicinal chemist and holds a PhD from the University of Melbourne.

Photo of Kate Jarman smiling at the camera

Dr Kate Jarman

Deputy Head of Screening

Dr Kate Jarman received her PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Adelaide in 2010.

Australian drug discovery network

The NDDC provides researchers in Australia with access to high-throughput screening (HTS), which enables the fast, robotic testing of biological targets that are useful for the development of new medicines to treat disease.

To complement these activities, the following Australian organisations provide expertise and capabilities that may help advance your drug discovery project.

These services are critical to the drug discovery pipeline. They include key activities such as medicinal chemistry, safety testing, or assistance to develop a robust assay for a screening campaign. Therapeutic Innovation Australia provides a comprehensive guide to additional facilities and capabilities accessible to Australian researchers.