Get to know the School of Medical, Molecular and Forensic Sciences at Murdoch

Are you a bit of a science buff? Welcome to a science school where theory jumps off the pages of your textbook and into real life.

There lies a world cloaked in mystery, seen only by those with a trained eye.

These professionals are able to identify cancer with just a few drops of blood, decipher a DNA profile or a fingerprint from a crime scene or explore how micronutrients delicately balance each other in a silent dance. And they modify genes to create crops able to withstand catastrophic disease or harsh environmental conditions.

If this has piqued your interest, you’re going to love our School of Medical, Molecular and Forensic Sciences at Murdoch.

What’s special about the School of Medical, Molecular and Forensic Sciences (MMFS)?

We’re not your typical science school. We offer unrivalled access to cutting-edge resources and advanced research facilities, both at Murdoch and with our industry partners. This includes:

• Our campus, positioned within a dynamic precinct that is home to two hospitals, an animal hospital, PathWest WA, and multiple medical and molecular centres of research.
• The widest range of forensic research in Australia, covering microbiology, toxicology/drugs, entomology, graves, DNA, serial killers, cold cases, and more.
• Our very own Whitby Falls Farm where students examine simulated crime scenes.
• The Cold Case Review initiative which was launched by forensic scientist Brendan Chapman alongside criminology colleague Associate Professor David Keatley, to review real cold cases.
• Strong links to world-leading research centres including Food Futures Institute, Health Futures Institute, and the Harry Butler Institute. Professor Jeremy Nicholson and Professor Elizabeth Phillips at the Health Futures Institute were recognised as among the world’s best in the 2023 Clarivate Highly Cited Researchers. Read more.
• Our students both Flexilab large open-plan laboratory facilities and more specialised laboratories with advanced automation, as found in industry.
• State-of-the-art laboratories and facilities including the Anti-microbial Resistance and Infectious Disease Laboratory, the Australian National Phenome Centre, State Agriculture Biotechnology Centre, and the Centre for Molecular Medicine and Innovative Therapeutics.
• With the launch of the Food Innovation Precinct WA, our food science and nutrition research is poised to support a new era of innovation and growth in the food industry.

Learn more about what’s on offer at Murdoch, and decide whether a career in medical sciences will suit you. 

Meet your academics

As a student, you’ll be learning from the very best professionals with real-world experience, and researchers who are at the top of their fields

What have our academic and researcher team been hard at work on? Plenty! Here’s a sneak peek:

• In biomedical science we’re developing diagnostic tests for newborns with sepsis, new agents to control infectious diseases and methods to reduce lung fibrosis and cochlear implant-induced fibrosis.
• In forensics we’re enhancing our molecular DNA capabilities to solve cold cases, improving our forensic chemistry approaches to better detect illicit drugs and working on methods to better preserve evidence obtained at crime scenes.
• In genetics and molecular biology we’re developing ways to protect endangered species, designing bacteria to help clean up the environment, and finding more sustainable ways to produce enough food to feed the world.
• In food science and nutrition we’re researching the quality and health benefits of WA milk, grain and artichokes, and new methods to measure micronutrients.

Meet our team and check out our research projects.

A fork in the road: your life, your career path

We offer a versatile curriculum and choice of courses. Our most popular degree, the Bachelor of Science (Medical, Molecular and Forensic Sciences), differs from those at many other universities. How? We have structured the first year with common foundational units so students can experience different subjects, and readily change or add majors at the end of that year if they wish.

Students can choose from these three undergraduate degrees:

• Bachelor of Science (Medical, Molecular and Forensic Sciences)

  Choose your major(s) from:

  • Biomedical Science
  • Clinical Laboratory Science
  • Forensic Biology and Toxicology
  • Forensic Chemistry, or
  • Genetics and Molecular Biology
• Bachelor of Food Science and Nutrition
• Bachelor of Laboratory Medicine

We support all our graduates as they tread their own paths. Learn more about careers in this field. 

We’re building a brighter future, together

We’ve been a trailblazing university right from the beginning. Murdoch was Western Australia’s second university and the first to break the traditional mould by offering alternative entry, distance education, and environmental and sustainability studies.

In line with Murdoch’s Ngala Kwop Biddi, Building a Brighter Future, Together strategy, we are passionately focused on diversity, inclusion and equity. This is a university where anyone can become a scientist, researcher, or practitioner in a field they’re passionate about. We know that, together, we can make incredible advancements in science.