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Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health

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Chairman
  
Harold Mitchell AC

Website
  
www.florey.edu.au

Founded
  
1971

Staff
  
500

Scientific Director
  
Geoffrey Donnan AO

Founder
  
Derek Denton

Phone
  
+61 3 9035 3000

Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health

Adjunct faculty
  
Austin Hospital, Melbourne

Formerly called
  
Howard Florey Institute of Experimental Physiology and Medicine

Location
  
Royal Parade, Parkville and Burgundy Street, Heidelberg, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Address
  
30 Royal Parade, Parkville VIC 3052, Australia

Hours
  
Closed now Labour Day might affect these hoursMonday(Labour Day)9AM–5PMHours might differTuesday9AM–5PMWednesday9AM–5PMThursday9AM–5PMFriday9AM–5PMSaturdayClosedSundayClosed

Similar
  
Melbourne Brain Centre, University of Melbourne, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute o, The Royal Melbourne Hospital, Faculty of Medicine - Dentistry

Profiles

Abc radio interview with anthony hannan from the florey institute of neuroscience and mental health


The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, more commonly known as the Florey Institute, is an Australian medical research institute that undertakes clinical and applied research into treatments for brain and mind disorders and the cardiovascular system. The Institute's areas of interest include Parkinson's disease, stroke, motor neurone disease, traumatic brain and spinal cord injury, addiction, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, brain development in premature babies, Huntington's disease, depression, schizophrenia, brain function in health and disease, heart failure, and dementia.

Contents

Affiliated with the University of Melbourne and the Austin Hospital, the Institute is located in the Melbourne suburbs of Parkville and Heidelberg in Victoria. It is the largest brain research group in the southern hemisphere and employs approximately 500 staff and students. The Institute is led by its Scientific Director, Professor Geoffrey Donnan AO, a neurologist.

History

The origins of the institute are based on the 1947 work of the founder, Dr. Derek Denton, and the investigation of the team of scientists, Prof R D Wright,Prof J P Coghlan and Prof Marelyn Wintour-Coghlan into the control of salt and water balance in health and disease.

The Institute was formally established in 1971 by the Victorian Government and named in honour of Howard Florey, an Australian Laureate of the 1945 Nobel Prize in Medicine who helped to isolate the active principle of penicillin and developed the first manufacturing process for the antibiotic. The Institute conducted research into physiological control of body fluid and electrolyte balance, especially the regulation of the adrenal salt-retaining hormone, aldosterone; micro measurement of hormones; hybridization histochemistry; instincts that control ingestion; and the Relaxin hormone.

Previously known as the Howard Florey Institute of Experimental Physiology and Medicine, in 1997 the Institute’s focus broadened to encompass brain disorders. From 1997 to 2007, the neuroscientist Professor Frederick Mendelsohn AO, led the institute.

On 1 July 2007 the legislation that created the Howard Florey Institute of Experimental Physiology and Medicine was repealed, and the Florey amalgamated with the Brain Research Institute and the National Stroke Research Institute to become collectively known as the Florey Neuroscience Institutes (FNI). As part of the amalgamation process, a new research facility was constructed to house the FNI, the Mental Health Research Institute and researchers from the University of Melbourne. In 2012, with the amalgamation of the Mental Health Research Institute and the Florey Neuroscience Institutes, the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health was formed. Research now includes psychiatric conditions such as depression, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, and on neurodegenerative illnesses, particularly Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease.

Notable researchers

  • Julie Bernhardt researching stroke recovery
  • Leeanne Carey researching occupational therapy and stroke recovery
  • Lorraine Dennerstein researching women's mental and sexual health
  • Mary Galea researching spinal cord injury and rehabilitative interventions
  • Jee Hyun Kim researching emotional learning and memory during childhood and adolescence in relation to addiction and anxiety
  • Louise Newman researching child psychiatry and the impact of high risk parents
  • Elizabeth Scarr researching chemical changes in the brain associated schizophrenia and bipolar disorder
  • References

    Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health Wikipedia