The Charles Perkins Centre is a multidisciplinary research centre committed to improving global health. Our unique, complex-systems approach allows us to bring together researchers in unexpected research collaborations.

Diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease and their related conditions are the leading causes of death, disability and reduced quality of life in Australia and elsewhere around the developed and developing world. These conditions pose a serious population-wide health problem that is continuing to grow.

Established in 2012, the Charles Perkins Centre aims to generate innovative and workable solutions to combat these global health challenges.

This requires us to rethink traditional approaches to the causes of these conditions that tend to consider medical or biological factors in isolation from their psychological, societal and environmental contexts. We have built a unique research institution that brings together many disciplines to achieve improved health on a global scale.

We understand that these diseases are more complicated than biology alone. They are about the layout of our cities; the places we work; the food supply; the demands of modern life, and so much more.

To solve the problem of these diseases, the Charles Perkins Centre pursues research that is mindful of the interconnected effect of the environment, food, genetics, and technology – among other factors – in determining individual and wider population health.