On 25 March 2026, H.E. Ms. Arjaree Sriratanaban, Ambassador of Thailand to Australia, visited the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI), a leading child health research centre based at the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne.

On this occasion, the Ambassador was welcomed by Mr. Dino Asproloupos, Government Relations, and had a briefing about MCRI’s roles, mandate and programmes in Southeast Asia, followed by a discussion with Professor Mimi Tang and other MCRI researchers who are engaged in projects with Thai institutions. The current key areas of cooperation with Thailand include research and development of pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCV) and human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines. Both sides also exchanged views on ways to further enhance cooperation, building on existing partnerships that MCRI has with the Ministry of Public Health of Thailand and Mahidol University, and opportunities to expand collaboration to other institutions in Thailand.

MCRI plays an important role as a non-profit organisation that raises funding to support research, as the principal paediatric research arm of the University of Melbourne and as a paediatric clinical trials centre. The institute also contributes to informing the Australian government on public health policy.

The Ambassador also met Doctor Preyanit Takkinsatian, a paediatric allergy specialist who is currently undertaking her PHD studies and research at MCRI. The Ambassador noted that such academic and professional exchanges constitute an important mechanism for fostering future cooperation between the two countries.