Rate My Professor Michelle McIntosh

Professor Michelle McIntosh holds the position of Professor in the Drug Delivery, Disposition and Dynamics theme within the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at Monash University. She earned her undergraduate degree in Pharmacy and a PhD in Pharmaceutics from Monash University, completing the latter in 2000. After her doctoral studies, McIntosh pursued a postdoctoral fellowship at the Center for Drug Delivery Research at the University of Kansas, returning to Monash University in 2006 to advance her academic career. She was promoted to Professor in 2019. In leadership roles, she directs the Medicines Manufacturing Innovation Centre (MMIC), a joint initiative with the Victorian Government and industry partners established around 2017 to advance pharmaceutical manufacturing innovations. She also founded and directs the HMSTrust Analytical Laboratory since 2014, providing open-access facilities for analytical services. Additionally, McIntosh has served as Course Director for the Bachelor of Pharmaceutical Sciences since 2015, earning recognition for her contributions to student learning, including the Vice-Chancellor’s Citation for Outstanding Contribution to Student Learning in 2016.

McIntosh's research specializes in pharmaceutical sciences, particularly pulmonary drug delivery and translational projects aimed at improving access to life-saving medications and patient healthcare outcomes. Pioneering work includes the development of a temperature-stable, dry powder aerosol formulation of oxytocin for preventing postpartum haemorrhage in resource-poor settings, which garnered international acclaim, including recognition from the Saving Lives at Birth program in 2015 as the most transformational innovation in maternal healthcare, presentation at the UN General Assembly, and endorsement by the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in 2011. Other significant projects involve medicinal cannabis formulations for paediatric intractable epilepsy, targeted delivery of antibiotics for respiratory infections, and evaluation of modified cyclodextrins to enhance drug solubility and stability. Her efforts have secured over $15 million in funding from government, industry, and philanthropy. Awards include the Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Research Impact (Economic and Social) in 2014, the John Dixon Hughes Medal for Medical Research Innovation in 2017, the Australian Innovation Challenge Award in 2013, and the Women in Leadership Award from BioMelbourne Network. McIntosh has advised on global health initiatives, serving on a WHO expert panel on uterotonics (2011) and a UN Commission technical advisory group (2013-2014). Key publications feature "Pharmacokinetics and safety of inhaled oxytocin compared with intramuscular oxytocin in women in the third stage of labour" (2023, British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology), "Miniature inhalation therapy platform using surface acoustic wave microfluidic atomization" (2009), and "Ultrasonic nebulization platforms for pulmonary drug delivery" (2010).