Launched with a $172 million philanthropic donation and funds from the state of Victoria, the Melbourne-based research institute aims to construct drug discovery platforms to speed the introduction of new therapies.

Brain banks have struggled to convince unaffected individuals to donate, hampering studies on “cognitively normal” neurodevelopment and aging.

The school will not return donations from the family that made its riches on opioids, but the university will start a $3 million endowment for addiction prevention and treatment.