From the Director

Professor Simon Foote
BMed Sci, MBBS, PhD

Welcome to the website of the Menzies Research Institute. Under the leadership of its previous director, Professor Terry Dwyer, the Institute has developed a formidable reputation nationally and internationally as a stronghold of population health research. This research is crucial in uncovering the causes of disease. The Institute has conducted groundbreaking work into the causes and prevention of many common diseases affecting thousands of Tasmanians and Australians.

I was appointed Director in 2005 and I believe the Institute has a bright future. Looking ahead, a new building is being planned that will house our growing team. In addition, there are plans to broaden the breadth of the research being done here in order to investigate more disease areas affecting the health of people in Tasmania and beyond. We have seen success in our work to consolidate medical research in Hobart with researchers from other parts of the University of Tasmania continuing to join the Institute.

During the past 20 years the Institute has used its skills in population health research to identify many links between diseases such as sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), osteoporosis and multiple sclerosis and influences that occur in the environment in which we live. These environmental or lifestyle influences include diet, exercise, sun exposure and infection.

Our observations lead to suggestions that lifestyle change will influence our risk of developing disease. One of the best known studies from the Institute demonstrated that changing the sleeping position of infants reduced their risk of dying from SIDS.

Ongoing and future studies will continue to concentrate on population heath issues but with an increasing focus on genetic factors underlying response to environmental influences. We will be strengthening our neurosciences and integrating further clinical research with more basic research approaches.

The people of Tasmania continue to support the Institute through participation in our studies, by volunteering time and by donating funds. We are extremely appreciative of these actions and are acutely aware that it is only through these partnerships that both the Tasmanian population and the Institute will benefit.

The Institute will expand its role in educating Tasmanians and others in our areas of expertise and welcomes queries from potential students for honours and doctorate positions.