Director, Professor Simon Foote
BMed Sci, MBBS, PhD

Welcome to the new website of the Menzies Research Institute.

The Menzies Research Institute is today celebrating 21 years of research excellence and of building a healthier Tasmanian community.

Since its official opening in 1988, as the Menzies Centre for Population Health Research, Menzies has rapidly grown to become a world-renowned research institute and Tasmania's premier medical research facility.  One can only imagine what we will achieve in the next 21 years.

Researchers at Menzies have made world first discoveries in a diverse range of conditions: from identifying a link between early life sun exposure and susceptibility to multiple sclerosis; discovering the link between babies' sleeping position and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS); to recently discovering that platelets found in the blood kill the malaria parasite during the early stages of a malarial infection.

The Federal Governments recent commitment of $44.7 million towards the development of a second building (Stage 2) for Menzies has secured the future viability of Menzies. The new building project will provide for the continuing growth and expansion of Menzies, as it heads towards a new era in health and medical research.

The $90 million building will house the Menzies Research Institute and the clinical research facilities of the Royal Hobart Hospital. Stage Two will be an extension of the University of Tasmania (UTAS) Medical Sciences Building (Stage One), which we are looking forward to moving into, in early December.

Stage Two is an important new milestone for Menzies, as it will enable Menzies to continue building upon its research strengths and develop commercial opportunities for Tasmania. It will allow Menzies to carry out more research that could potentially lead to the development of new diagnostics or drugs to help those suffering from specific diseases and ultimately save lives.

Our first 21 years has been made possible through the generous support of the Tasmanian community, UTAS, Tasmanian Government, Menzies Foundation, external funding bodies and philanthropic organisations.

The people of Tasmania also continue to support us through participation in our research 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 Menzies will benefit.

Yours sincerely

Professor Simon Foote