Our story

The Westmead Institute for Medical Research (WIMR) is turning medical discoveries into breakthroughs that save lives and deliver hope for millions of people.

The Westmead Institute for Medical Research (WIMR) brings together some of the brightest minds to deliver real and significant research breakthroughs. We research some of the greatest disease challenges of our time, improving health and saving lives in Australia and around the world.

Our research teams explore ways to enrich the health and wellbeing of people globally by liberating them from the major disease challenges of our time.

OUR VISION

To liberate people from the burden of disease through life-changing medical research discoveries.

OUR PURPOSE

At WIMR, we believe the health of every person matters. WIMR is turning medical research discoveries into breakthroughs that save lives and deliver hope.

OUR MISSION

Researchers at WIMR are explorers in their chosen fields of expertise. They are endlessly curious, and seek to challenge the status quo in medical research.

The team’s multidisciplinary and translational approach enables Westmead Institute to positively improve the health of all Australians and people throughout the world. We pioneer personalised treatments and cures to solve some of the greatest disease challenges of our time.

We believe the health of every person matters

Many of our researchers are also clinicians at Westmead Hospital. This crucial relationship means that our research teams better understand patient needs and the serious health conditions affecting Australians and people worldwide.

Our hands-on approach helps guide our research and serves as the inspiration for going the extra mile. These relationships also helps to facilitate research findings into real outcomes for patients.

When breakthroughs are made we apply our discoveries to some of the world’s most serious diseases. These include illnesses like HIV; diabetes; cancers; heart, kidney and liver issues and deadly viruses.

Part of Australian medical research for over 20 years

Westmead Hospital was the first purpose-built university teaching hospital in Sydney since Royal Prince Alfred in 1882. The design, purpose and vision was to develop world class research facilities not otherwise found on hospital sites.

The opportunity to develop high level clinical services and pursue basic and clinical research attracted first-class clinician scientists to the new hospital, keen to be part of the creation of a world-class academic health centre.

Planning begins in 1993

The planning for a research institute at Westmead Hospital began in the early nineties and form officially as the Westmead Institutes of Health Research in 1996. This “institute without walls” was a federation of the four largest research centres in the Hospital: the Centre for Virus Research, the Westmead Institute for Cancer Research, the Storr Liver Unit and the Institute for Immunology and Allergy Research.

In 2000, the first stage of a purpose-built research and administration building was opened by Prime Minister John Howard. Reflecting the promise of the new millennium, the Institute also changed its name to the Westmead Millennium Institute for Medical Research (WMI).

The new building cost just $11M, provided principally by grants and donations from The Westmead Staff Specialists’ Charitable Trust, the State and Commonwealth Governments, the University of Sydney, the Australian Cancer Research Foundation and individual donors. Although modest, the building was a milestone in the development and integration of research at Westmead.

In the following years, WMI broadened its research focus and attracted an increasing number of research groups from diverse research disciplines and the Institute quadrupled in size and productivity.

The result was an organisation comprising 11 research centres, spanning five discipline areas: cancer, infection and immunity, liver and metabolic, neuroscience and vision, and cardiorespiratory disease.

Building for the future

Even when it first opened, WMI’s modestly-sized building could not accommodate all of its research teams and some had remained located within the hospital itself. With the influx of more teams, the Institute commenced planning and raising funds for a much-larger building that could support its growth and development into the future.

It took 12 years to raise the funds, with the NSW and Federal Governments contributing a total of $92 million. A further $18 million came from the Westmead Medical Research Foundation, the Australian Cancer Research Foundation, the Westmead Staff Specialists’ Charitable Trust and private donors. Construction commenced in 2012.

The new vision

In 2010 the Westmead Millennium Institute for Medical Research became an independent public company with membership comprising the NSW Government, the University of Sydney and the Westmead Medical Research Foundation.

Guided by a board including representatives of the members, the independent Institute enabled a single-minded focus on research and gave WMI access to critical government infrastructure funding available to independent research institutes.

The new building was officially opened by Prime Minister Tony Abbott and New South Wales Premier, Mike Baird, on the 9th of October 2014.New South Wales Health Minister, Jillian Skinner, and her federal counterpart Peter Dutton, also spoke at the opening.

With 17,500 square metres of space the new Institute building was over four times the size of the original. For the first time it allowed the Institute to bring together, under one roof, all its research groups, encouraging greater collaboration and sharing of knowledge, ideas and technology.

Its location adjacent to the Children’s Medical Research Institute and the Kids Research Institute – and between Westmead Hospital and the Children’s Hospital at Westmead – was chosen to create a research precinct in the centre of the Westmead campus and physically consolidate the Westmead Research Hub. This allowed neighbouring researchers easy access to core technology facilities in WMI.

With the Institute now together it was time to develop a new and stronger brand to better reflect the Institute’s mission and identity. In November 2015 the Institute changed its name to The Westmead Institute for Medical Research (WIMR).

State of the art facilities

Learn more about our core research facilities here

In 2015, the building received the Sulman Medal for Public Architecture, the highest honour in New South Wales architecture.

Research laboratories that offer the latest technologies to our multi-disciplinary research teams.

World-class scientific platforms, including cell imaging, flow cytometry and genomics equipment.

Biobanking facilities for breast cancer, gynaecological oncology and medical mycology.

Cutting-edge human applications laboratories – clean room facilities for research into cellular therapies for clinical use in leukaemia and type 1 diabetes.