In the late 1980s, the Menzies Foundation supported the establishment of an epidemiology research centre at the University of Tasmania, to be named the Menzies Centre for Population Health Research.;;;;The Foundation provided annual funding to the Institute and was successful in obtaining matching funds from the Tasmanian Government. The Menzies Centre for Population Health Research was formed in 1988 and became the Menzies Research Institute in 2004.;;;;The Menzies Research Institute quickly gained a reputation for its ground-breaking work into the link between babies sleeping position and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).;;;;From this work, its research expanded and epidemiological research programs were developed. In 2006, it expanded its focus on both clinical and basic science.