The Westmead Millennium Institute for Medical Research is a large medical research institute located at Westmead in Sydney's western suburbs. The Institute is closely affiliated with Sydney Medical School and Westmead Hospital and comprises approximately 450 medical research and support staff. The Institute was founded in 1996 through the merging of five research groups at the Westmead health campus, initially comprising just 40 medical researchers. Westmead Millennium Institute (WMI) has grown rapidly on the basis of peer-reviewed funding.