PNG Institute of Medical Research

The Papua New Guinea Institute of Medical Research (PNG IMR) is the principal institution conducting health research in Papua New Guinea with a focus on health problems affecting the country's population.

The Papua New Guinea Institute of Medical Research is a statutory body of the Government of Papua New Guinea (PNG). The Institute was established in 1968 through an Act of Parliament and it effectively acts as the research arm of the PNG Department of Health. The ultimate aim of all the Institute's research activities is to provide effective interventions, leading to improvements in people's health and the control and prevention of disease. The basis for achieving this aim is greater understanding of the disease process and constraints to change. In part, this understanding comes from knowledge of the external causative agents of disease and in part from examining the host factors involved.

Early work of the institute focused on respiratory diseases, pigbel (clostridial necrotizing enteritis), and kuru. Since then, major research programs have been established in respiratory diseases, malaria, malnutrition, enteric diseases, sexual health, women's health, and others.

The Institute's second director (1977-2000) was Professor Michael Alpers, an Australian medical researcher who was instrumental in the discovery of the epidemiology and transmission of kuru.

The Papua New Guinea Institute of Medical Research has its headquarters with offices and laboratories in Goroka, Eastern Highlands Province. The headquarters also house the Michael Alpers Library and the Adolf Saweri Lecture Theatre. Another major branch is located at Yagaum, near the coastal town of Madang. The Institute has smaller branches and offices in Maprik and Wewak (East Sepik Province), and in the capital Port Moresby. Research activities are carried out in several additional field sites across the country, including Alotau (Milne Bay), Karkar Island (Madang) and Hides (Southern Highlands).

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