children's medical research institute children's medical research institute children's medical research institute (cmri) is an australian medical research institute located in westmead that conducts research into children's genetic diseases. as of 2019, current research is focused on cancer, birth defects, neurological conditions such as epilepsy, and gene therapy. children's medical research instituteestablished1958research typemedical researchfield of researchgenetic research;cancer;epilepsy;birth defectsdirectorprofessor roger reddel ao faaaddress214 hawkesbury road, westmead nsw 2145locationsydney, new south wales, australia33°48′05″s 150°59′32″ecampuswestmeadaffiliationsuniversity of sydneyroyal alexandra hospital for childrenwebsitecmri.org.au much of cmri's cancer research focuses on telomeres (including telomerase) and the alternative lengthening of telomeres (alt) mechanism, which was discovered at cmri in 1997.