The Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute is Australia's first health and medical research institute tackling the deadly trio of obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Our work extends from the laboratory to wide-scale community studies. The integration of basic scientists with epidemiologists, clinicians and public health professionals is central to the Baker Institute's strategy to perform research that is directly informed by community needs and to translate discoveries into everyday clinical practice. Our main laboratory facilities located on the Alfred Medical Research and Education Precinct in Melbourne are complemented by a research facility in Alice Springs dedicated to Indigenous health.