National Institutes of Health

National Institutes of Health
Building 50 at NIH
Clinical Center - Building 10

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and health-related research. It consists of 27 separate institutes and offices which includes the Office of the Director. Francis S. Collins is the current Director.

The predecessor of the NIH began in 1887 as the Laboratory of Hygiene.[1][2] It grew and was reorganized in 1930 by the Ransdell Act into the National Institute of Health (singular at the time). As of 2003, the NIH was responsible for 28%—about US$26.4 billion—of the total biomedical research funding spent annually in the U.S., with most of the rest coming from industry.[3]

The NIH is divided into two parts: the "Extramural" parts of NIH are responsible for the funding of biomedical research outside of NIH, while the "Intramural" parts of NIH conduct research. Intramural research is primarily conducted at the main campus in Bethesda, Maryland and the surrounding communities. The National Institute of Aging and the National Institute on Drug Abuse are located in Baltimore, Maryland, and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences is in Research Triangle, North Carolina. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) maintains Rocky Mountain Labs in Hamilton, Montana,[4] with an emphasis on virology.

The goal of NIH research is to acquire new knowledge to help prevent, detect, diagnose, and treat disease and disability, from the rarest genetic disorder to the common cold. The NIH mission is to uncover new knowledge that will lead to better health for everyone. NIH works toward that mission by conducting research in its own laboratories, supporting the research of non-Federal scientists (in universities, medical schools, hospitals, and research institutions throughout the country and abroad), helping in the training of research investigators, and fostering communication of medical and health sciences information.

Contents

Institutes

Name Acronym Description Est.
National Cancer Institute NCI Research and training aimed to eliminate the suffering and death due to cancer. 1937
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases NIAID Research goals include striving to understand, treat, and ultimately prevent infectious, immunologic, and allergic diseases. The NIAID-funded Influenza Genome Sequencing Project is a collaborative effort designed to increase the genome knowledge base of influenza and help researchers understand how flu viruses evolve, spread and cause disease.[5] 1948
National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research NIDCR Provides leadership for a national research program designed to understand, treat, and ultimately prevent infectious and inherited craniofacial-oral-dental diseases and disorders. 1948
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases NIDDK Conducts and supports research and provides leadership for a national program in diabetes, endocrinology, and metabolic diseases, digestive diseases and nutrition, and kidney, urologic, and hematologic diseases. 1948
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute NHLBI Provides leadership for a national program in diseases of the heart, blood vessels, lung, and blood; blood resources; and sleep disorders. Also has administrative responsibility for the NIH Woman's Health Initiative. 1948
National Institute of Mental Health NIMH Understanding, treatment, and prevention of mental illnesses through basic research on the brain and behavior, and through clinical, epidemiological, and services research. 1949
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke NINDS Supports and conducts research, both basic and clinical, on the normal and diseased nervous system, fosters the training of investigators in the basic and clinical neurosciences, and seeks better understanding, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of neurological disorders. 1950
National Library of Medicine NLM NLM collects, organizes, and makes available biomedical science information to investigators, educators, and practitioners and carries out programs designed to strengthen medical library services in the United States. The NLM established the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) which is a central repository of biological information and includes the PubMed literature database and the gene database GenBank. The NCBI is one of the largest components of the NLM. 1956
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development NICHD NICHD researchs fertility, pregnancy, growth, development, and medical rehabilitation for the promotion of all aspects of child health. 1962
National Institute of General Medical Sciences NIGMS NIGMS supports basic biomedical research not targeted to specific diseases, funds studies on genes, proteins, and cells, supports research training programs that produce the next generation of biomedical scientists, has special programs to encourage underrepresented minorities to pursue biomedical research careers. 1962
National Eye Institute NEI Conducts and supports research that helps prevent and treat eye diseases and other disorders of vision. 1968
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences NIEHS Research on how environmental exposures, genetic susceptibility, and age interact to affect an individual's health. 1969
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism NIAAA NIAAA research is focused on improving the treatment and prevention of alcoholism and alcohol-related problems. 1970
National Institute on Drug Abuse NIDA NIDA supports and conducts research on drug abuse and addiction prevention, treatment, and policy. 1973
National Institute on Aging NIA Undertakes research on the biomedical, social, and behavioral aspects of the aging process, prevention of age-related diseases and disabilities, promotion of better quality of life for all older Americans. 1974
National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases NIAMS NIAMS supports research into causes, treatment, and prevention of arthritis and musculoskeletal and skin diseases, the training of basic and clinical scientists to carry out this research, and the dissemination of information on research progress in these diseases. 1986
National Institute of Nursing Research NINR NINR supports clinical and basic research to establish a scientific basis for the care of individuals across the life span. 1986
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders NIDCD Conducts and supports biomedical research and research training on normal mechanisms as well as diseases and disorders of hearing, balance, smell, taste, voice, speech, and language. 1988
National Human Genome Research Institute NHGRI Supports the NIH component of the Human Genome Project. NHGRI's Intramural Research Program develops and implements technology for understanding, diagnosing, and treating genetic diseases. 1989
National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering NIBIB Promotes fundamental discoveries, design and development, and translation and assessment of technological capabilities in biomedical imaging and bioengineering, enabled by relevant areas of information science, physics, chemistry, mathematics, materials science, and computer sciences. 2000

Centers of the NIH

In addition to being divided by research area, NIH has many operating groups called centers operating across all of the Institutes.

Name Acronym Description Est.
Center for Scientific Review CSR The CSR is the focal point at NIH for the conduct of initial peer review of grant and fellowship applications, implements ways to conduct referral and review. 1946
Warren Grant Magnuson Clinical Center CC The clinical research facility of the National Institutes of Health; provides patient care, services, and environment needed to initiate and support conduct of and training in clinical research. 1953
National Center for Research Resources NCRR Research projects and shared resources in biomedical technology, clinical research, comparative medicine, and research infrastructure. 1962
Center for Information Technology CIT; formerly DCRT, OIRM, TCB The CIT incorporates computers into the biomedical programs and administrative procedures of the NIH by conducting computational biosciences research, developing computer systems, and providing computer facilities. 1964
John E. Fogarty International Center FIC Promotes and supports scientific research and training internationally to reduce disparities in global health. 1968
Radiological Physics Center RPC Offers quality assurance to the National Cancer Institute (NCI) that all participating institutions in NCI sponsored cooperative groups are following the guidelines for the physics-related aspects of their protocols. 1968
Quality Assurance Review Center QARC Provides radiotherapy quality assurance and diagnostic imaging data management for all of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) sponsored cooperative groups. It also contracts privately with the pharmaceutical industry for its services in clinical trials involving anti-cancer drugs. 1977
National Center for Biotechnology Information NCBI Established as a national resource for molecular biology information, NCBI creates public databases, conducts research in computational biology, develops software tools for analyzing genome data, and disseminates biomedical information - all for the better understanding of molecular processes affecting human health and disease. 1988
National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine NCCAM Exploring complementary and alternative medical practices in the context of rigorous science, training researchers, disseminating authoritative information. 1992
National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities NCMHD NCMHD leads, coordinates, supports, and assesses the NIH effort to reduce and ultimately eliminate health disparities in minority groups; conduct and support basic, clinical, social, and behavioral research, reach out to minority and other health disparity communities. 1993
Dale and Betty Bumpers Vaccine Research Center[6] VRC The mission of the Vaccine Research Center (VRC) is to conduct research that facilitates the development of effective vaccines for human disease. The primary focus of research is the development of vaccines for AIDS.[7] 1999[8][9]
Bioinformatics Resource Centers BRC Provides genomic, proteomic, biochemical, and microbiological data from a wide range of emerging/re-emerging pathogens (NIAID Category A, B, and C). Contains eight sub-centers (the BRCs) each dedicated to a different group of pathogens. Data are presented in a database format accessible by Web interfaces, together with tools for analysis. 2004
National Centers for Biomedical Computing NCBC Be the core of the networked national effort to build the computational infrastructure for biomedical computing in the nation. 2004
Center for Tissue Regeneration and Engineering at Dayton TREND Focused on human tissue regeneration and nanotechnology. 2006

Office of the Director

The Office of the Director is the central office at NIH. The OD is responsible for setting policy for NIH and for planning, managing, and coordinating the programs and activities of all the NIH components. Program offices in the Office of the Director are responsible for stimulating specific areas of research throughout NIH and for planning and supporting research and related activities. Current program areas are: minority health, women's health, AIDS research, disease prevention, and behavioral and social sciences research.[10] In July 2009, President Barack Obama nominated Dr. Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D., to be the Director of the NIH. On August 7, 2009, the US Senate confirmed Dr. Collins by unanimous vote.

Program offices within the Office of the Director fund research through the institutes:

Full name Acronym Role
Office of Extramural Research OER provides guidance to institutes in research and training programs conducted through extramural (grant, contract, cooperative agreement) programs
Office of Intramural Research OIR coordinates research conducted directly by NIH personnel through intramural programs
Office of Management OM responsible for management and financial functions of the NIH
Office of Administration OA advises the NIH Director and staff on administration and management; develops and implements policies, and provides oversight in the areas of information resources management, management assessment, grant administration and contract management, procurement, and logistics
Office of AIDS Research OAR formulates scientific policy for, and recommends allocation of research resources for AIDS research at NIH
Office of Biotechnology Activities OBA "monitors scientific progress in human genetics research in order to anticipate future developments, including ethical, legal, and social concerns, in basic and clinical research involving Recombinant DNA, Genetic Technologies, and Xenotransplantation"[11]
Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research OBSSR advises the NIH Director and other key officials on matters relating to research on the role of human behavior in the development of health, prevention of disease, and therapeutic intervention
Office of Communications and Public Liaison OCPL advises the Director and communicates information about NIH policies, programs, and research results to the general public
Office of Community Liaison OCL advises the Director, plans, directs and oversees activities to promote collaboration between NIH and its community, and ensures effective communication on policy and programs involving the community
Office of Disease Prevention ODP coordinates NIH activities regarding the application of research to disease prevention, nutrition and medical practice
Office of Intramural Training and Education OITE provides a comprehensive guide to postdoctoral training opportunities available at the NIH
Office of Equal Opportunity and Diversity Management OEODM advises the Director and NIH staff on matters related to equal employment opportunity programs and policies
Office of Financial Management OFM advises the NIH Director and staff and provides leadership and direction for NIH financial management activities; develops policies and instructions for budget preparation and presentation and administers allocation of funds and manages a system of fund and budgetary controls
Office of Human Resources OHR advises the NIH Director and staff on human resource management; directs central human resource management services; and provides NIH leadership and planning on human resource program development
Office of Legislative Policy and Analysis OLPA provides legislative analysis, policy development, and liaison with the United States Congress[12]
Office of Portfolio Analysis and Strategic Initiatives OPASI provides the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and its constituent Institutes and Centers (ICs) with the methods and information necessary to manage their large and complex scientific portfolios, identifies – in concert with multiple other inputs – important areas of emerging scientific opportunities or rising public health challenges, and assists in the acceleration of investments in these areas, focusing on those involving multiple ICs
Office of Research on Women's Health ORWH serves as a focal point for women's health research at the NIH. The ORWH promotes, stimulates, and supports efforts to improve the health of women through biomedical and behavioral research. ORWH works in partnership with the NIH institutes and centers to ensure that women's health research is part of the scientific framework at NIH and throughout the scientific community
Office of Science Education OSE coordinates science education activities at the NIH and develops and sponsors science education projects in house. These programs serve elementary, secondary, and college students and teachers and the public. Free curriculum supplements developed in collaboration with curriculum writers, NIH divisions, and NIH scientists are available online and in hard copy at Curriculum Supplements. The OSE has also developed an interactive health and medical science career exploration web site for middle school and high school students called LifeWorks. Other educational resources from throughout the NIH are found on the OSE main page.
Office of Rare Diseases ORDR supports research on rare diseases and collaborates with related organizations such as the National Organization for Rare Disorders. The Office of Rare Diseases was first established within the Office of the Director in 1993, and then by public law statute in 2002.[13]

Cancer

The 2010 United States federal budget invests over $6 billion for cancer research at the National Institutes of Health as part of the multi-year commitment to double cancer research funding.[14]

Economic impact

In 2000, a report from a Joint Economic Committee of Congress outlined the benefits of NIH research. It noted that some econometric studies had given its research, which was funded at $16 billion a year in 2000, a rate of return of 25 to 40 percent per year. It also found that of the 21 drugs with the highest therapeutic impact on society introduced between 1965 and 1992, public funding was "instrumental" for 15.[15]

See also

References

  1. ↑ history.nih.gov
  2. ↑ SIC 9431 Administration of Public Health Programs
  3. ↑ Medical Research Spending Doubled Over Past Decade, Neil Osterweil, MedPage Today, September 20, 2005.
  4. ↑ About NIAID, NIAID web page, date accessed January 14, 2007.
  5. ↑ Microbial Sequencing Centers, MSC, DMID, NIAID, NIH
  6. ↑ NIAID.nih.gov
  7. ↑ NIAID.nih.gov
  8. ↑ NIAID.nih.gov
  9. ↑ NIAID.nih.gov
  10. ↑ NIH - Office of the Director
  11. ↑ About OBA
  12. ↑ Olpa.od.nih.gov
  13. ↑ "About ORDR". ORDR. http://rarediseases.info.nih.gov/AboutUs.aspx. Retrieved February 14, 2009. 
  14. ↑ Whitehouse.gov
  15. ↑ U.S. Joint Economic Committee. (2000). The Benefits of Medical Research and the Role of the NIH.

External links

National Institutes of Health
Institutes

National Cancer Institute · National Eye Institute · National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute · National Human Genome Research Institute · National Institute on Aging · National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism · National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases · National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases · National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering · National Institute of Child Health and Human Development · National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders · National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research · National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases · National Institute on Drug Abuse · National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences · National Institute of General Medical Sciences · National Institute of Mental Health · National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities · National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke · National Institute of Nursing Research · National Library of Medicine
Centers

Center for Information Technology · Center for Scientific Review · John E. Fogarty International Center · National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine · National Center for Research Resources · Quality Assurance Review Center · Radiological Physics Center · Vaccine Research Center · Warren Grant Magnuson Clinical Center
Programs

Visible Human Project · National Diabetes Education Program
Related

United States Public Health Service · National Institutes of Health Director's Pioneer Award
Agencies of the United States Department of Health and Human Services
Secretary of Health and Human Services · Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services
Secretariate staff offices
Office of the Secretary of Health and Human Services · Office of the Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services · Office of Inspector General
 United States Department of Health and Human Services Seal
Organizations under the
Assistant Secretary for Health

Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health · Public Health Service · Office of Public Health and Science · Administration for Children and Families · Administration on Aging · Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality · Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry · Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services · Food and Drug Administration · Health Resources and Services Administration · Indian Health Service · National Institutes of Health · Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration · Public Health Service Commissioned Corps (Surgeon General)
Hospitals in Maryland
General/Acute/Emergency
Anne Arundel Medical Center • Atlantic General • Baltimore Washington Medical Center • Bon Secours Hospital • Calvert Memorial • Carroll Hospital Center • Chester River • CIVISTA Medical Center • Dorchester General • Edward W. McCready Memorial • Fort Washington • Franklin Square • Frederick Memorial • Garrett County Memorial • Good Samaritan • GBMC • Harbor • Harford Memorial • Holy Cross • Howard County General • Johns Hopkins • Johns Hopkins Bayview • Laurel Regional • Maryland General • Memorial of Cumberland • Mercy • Northwest • Peninsula Regional Medical Center • Prince George's • Sacred Heart • Easton Memorial • Montgomery General • St. Agnes • St. Joseph • St. Mary's • Shady Grove • Shock Trauma • Sinai • Southern Maryland • Suburban • Union • Union Memorial • University • University Specialty • Upper Chesapeake • Washington Adventist • Washington County Hospital
Long term/rehab/outpatient
Adventist Rehabilitation Hospital of Maryland • Brandenburg Center • Deer's Head Center • Doctors Community Hospital • Gladys Spellman Specialty Hospital & Nursing Center • Holly Center • Kennedy Krieger Institute • Kernan Hospital • Levindale Hebrew Geriatric Center and Hospital • Mt. Washington Pediatric Hospital• Thomas B. Finan Center • VA Baltimore Hospital • Walter P Carter Center • Western Maryland
Psychiatric
Brook Lane Psychiatric Center • Clifton T Perkins Hospital • Eastern Shore • Potomac Ridge Behavioral Health Center • Saint Luke Institute • The Sheppard & Enoch Pratt Hospital • Spring Grove Hospital Center • Springfield Hospital Center • Taylor Manor Hospital Center
Research/Teaching
Johns Hopkins Hospital • NIH • National Naval Medical Center • St. Agnes Hospital • Union Memorial Hospital • University of Maryland Medical Center • Warren Grant Magnuson Clinical Center
Defunct
Children's Hospital • Church Home and Hospital • Crownsville Hospital Center • Fort Howard Veterans Hospital • Glenn Dale Hospital • Henryton State Hospital • Jarvis Hospital • Liberty Medical Center • Lutheran Hospital • Rosewood Center • Women's Hospital