National Institutes of Health
| National Institutes of Health (NIH) | |
|---|---|
| |
| Agency overview | |
| Formed | 1887 |
| Preceding agency | Hygienic Laboratory |
| Headquarters | Bethesda, Maryland |
| Agency executive | Francis S. Collins, Director |
| Parent agency | Department of Health & Human Services |
| Child agencies | ▪ National Cancer Institute ▪ National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases ▪ National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute ▪ National Library of Medicine |
| Website | |
| NIH.gov | |
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is a biomedical research facility primarily located in Bethesda, Maryland, USA, operating as an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services. The NIH is the U.S. agency most responsible for biomedical and health-related research, primarily through its Intramural Research Program (IRP), which claims to be "the largest institution for biomedical science on earth."[1] In addition to conducting its own research, the agency provides major biomedical research funding to non-NIH research facilities through its Extramural Research Program (ERP). For example, in 2003 the NIH and its extramural arm provided 28% of biomedical research funding spent annually in the U.S., or about $26.4 billion.[2]
The NIH comprises 27 separate institutes and centers that conduct research in different disciplines of biomedical science. The IRP is responsible for many scientific accomplishments, including the discovery of fluoride to prevent tooth decay, the use of lithium to manage bipolar disorder, and the creation of vaccines against hepatitis, Haemophilus influenzae (HIB), and human papillomavirus.[3]
References
- ↑ "Organization and Leadership". National Institutes of Health. http://irp.nih.gov/about-us/organization-and-leadership. Retrieved 22 March 2014.
- ↑ Osterweil, Neil (20 September 2005). "Medical Research Spending Doubled Over Past Decade". MedPage Today. Archived from the original on 20 January 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130120124613/http://www.medpagetoday.com/PublicHealthPolicy/HealthPolicy/1767. Retrieved 22 March 2014.
- ↑ "Prologue: NIH Intramural Research at the Threshold of a New Era" (PDF). NIH Intramural Research at the Threshold of a New Era: The Mission, Vision and Scope of the National Institutes of Health Intramural Research Program. National Institutes of Health. September 2009. http://sourcebook.od.nih.gov/oir/IRP_transition.pdf. Retrieved 22 March 2014.
