National Institutes of Health

# Overview
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 research.
The Institutes are responsible for 28%about $28 billionof the total biomedical research funding spent annually in the U.S., with most of the rest coming from industry.  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 in unincorporated Montgomery County, 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 NIAID maintains Rocky Mountain Labs in Hamilton, Montana, with an emphasis on virology.
The predecessor of the NIH began in 1887 as the Laboratory of Hygiene. It grew and was reorganized in 1930 by the Ransdell Act into the National Institute of Health (singular at the time). Today it is one of the world's foremost medical research centers, and the Federal focal point for medical research in the U.S. The NIH, comprising 27 separate institutes, centers and the Office of the Director, is part of the United States Department of Health and Human Services.
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.

# Institutes of the NIH

## National Cancer Institute (NCI)

## National Eye Institute (NEI)

## National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)

## National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI)

## National Institute on Aging (NIA)

## National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)

## National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)

## National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS)

## National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB)

## National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)

## National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD)

## National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR)

## National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)

## National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)

## National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)

## National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS)

## National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)

## National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)

## National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR)

## National Library of Medicine (NLM)

# Centers of the NIH

## National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI)

## Center for Information Technology (CIT; formerly DCRT, OIRM, TCB)

## Center for Scientific Review (CSR)

## John E. Fogarty International Center (FIC)

## National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM)

## National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NCMHD)

## National Center for Research Resources (NCRR)

## Quality Assurance Review Center (QARC)

## Warren Grant Magnuson Clinical Center (CC)

## Radiological Physics Center (RPC)

# 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. 
Program offices within the Office of the Director fund research through the institutes:
- 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): responsibe 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 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 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.