NHLBI - 1 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)

FY 2020 Budget Page No.

Contents

NIH/NHLBI Organization Chart................................................................................................................................................ 2

Appropriation Language ......................................................................................................................................................... 3

Amounts Available for Obligation........................................................................................................................................... 3

Budget Mechanism - Total...................................................................................................................................................... 4

Major Changes in the Fiscal Year 2020 President’s Budget Request...................................................................................... 5

Summary of Changes.............................................................................................................................................................. 6

Fiscal Year 2020 Budget Graphs.............................................................................................................................................. 8

Budget Authority by Activity................................................................................................................................................... 9

Authorizing Legislation..........................................................................................................................................................10

Appropriations History..........................................................................................................................................................11

Justification of Budget Request ............................................................................................................................................12

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute ........................................................................................................................12

Director’s Overview ..........................................................................................................................................................12

Program Descriptions and Accomplishments...................................................................................................................15

Budget Authority by Object Class.....................................................................................................................................24

Salaries and Expenses...........................................................................................................................................................26

Detail of Full-Time Equivalent Employment (FTE) ................................................................................................................27

Detail of Positions................................................................................................................................................................. 28
NHLBI - 2

NIH/NHLBI Organization Chart
NHLBI - 3

Appropriation Language

NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH

National Heart, Lung, And Blood Institute

For carrying out section 301 and title IV of the PHS Act with respect to cardiovascular, lung, and blood 

diseases, and blood and blood products, [$3,488,335,000]$3,002,696,000.

Amounts Available for Obligation1

(Dollars in Thousands)

Source of Funding FY 2018 Final FY 2019 Enacted

FY 2020 President's 

Budget

Appropriation $3,383,201 $3,488,335 $3,002,696

Mandatory Appropriation: (non-add)

Type 1 Diabetes $0 $0 $0

Other Mandatory financing $0 $0 $0

Rescission $0 $0 $0

Sequestration $0 $0 $0

Secretary's Transfer -$7,949 $0 $0

Subtotal, adjusted appropriation $3,375,252 $3,488,335 $3,002,696

OAR HIV/AIDS Transfers -$969 $0 $0

HEAL Transfer from NINDS $0 $0 $0

Subtotal, adjusted budget authority $3,374,283 $3,488,335 $3,002,696

Unobligated balance, start of year $0 $0 $0

Unobligated balance, end of year $0 $0 $0

Subtotal, adjusted budget authority $3,374,283 $3,488,335 $3,002,696

Unobligated balance lapsing -$129 $0 $0

Total obligations $3,374,154 $3,488,335 $3,002,696

1 Excludes the following amounts (in thousands) for reimbursable activities carried out by this account:

FY 2018 – $12,743 FY 2019 - $13,127 FY 2020 - $13,067
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute

Budget Mechanism - Total1

(Dollars in Thousands)

MECHANISM FY 2018 Final FY 2019 Operating 

Level 

FY 2020 

President's Budget 

FY 2020 

+/-

FY 2019 CR 

Research Projects: No. Amount No. Amount No. Amount No. Amount 

Noncompeting 

Administrative 

Supplements Competing:

 Renewal 

New 

Supplements 

2,686

(97)

129

862

$1,653,675

35,897

93,585

465,762

2,743

(82)

174

908

$1,666,314

30,660

102,199

513,083

2,381

(75)

191

999

$1,333,051

25,141

107,225

559,543

-362

(7)

17

91

-$333,263

-5,519

5,026

46,460

1 877 1 900 1 990 0 90

Subtotal, Competing 992 $560,224 1,083 $616,182 1,191 $667,758 108 $51,576

Subtotal, RPGs 3,678 $2,249,796 3,826 $2,313,156 3,572 $2,025,951 -254 -$287,206

SBIR/STTR 192 101,639 187 106,179 153 87,150 -34 -19,029

Research Project Grants 3,870 $2,351,435 4,013 $2,419,335 3,725 $2,113,101 -288 -$306,235

Research Centers: 

Specialized/Comprehensive 

Clinical Research 

Biotechnology 

Comparative Medicine 

Research Centers in Minority 

Institutions 

11

0

0

0

0

$21,647

0

125

455

0

11

0

0

0

0

$20,044

0

0

955

0

9

0

0

0

0

$16,035

0

0

764

0

-2

0

0

0

0

-$4,009

0

0

-191

0

Research Centers 11 $22,227 11 $20,999 9 $16,799 -2 -$4,200

Other Research: 

Research Careers 

Cancer Education 

Cooperative Clinical Research 

Biomedical Research Support 

Minority Biomedical Research 

Support 

Other 

685

0

49

0

0

126

$119,882

0

20,484

0

0

80,140

789

0

50

0

0

123

$145,222

0

21,712

0

0

80,909

630

0

40

0

0

98

$116,178

0

17,370

0

0

64,727

-159

0

-10

0

0

-25

-$29,044

0

-4342

0

0

-16,182

Other Research 860 $220,506 962 $247,843 768 $198,275 -194 -$49,569

Total Research Grants 4,741 $2,594,168 4,986 $2,688,177 4,502 $2,328,174 -484 -$360,003

Ruth L Kirchstein Training Awards: 

Individual Awards 

Institutional Awards 

FTTPs

420

1,587

$19,265

96,056

FTTPs

437

1,619

$19,650

97,930

FTTPs

350

1,295

$15,720

78,344

FTTPs

-87

-324

-$3,930

-19,586

Total Research Training 2,007 $115,321 2,056 $117,580 1,645 $94,064 -411 -$23,516

Research & Develop. Contracts 

(SBIR/STTR) (non-add) 

Intramural Research 

Res. Management & Support 

Res. Management & Support (SBIR 

Admin) (non-add) 

Construction 

Buildings and Facilities 

364

(9)

456

445

0

$310,656

(8,009)

215,445

138,693

0

0

0

377

(9)

487

475

0

$321,938

(8,403)

219,661

140,978

0

0

0

310

0

487

475

0

$264,441

(4,403)

189,128

126,888

(550)

0

0

-67

(9)

0

0

0

-$57,497

(4,000)

-30,533

-14,090

(550)

0

0

Total, NHLBI 901 $3,374,283 962 $3,488,335 962 $3,002,696 0 -$485,639

103.38% NHLBI - 4

1 All items in italics and brackets are non-add entries.
NHLBI - 5 

Major Changes in the Fiscal Year 2020 President’s Budget Request

Major changes by budget mechanism and/or budget activity detail are briefly described below. Note that there 

may be overlap between budget mechansims and activity detail and these highlights will not sum to the total 

change for the FY 2020 budget request for the NHLBI, which is $3,002.7 million, a decrease of $485.6 million 

from the FY 2019 Appropropriated Level The FY 2020 President’s Budget reflects the Administration’s fiscal 

policy goals for the Federal Government. Within that framework, NHLBI will pursue its highest research 

priorities through strategic investments and careful stewardship of appropriated funds. 

Research Project Grants (RPGs) (-$306.2 million; total $2,113.1 million):

NHLBI will fund 1,191 competing RPGs and approximately 2,381 noncompeting RPG awards totaling to 

$2,026.0 million, in FY 2020. Adjustments for special needs will be accommodated.

Research Centers (-$4.2 million; total $16.8 million): 

A shift in the receipt of research applications that are normally supported under this mechanism to other 

Program Announcements and/or Funding Opportunity Announcements for research projects will reduce funding 

requirements in this mechanism and increase other research mechanisms.

Other Research (-$49.6 million; total $198.3 million):

NHLBI will reduce funding for Other Research by 20.0 percent which is a $49.6 million decrease compared to 

the FY 2019 enacted level of $247.8 million. Competing Other Research Projects are expected to decrease by 

approximately 7.9 percent or 194 grants. These reductions are distributed across all programmatic areas and 

basic, translational or clinical research.

Research and Development Contracts (-$57.5 million; total $264.4 million):

NHLBI will reduce funding for Research and Development Contracts by 17.8 percent which is a $57.5 million 

decrease compared to the FY 2019 enacted level of $321.9 million. These reductions are distributed across all 

programmatic areas and basic, translational or clinical research.

Intramural Research (-$30.5 million; total $189.1 million):

NHLBI will reduce funding for Intramural Research by 13.9 percent which is a $30.5 million decrease 

compared to the FY 2019 enacted level of $219.7 million. These reductions are distributed across all 

programmatic areas and basic, translational or clinical research.
NHLBI - 6 

NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Summary of Changes

(Dollars in Thousands)

FY 2019 Enacted $3,488,335

FY 2020 President's Budget $3,002,696

Net change -$485,639

FY 2020 President's 

Budget

Change from FY 2019 

Enacted

CHANGES FTEs Budget 

Authority FTEs Budget Authority

A. Built-in:

1. Intramural Research:

a. Annualization of January 2019 pay increase & benefits $84,473 $430

b. January FY 2020 pay increase & benefits 84,473 1,802

c. Paid days adjustment 84,473 324

d. Differences attributable to change in FTE 84,473 2

e. Payment for centrally furnished services 35,351 1,218

f. Cost of laboratory supplies, materials, other expenses,

and non-recurring costs 69,304 662

Subtotal $4,437

2. Research Management and Support:

a. Annualization of January 2019 pay increase & benefits $71,121 $363

b. January FY 2020 pay increase & benefits 71,121 589

c. Paid days adjustment 71,121 272

d. Differences attributable to change in FTE 71,121 0

e. Payment for centrally furnished services 812 449

f. Cost of laboratory supplies, materials, other expenses, and

non-recurring costs 54,955 12

Subtotal $1,686

Subtotal, Built-in $6,123

Summary of Changes (Cont.)

(Dollars in Thousands)

FY 2020 President's Budget Change from FY 2019 Enacted

CHANGES No. Amount No. Amount

B. Program:

1. Research Project Grants:

a. Noncompeting 2,381 $1,358,193 -362 -$338,782

b. Competing 1,191 667,758 108 51,576

c. SBIR/STTR 153 87,150 -34 -19,029

Subtotal, RPGs 3,725 $2,113,101 -288 -$306,235

2. Research Centers 9 $16,799 -2 -$4,200

3. Other Research 768 198,275 -194 -49,569

4. Research Training 1,645 94,064 -411 -23,516

5. Research and development

contracts

310 264,441 -67 -57,497

Subtotal, Extramural $2,686,680 -$441,016
NHLBI - 7 

FY 2020 President's Budget Change from FY 2019 Enacted

CHANGES No. Amount No. Amount

FTEs FTEs

6. Intramural Research 487 $189,128 0 $0

7. Research Management and

Support

475 126,888 0 0

8. Construction 0 0

9. Buildings and Facilities 0 0

Subtotal, Program 962 $3,002,696 0 -$441,016

Total changes -$485,639
NHLBI - 8 

Fiscal Year 2020 Budget Graphs

History of Budget Authority and FTEs: 

Distribution by Mechamism:

Change by Selected Mechanism:
NHLBI - 9

NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Budget Authority by Activity1

(Dollars in Thousands)

FY 2018 Final FY 2019 Enacted FY 2020 President's

Budget

FY 2020

+/-

FY2019

Extramural Research FTE Amount FTE Amount FTE Amount FTE Amount

Detail

Heart and Vascular Diseases $1,854,940 $1,920,677 $1,647,699 $272,978

Lung Diseases 733,820 760,105 654,284 -105,820

Blood Diseases and Resources 431,384 446,914 384,696 -62,219

Subtotal, Extramural $3,020,145 $3,127,696 $2,686,680 -

$441,016

Intramural Research 456 $215,445 487 $219,661 487 $189,128 0 -$30,533

Research Management & Support 445 $138,693 475 $140,978 475 $126,888 0 -$14,090

TOTAL 901 $3,374,283 962 $3,488,335 962 $3,002,696 0 -

$485,639

1Includes FTEs whose payroll obligations are supported by the NIH Common Fund.
NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Authorizing Legislation

PHS Act/

Other Citation

U.S. Code

Citation

2019 Amount

Authorized

FY 2019 Enacted 2020 Amount

Authorized

FY 2020 President's 

Budget

Research and Investigation Section 301 42§241 Indefinite Indefinite

National Heart, Lung, and Blood 

Institute

$3,488,335,000

$3,002,696,000

Section 401(a) 42§281 Indefinite Indefinite

Total, Budget Authority $3,488,335,000 $3,002,696,000
NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Appropriations History

Fiscal Year Budget Estimate 

to Congress House Allowance Senate Allowance Appropriation

2011 $3,187,516,000 $3,182,524,000 $3,096,916,000

2011 Rescission $27,192,768

2012 $3,147,992,000 $3,147,992,000 $3,036,189,000 $3,084,851,000

2012 Rescission $5,830,368

2013 $3,076,067,000 $3,085,390,000 $3,079,020,632

2013 Rescission $6,158,041

2013 

Sequestration ($154,545,663)

2014 $3,098,508,000 $3,077,916,000 $2,988,605,000

2014 Rescission $0

2015 $2,987,685,000 $2,997,870,000

2015 Rescission $0

2016 $3,071,906,000 $3,035,062,000 $3,135,519,000 $3,115,538,000

2016 Rescission $0

20171 $3,113,533,000 $3,190,474,000 $3,242,685,000 $3,206,589,000

2017 Rescission $0

2018 $2,534,803,000 $3,256,521,000 $3,322,774,000 $3,383,201,000

2018 Rescission $0

2019 $3,112,032,000 $3,423,604,000 $3,490,171,000 $3,488,335,000

2019 Rescission $0

2020 $3,002,696,000

1 Budget Estimate to Congress includes mandatory financing
Justification of Budget Request

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Authorizing Legislation: Section 301 and title IV of the Public Health Service Act, as amended.

Budget Authority (BA):

FY 2018

Actual

FY 2019

Enacted

FY 2020 President’s

Budget

FY 2020 +/-

FY 2019

BA $3,374,283,000 $3,488,335,000 $3,002,696,000 -$485,639,000

FTE 901 962 962 0

Program funds are allocated as follows: Competitive Grants/Cooperative Agreements; Contracts; 

Direct Federal/Intramural and Other.

Director’s Overview

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) is the Nation’s leading funder of

research to advance the prevention and treatment of heart, lung, blood, and sleep disorders. For 

more than 70 years, NHLBI has been at the forefront of improving the Nation’s health and 

reducing the burden of heart disease. Although heart disease remains the leading cause of death 

in the United States, the rate of heart disease deaths has declined by 70 percent over the past 50 

years, thanks in part to NHLBI-funded research. This research also has informed guidelines to 

treat high blood pressure, generated new treatments for asthma and other debilitating lung 

diseases, and helped people with sickle cell disease live longer, fuller lives. 

In FY 2020, NHLBI will continue to base its funding decisions and stewardship of Federal 

resources on the NHLBI Strategic Vision; ongoing engagement with scientific advisory bodies, 

patient groups, and other partners; and emerging scientific tools and opportunities. The Institute 

will continue to leverage its broad research portfolio in heart, lung, blood, and sleep biology, and 

will enhance its investments in fundamental discovery research, data science, the health needs of 

women and special populations, precision medicine, and workforce development.

Discovery Science as a Bedrock for Improving Health

Above all, NHLBI will retain its long-standing commitment to supporting fundamental discovery 

research and the people making these discoveries. Historically, investment in basic research has 

helped drive biomedical innovation, and it continues to yield gains in public health. 

For example, decades of fundamental research on how the heart develops in early life are leading 

to exciting gains in understanding atrial fibrillation (AFib). AFib is the most common type of 

rapid, irregular heartbeat in the United States, and a risk factor for stroke and heart failure. There 

have been many advances in AFib treatment, but earlier intervention is needed, especially for 

women, who have higher rates of death and disability from AFib than men do.1 Recently, in a 

large genome-wide association study that included about 60,000 people with AFib, NHLBI-

 1 www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27053455
funded researchers found that a number of genes known to be involved in heart development 

during early life also are associated with susceptibility to AFib.

2 These genes could help identify 

people at risk for AFib and serve as targets for more effective therapies.

Leveraging Data Science to Drive Precision Medicine

With the increasing capacity to collect complex biomedical data ─ and the unprecedented 

opportunities that this offers to advance precision medicine ─ the need for accessible, shareable, 

secure, and efficient methods to store and analyze data has never been greater. The NHLBI 

Strategic Vision expresses the Institute’s commitment to leverage opportunities in data science 

by supporting the integration and analysis of data from multiple sources and modalities. 

Genomic data from the NHLBI Trans-Omics for Precision Medicine (TOPMed) program makes

up one of three massive datasets that researchers will be able to access and query during a pilot 

phase of the NIH Data Commons, a cloud-computing environment that is part of the NIH 

STRIDES (Science and Technology Research Infrastructure for Discovery, Experimentation, and 

Sustainability) initiative. Concurrently, the NHLBI Data Storage, Toolspace, Access and 

analytics for biG-data Empowerment (DataSTAGE) will integrate TOPMed and other datasets 

with analytical tools to add computing power for precision medicine research. Through 

DataSTAGE, NHLBI-funded investigators will be able to pursue innovative research questions 

by obtaining data from the NIH Data Commons and many other databases that were previously 

inaccessible. NHLBI also will continue to work with its partners to develop new datasets, such as 

a patient registry and data repository to better understand the needs of people with sickle cell 

disease, and to work toward curative genetic therapies.

The growth in researchers’ ability to access and analyze large, diverse health-related datasets is 

already empowering new efforts to explore disease risk, prevention, and treatment. Recently, 

investigators with NHLBI’s COPDGene study analyzed lung imaging, genomic, and clinical data 

from nearly 15,000 people, and found that a gene variant improved risk prediction for fibrotic 

lung disease when added to a risk algorithm that included age, sex, and smoking status.3

NHLBI-funded researchers also are beginning to use artificial intelligence of digital 

echocardiogram images to help identify patients with rare heart diseases.4

Leadership in Multi-Disciplinary Cross-cutting Research: Trans-NIH and Beyond

When the Nation looks to NIH to help improve public health and drive scientific innovation ─ in 

finding new treatments and cures for genetic diseases, addressing health disparities, stemming 

the opioid crisis, or pushing the field of regenerative medicine ─ NHLBI brings its expertise, 

commitment, and the power of its broad research portfolio to bear.

With its proficiency in blood diseases and genetic technologies, NHLBI is leading the Cure 

Sickle Cell Initiative, which aims to bring new genetic therapies for sickle cell disease (SCD) 

 2 www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30061737 

3 www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28893869

4 www.projectreporter.nih.gov/project_info_description.cfm?aid=9614825
into clinical trials in five years. This bold initiative is designed to be adaptive to evolving 

opportunities and needs, and will rely on a public-private partnership of patients, researchers, 

state and Federal agencies, professional medical societies, biotechnology firms, and other private 

sector partners all working together to accelerate curative therapies. As these partners work 

toward cures, NHLBI is striving for more immediate impacts to help people with SCD enjoy a 

higher quality of life, free from pain. For example, the Institute is leveraging efforts under the 

NIH Helping to End Addiction Long-term (HEAL) Initiative, which is supporting basic research 

on the mechanisms of pain and development of non-addictive pain therapeutics.5

NHLBI also coordinates the NIH Regenerative Medicine Innovation Project (RMIP), in 

collaboration with 11 other Institutes and the NIH Office of the Director, the Food and Drug 

Administration, and other Federal agencies. This initiative was authorized by the 21st Century 

Cures Act to support and accelerate clinical research using adult stem cells to repair or replace 

damaged cells, tissues, and organs.6 The RMIP is galvanizing the field by supporting efforts to 

move potential stem cell-based therapies from laboratory studies into early-phase clinical trials.

Nurturing the Next Generation of Scientific Leaders

To build on NHLBI’s legacy, and to meet the scientific and health challenges of tomorrow, the 

Institute is committed to nurturing a talented, diverse workforce. In alignment with the NIH Next 

Generation Researchers Initiative, NHLBI will continue to prioritize funding for early-stage 

investigators, and to provide training and career development opportunities that help fill critical 

scientific and public health needs.

To bring more physician-scientists into the workforce pipeline, NHLBI recently made awards to 

seven institutions as part of its new Stimulating Access to Research in Residency (StARR) 

program. The awards provide tools, mentorship, training, and funding needed to accelerate the 

entry of medical residents. For example, one StARR grant is focused on training pediatric 

residents to pursue careers in heart, lung, and blood research.7 NHLBI also plans to fund up to 

five new Physician-Scientist Research Awards in both FY 2020 and in FY 2021 to support the 

independence of early-career physicians committed to research.8

NHLBI offers grants that enable both new and established investigators the flexibility to conduct 

high-risk, high reward research. The Institute’s Outstanding and Emerging Investigator Awards 

provide funding for more open-ended research programs, rather than particular projects, for up to 

seven years instead of the five years covered by a traditional R01 grant; 65 awards have been 

made since the program’s launch in FY 2017.

Overall Budget Policy: The FY 2020 President’s Budget request is $3,002.7 million, a decrease 

of $485.6 million or 13.9 percent compared with the FY 2019 Enacted level.

 5 www.nih.gov/research-training/medical-research-initiatives/heal-initiative 6 www.nih.gov/research-training/medical-research-initiatives/rmi 7 www.projectreporter.nih.gov/project_info_description.cfm?aid=9596369

8 www.grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/rfa-hl-19-015.html
Program Descriptions and Accomplishments

Cardiovascular Diseases: This program supports research to advance understanding, 

prevention, and treatment of pediatric and adult cardiovascular diseases (CVD), including heart 

attack, heart failure, vascular dementia, stroke, and congenital heart disease. Additionally, the 

program supports the development of innovative technologies for early detection and 

intervention in patients with CVD. 

NHLBI-supported research on CVD continues to save lives by transforming clinical practice. 

For example, hypertension treatment guidelines released in 2017 by the American Heart 

Association and the American College of Cardiology recommend a new, lower blood pressure 

target, based on NHLBI’s Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial (SPRINT). The trial found 

that compared to a blood pressure target of less than 140 mm Hg, a reading of less than 120 mm 

Hg helped reduce deaths from heart attack and stroke, particularly among older, high-risk 

individuals with high blood pressure. Given the disproportionate burden of uncontrolled 

hypertension in African American and low-income populations, researchers are now working to 

develop and test the effectiveness of a multicomponent intervention for more intensive blood 

pressure control in these and other underserved groups.

9

Researchers also are investigating whether treating to the lower blood pressure target has the 

added benefit of reducing the risk of age-related dementia or cognitive impairment. A subset of 

2,800 SPRINT participants took part in the SPRINT Memory and Cognition IN Decreased 

Hypertension (SPRINT MIND) study. Preliminary results showed that new cases of mild 

cognitive impairment (MCI) were reduced by 19 percent, and the combined outcome of new 

MCI and probable dementia was reduced by 15 percent in the intensive treatment group 

compared to the standard group. This suggests that treatment of high blood pressure may reduce

the risk of cognitive decline in older persons with high CVD risk.10

Other NHLBI long-established cohorts such as the Framingham Heart Study, the first long-term 

observational study of CVD, and the Jackson Heart Study, the largest-ever study of CVD in 

African Americans, also are looking more closely at the relationship between cardiovascular 

health and brain health. A recent analysis from the Framingham study showed that high blood 

pressure during mid-life increases dementia risk in late life, suggesting that management of 

blood pressure in mid-life may help protect against cognitive decline.

11

To address heart disease and other conditions associated with Down syndrome, NHLBI is coleading the trans-NIH INvestigation of Co-occurring conditions across the Lifespan to 

Understand Down syndromE (INCLUDE) program, which will focus on the critical health needs 

of children and adults with Down syndrome.12 Congenital heart disease affects about half of all 

babies born with Down syndrome,13 and is the most common birth defect in the United States 

overall, affecting an estimated 40,000 births per year. Sleep apnea affects millions of Americans, 

including a disproportionate number of people with Down syndrome. As part of the INCLUDE 

 9 www.projectreporter.nih.gov/project_info_description.cfm?aid=9542891 10 www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30175661 11 www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29117954 12 www.nih.gov/include-project 13 www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/heartdefects/data.html
program, NHLBI expects to leverage its sleep cohort studies, the Gabriella Miller Kids First 

program, and the Pediatric Cardiac Genomics Consortium, which is using state-of-the-art 

approaches to define genetic pathways that contribute to congential heart disease. Recently 

funded projects seek to identify genes involved in Down syndrome-related malformations of the 

heart, and to identify sleep apnea treatments that will improve quality of life for children with 

Down syndrome.

Budget Policy:

The FY 2020 President’s Budget request is $1,647.7 million, a decrease of $273.0 million or 

14.2 percent compared with the FY 2019 Enacted level.

Program Portrait: Strengthening NHLBI’s Investment in Population Studies to Understand Disease

FY 2019 Level: $12.1 million

FY 2020 Level: $10.8 million

Change: - $ 1.3 million

NHLBI’s support for large population-based cohort studies, which began with the Framingham Heart Study in the 

1940s, has made significant contributions to effective treatment and prevention of heart, lung, blood, and sleep 

disorders. Such cohort studies help reveal biological, lifestyle, and environmental factors associated with health and 

diseases, and generate testable hypotheses regarding the causes of disease and possible new interventions. 

In August 2018, NHLBI renewed its support for the Jackson Heart Study. As the Nation’s largest study looking at 

cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors in African Americans, this study is providing data to help better 

understand, prevent, and treat heart disease in the Jackson, Mississippi area and nationwide. The 2018-2024 phase of 

the study adds a new dimension by exploring the link between cardiovascular health and brain health, and the risk 

factors associated with cognitive decline. In December 2018, NHLBI also renewed its commitment for another 

seven years to support the Strong Heart Study, the largest study of CVD in American Indians. Since 1988, the study 

has followed more than 7,600 people from several tribal communities in Arizona, Oklahoma, and North and South 

Dakota. Both studies have been restructured to strengthen community engagement to ensure that community 

members have an active role in planning future research and in translating the results into public benefits.

NHLBI is committed to maximizing its investment in these and other established cohort studies, and recently 

announced the availability of funds to support novel hypothesis testing and data analyses that might not have been 

anticipated at the time of the original award. 14 A companion announcement solicited proposals for a new large 

cohort study to address research on heart, lung, blood, and sleep disorders that is not currently covered by ongoing 

epidemiological studies.15

Lung Diseases: This program conducts and supports research that expands our understanding of 

lung biology and how lung diseases start and progress, as well as basic and clinical studies that 

lead to new and improved ways to diagnose, treat, and prevent lung diseases. Research areas 

include asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), cystic fibrosis, sleep-disordered 

breathing, pulmonary fibrosis, lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM), pulmonary complications of 

AIDS and tuberculosis, pediatric lung diseases, and more. 

 14 www.grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-17-338.html 15 www.grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-18-577.html
A theme that permeates through NHLBI’s broad lung disease portfolio is a commitment to 

improve patient outcomes by developing and delivering more precisely targeted therapies. To 

enable precision medicine, researchers first must have a basic understanding of disease.

A recent study shed light on the mechanisms of asthma by showing that allergens can trigger 

inflammatory cells known as neutrophils to form neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs). 

Neutrophils use NETs to trap and kill pathogenic bacteria, but the study found that generating 

NETs can cause neutrophils to release most of their vital components and leave behind empty 

cellular husks, which in turn can trigger inflammation.

16 Another group found that a noninvasive 

imaging technique, called multidetector computed tomography, can measure mucus 

accumulation and its association with airway dysfunction.17 Understanding these processes could 

help identify subsets of patients who might benefit from a particular treatment.

Recognizing that asthma is a complex disease, with diverse mechanisms and outcomes, the 

NHLBI Lung Diseases program also supports clinical testing of interventions designed to meet 

the unique needs of patients with severe asthma. Through the Precision Interventions for Severe 

Exacerbation Prone Asthma Network (PrecISE), six Centers recently were established to test a 

series of FDA-approved treatments based on each patient’s specific biology or biomarkers.

An NHLBI-funded clinical trial also recently dispelled a common practice regarding how to treat 

children with asthma. The trial found that temporarily increasing the dosage of inhaled steroids 

at the earliest sign of asthma flare-ups in children with mild-to-moderate asthma does not 

effectively reduce severe flare-ups.18 This information is being shared with health care providers 

and caregivers to improve treatment practices. NHLBI also is partnering with researchers and 

professional societies to support updating the 2007 national guidelines for asthma care.

19 The 

Institute has supported completion of rigorous systematic evidence reviews addressing critical 

issues in asthma diagnosis and management, and has established a Federal Advisory Committee

that will chart the path of translating new evidence into improved care guidelines for people with 

asthma.

Finding new targeted treatments for the progressive lung disease pulmonary fibrosis (PF)

remains a high priority. The Institute is working to improve and standardize lung 

transplantations, which remain the only available therapy option for many patients with PF.20

NHLBI-funded researchers are working to better understand mechanisms of the disease toward 

developing more effective therapies. For example, a recent study examined the role of the 

immune system in the development of PF, and found an increase in levels of a protein called PD1 in helper T-cells, which are white blood cells that regulate the body’s response to infection.

21

Blocking PD-1 and a related signaling pathway reduced signs of fibrosis in a mouse model of 

PF, suggesting that this pathway could be targeted effectively by drugs that are already FDA-

 16 www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30076281 17 www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29400693 18 www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29504498 19 www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30036600 20 www.grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-HL-18-653.html 21 www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30257954
approved for other conditions. In a large genetic study of idiopathic PF, researchers found that 

certain gene expression patterns in blood cells can predict a patient’s response to therapy.22 This

work, coupled with information from NHLBI’s TOPMed program, could help guide the choice 

of treatment, including identifying patients for whom lung transplant remains the best option. 

Improving the quality of care for people with COPD, the Nation’s fourth leading cause of death

and a disease that is increasingly impacting women, is one of five goals established in the COPD 

National Action Plan, released by NHLBI and its partners in 2017. NHLBI and other Public 

Health Service agencies are collaborating to advance implementation of the plan. An ongoing 

collaboration of NHLBI with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has yielded new 

data showing that COPD is almost twice as common in rural versus urban areas. In light of this 

disparity, NHLBI and the Health Resources and Services Administration are discussing the 

potential to expand support for targeted approaches to reduce the burden of COPD in rural 

communities, such as the use of telemedicine to connect patients with pulmonary specialists.

NHLBI also is working to find ways to bring pulmonary rehabilitation to more patients in need, 

including those with PF and COPD,23 especially for individuals in rural and hard-to-reach areas.

One group of researchers is examining behavioral interventions to improve the effectiveness of 

home-based rehabilitation programs after COPD-related hospitalizations.24

Fundamental research on sleep, led by the National Center for Sleep Disorders Research at 

NHLBI, is advancing steadily. The groundbreaking discovery of genes involved in regulating 

sleep and circadian (daily) rhythms, which was recognized by the 2017 Nobel Prize in Medicine, 

has opened doors to a better understanding of the physiological mechanisms through which sleep 

deficiency and sleep disorders contribute to chronic disease and mortality. NHLBI is capitalizing 

on this new knowledge by partnering with other NIH Institutes to better understand the 

intersection between circadian rhythm and disease states, including its impact on women’s 

health, obesity, sleep apnea, health disparities, and opioid use disorders. New funding 

opportunities released in October 2018 will support researchers who are working on trans-NIH 

efforts to curtail the opioid epidemic by better understanding the role of sleep in opioid use, 

dependence, addiction, and treatment responses.

 22 www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28942086 23 www.grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-hl-18-019.html 24 www.projectreporter.nih.gov/project_info_description.cfm?aid=9589299
Budget Policy:

The FY 2020 President’s Budget request is $654.3 million, a decrease of $105.8 million or 13.9 

percent compared with the FY 2019 Enacted level.

Program Portrait: LungMAP: Advancing Understanding of Lung Development and Pathology

FY 2019 Level: $6.5 million

FY 2020 Level: $6,.8 million

Change: +$0.3 million

To develop effective therapies for developmental lung diseases, researchers need to understand normal lung 

development and how it can be derailed. Moreover, for age-related lung diseases, a deeper understanding of lung 

development holds promise for approaches to repair or regenerate lung tissue by reactivating adaptive 

developmental pathways.

The lung is a complex organ, and little is known about how the human lungs develop from early in life through 

childhood. Ongoing studies suggest that the origins of some adult lung diseases occur early in life, and that 

developmental events have life-long consequences for respiratory health. For these reasons, the NHLBI Molecular 

Atlas of Lung Development (LungMAP) program supported the development of an online repository containing 

high-resolution images of human and mouse lung tissue throughout the lifespan. The repository currently contains 

more than 6000 images, including 3-D lung reconstructions.

To maintain and build LungMAP, NHLBI supports a consortium of four research centers, a data coordinating center, 

and a human tissue repository of donated lungs. The consortium has developed a complete atlas of mouse lung 

during early postnatal development that integrates gross lung anatomy with imaging and gene expression data. 

These gene expression data offer critical insights into the molecular pathways that regulate normal lung 

development, and thus offer clues toward understanding the cellular and molecular basis for lung diseases. 

Researchers are now in the process of developing an atlas of the human lung. Since the program’s inception in 

2014, more than 80 publications have cited LungMAP data.

Blood Diseases: The blood disease program supports research on the causes, prevention, and 

treatment of non-cancerous blood diseases including anemias, such as sickle cell disease and 

thalassemia, venous thromboembolism, malaria, and hemophilia. The program also assumes 

major responsibility in ensuring the adequacy and safety of the Nation’s blood supply and in 

supporting scientific advances in stem cell biology, and new gene and cell-based therapies to 

repair and regenerate human tissues.

Efforts to bring new treatments forward for blood diseases, such as sickle cell disease (SCD), are 

proceeding at a rapid pace, due to advances in genetic therapies. In Fall 2018, NHLBI led the 

launch of the Cure Sickle Cell Initiative, which is leveraging the latest genetic discoveries and 

advances in related technology, such as gene editing tools, to bring genetic-based therapies 

safely into clinical trials within five years. This ambitious effort is unique in that it is patientdriven, with patients working alongside researchers to develop clinical trials and achieve 

recruitment goals, and includes a public-private partnership and broad collaboration among 

Federal agencies. It also includes the development of a robust data registry and repository that 

will be accessible to researchers working to improve the lives of patients with SCD. 

As NHLBI and its partners continue to move toward more targeted gene and cell-based

therapies, the Institute continues to improve bone marrow transplants, currently the only cure for 

SCD. Because this procedure is most safe and effective in young patients who have 
immunologically matched donors, it is not an option for many patients. However, researchers 

are making progress to improve engraftment, or the ability of stem cells derived from bone 

marrow to grow and make healthy blood cells. 

The hematopoietic, or blood-forming, stem cells (HSC) found in bone marrow can be isolated 

from circulating blood using injections of a protein (G-CSF) that stimulates the cells to leave the 

bone marrow. Not all donors tolerate these injections, which can be painful and may take several 

attempts. In a first-in-human study, NHLBI-funded researchers tested whether a molecule

known as growth-regulated oncogene beta (GRObeta), or a combination of GROBeta and GCSF, could release HSC from bone marrow more efficiently, with less pain. They found that the

combination mobilized highly engraftable stem cells with a single injection and was generally 

well tolerated.25 This next-generation strategy could increase the donor pool and thus expand the 

availability of HSC transplants for more patients with a variety of blood disorders. It also could

provide a safer, less painful method to isolate a patient’s own HSC for use in genetic therapies.

NHLBI’s blood program also plays a major role in ensuring the Nation’s blood supply is free of 

contaminants and infectious agents. The centerpiece of this effort is the Recipient Epidemiology 

and Donor Evaluation Study-III (REDS-III), which began in 1989 and was recently expanded to 

help prevent the transmission of Dengue and Zika viruses through blood transfusions. REDS-III 

was instrumental in developing Investigational New Drug applications that are now being used 

to test donated blood for the Zika virus.26 The REDS-III program also has developed the 

Nation’s largest database on blood transfusion, which is one of the most common medical 

procedures during hospitalization. The database combines recipient, blood component, and donor 

information from four major blood centers and 12 community and academic hospitals.27 NHLBI 

also plans to hold a two-day workshop in September 2019 with the Department of Defense and 

academic centers to establish new clinical outcome guidelines for the use of hemostatic (blood 

clotting) products to treat injured soldiers. 

Another active area of research for the blood program is looking at the interface between the 

circulatory system and the brain, known as the blood-brain barrier. This barrier protects the brain 

from toxic chemicals in the blood, but also can limit the entry of therapeutic drugs into the brain.

NHLBI-funded researchers are making headway in understanding how movement across the 

blood-brain barrier is regulated, with the goal of selectively opening it up to neurologic therapies.

For example, some recent studies focus on activated protein C, which has long been known to 

help prevent blood clots and is being studied as a potential target for stroke therapies. In a recent 

study, NHLBI-funded researchers discovered that the protein also has signaling functions and

can act on cells within the blood-brain barrier to stabilize it.28

 25 www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29224778 26 www.fda.gov/newsevents/newsroom/pressannouncements/ucm579313.htm 27 www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29067705 28 www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29866816
Budget Policy:

The FY 2020 President’s Budget request is $384.7 million, a decrease of $62.2 million or 13.9 

percent compared with the FY 2019 Enacted level.

Program Portrait: NHLBI Catalyze: Enhancing and Streamlining Support for Translational Research

FY 2019 Level: $5.1 million

FY 2020 Level: $4.3 million

Change: -$0.8 million

Translational science moves basic research findings into clinical trials that test interventions for safety and 

effectiveness before ultimately bringing them into the hands of clinicians and patients. However, navigating the 

transition from discoveries made in the lab to new medical products available to patients can be challenging, 

especially for academic researchers. Moreover, while NHLBI has established and maintained a variety of 

translational science programs over the years, these programs often have focused on specific diseases or scientific 

areas within the NHLBI mission, making it difficult for investigators working in many of the diverse fields within 

NHLBI’s mission space to secure funding and resources to support their work. 

NHLBI is launching the Catalyze program to address these challenges and empower investigators to conduct 

translational research. The three overarching goals of the program are (1) to drive development and safety testing of 

new potential therapies and cures including drugs, devices, and biologics (2) to support the creation of novel 

platform technologies to transform therapeutic development, and (3) to train a globally competitive biomedical 

workforce that is well-versed in scientific research, technology development, and entrepreneurship. Catalyze will 

offer a comprehensive suite of funding, technical services, training, and advisory services to translational 

investigators working across NHLBI’s entire heart, lung, blood, and sleep portfolio. The program also relies heavily

on partnerships across NIH, with other Federal health agencies, and with life science industry experts. NHLBI 

intends to build the Catalyze program in stages over the next several years, with FY 2020 funding focused on 

support for product development and transformative technology platforms.

Intramural Research: The intramural research program provides a unique environment for 

conducting innovative basic and clinical research at laboratories on the NIH campus, including 

studies at the NIH Clinical Center, often conducted in partnership with local hospitals. The 

program provides opportunities for scientists and trainees to work together toward a better 

understanding of molecular, cellular, and organ physiology, and ultimately the treatment of 

human diseases.

NHLBI’s intramural program continues to be a leading scientific force in working towards 

improved treatments for sickle cell disease (SCD), a blood disorder caused by a mutation in the 

beta globin gene, which makes red blood cells take on a sickle shape that can block blood flow.

Intramural researchers are conducting foundational work that is setting the stage for gene therapy 

interventions, a main component of the Cure Sickle Cell Initiative. As NHLBI investigators and 

other researchers around the country work to bring the most promising genetic therapies into 

first-in-human trials, NHLBI also will maintain its commitment to improving bone marrow

transplantation for SCD, as well as developing other new treatments and cures. 

Thousands of patients have received bone marrow from an immunologically matched sibling 

donor, with greater than 90 percent of patients cured since the first such transplant for SCD in 

1984.

29 As NHLBI works to develop genetic therapies with the potential to work for all patients, 

 29 www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27965196
one pressing question concerns the level of normal globin gene needed to cure SCD. In a recent 

study, NHLBI intramural researchers monitored 67 patients after bone marrow transplant to 

determine the level of HSC engraftment—and the level of globin gene correction—needed to

cure SCD. They were able to establish that curing SCD requires restoration of the normal globin 

gene in at least 20 percent of a patient’s blood cells.

30 Another pressing question concerns the 

best means to collect HSCs for autologous genetic therapy, which is when the cells are derived

from patients, corrected to carry the normal globin gene, and re-implanted. A recent NHLBI 

study found that harvesting the cells directly from a needle inserted into the bone marrow does

not produce optimal cells for sustained production of normal red blood cells. Intramural 

researchers also have reported in an earlier study that the drug most commonly used to induce 

HSC release from bone marrow is associated with a high risk of painful sickle cell crisis in 

patients with SCD.31,32 Several research teams have built off of NHLBI intramural efforts33 and 

recently found that the drug plerixafor can mobilize HSCs capable of forming red blood cells at a 

high dose and purity, and with a favorable safety profile, in patients with SCD.

34

Intramural researchers also have been pioneers in developing new methods and tools forward to 

study the epigenome, the modifications to chromatin that can turn genes on or off in particular 

cells. A recent intramural study adds significantly to this body of research, by reporting a new 

technique to measure the positioning and spacing of genome-wide nucleosomes in single cells.35

Nucleosomes are fundamental units that organize DNA to control the access of DNA-regulatory 

proteins, with the DNA wrapping around each nucleosome like thread wrapping around a spool. 

Understanding the organization of nucleosomes will yield much needed insights about how cells 

regulate genes. When applied to three different cell types, the new technique, called single-cell 

micrococcal nuclease sequencing (scMNase-seq), revealed that the position and spacing of 

nucleosomes display distinct patterns in association with active and silent genes within cells, and 

can prime cells to differentiate into certain cell types.

Budget Policy:

The FY 2020 President’s Budget request is $189.1 million, a decrease of $30.5 million or 13.9 

percent compared with the FY 2019 Enacted level.

Research Management and Support (RMS): RMS activities include administrative and 

technical functions that support and enhance the effectiveness of the Institute’s research 

investments. This includes providing administrative, budgetary, logistical, and scientific support 

in the review, award, and monitoring of research grants and clinical trials, training awards, and 

research and development contracts. RMS functions also encompass strategic planning, transNHLBI and NIH coordination, evaluation of the Institute’s programs, regulatory compliance, 

 30 www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28887325 31 www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19513902 32 www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15536196 33 www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21352197 34 www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29712818 35 www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30258225
international coordination, interactions with other Federal agencies and Congress, and 

dissemination of research findings to the public.

Budget Policy: The FY 2020 President’s Budget request is $126.9 million, a decrease of $14.1 

million or 10.0 percent compared with the FY 2019 Enacted level.
NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Budget Authority by Object Class1

(Dollars in Thousands)

FY 2019 Enacted FY 2020 President's 

Budget

FY 2020

+/-

FY 2019

Total compensable workyears:

Full-time equivalent 962 962 0

Full-time equivalent of overtime and holiday hours 0 0 0

Average ES salary $186 $188 $2

Average GM/GS grade 12.7 12.7 0.0

Average GM/GS salary $124 $124 $0

Average salary, grade established by act of July 1, 1944 

(42 U.S.C. 207) $0 $0 $0

Average salary of ungraded positions $0 $0 $0

OBJECT CLASSES FY 2019 Enacted FY 2020 President's 

Budget

FY 2020

+/-

FY 2019

Personnel Compensation

11.1 Full-Time Permanent 66,180 66,432 251

11.3 Other Than Full-Time Permanent 35,203 35,337 134

11.5 Other Personnel Compensation 4,794 4,812 18

11.7 Military Personnel 2,077 2,146 70

11.8 Special Personnel Services Payments 10,042 10,080 38

11.9 Subtotal Personnel Compensation $118,296 $118,808 $511

12.1 Civilian Personnel Benefits 34,900 35,560 660

12.2 Military Personnel Benefits 1,187 1,227 40

13.0 Benefits to Former Personnel 0 0 0

Subtotal Pay Costs $154,383 $155,594 $1,211

21.0 Travel & Transportation of Persons 3,389 3,387 -2
22.0 Transportation of Things 376 376 0

23.1 Rental Payments to GSA 0 0 0

23.2 Rental Payments to Others 0 0 0

23.3 Communications, Utilities & Misc. Charges 1,057 486 -570

24.0 Printing & Reproduction 12 12 0

25.1 Consulting Services 688 679 -9

25.2 Other Services 83,697 60,313 -23,384

25.3 Purchase of goods and services from government 

accounts 239,875 202,771 -37,104

25.4 Operation & Maintenance of Facilities 643 643 0

25.5 R&D Contracts 144,805 114,903 -29,902

25.6 Medical Care 977 977 0

25.7 Operation & Maintenance of Equipment 27,062 24,386 -2,676

25.8 Subsistence & Support of Persons 4 4 0

25.0 Subtotal Other Contractual Services $497,752 $404,677 -$93,075

26.0 Supplies & Materials 16,294 8,070 -8,223

31.0 Equipment 9,312 7,854 -1,458

32.0 Land and Structures 0 0 0

33.0 Investments & Loans 0 0 0

41.0 Grants, Subsidies & Contributions 2,805,759 2,422,239 -383,520

42.0 Insurance Claims & Indemnities 0 0 0

43.0 Interest & Dividends 2 2 0

44.0 Refunds 0 0 0

Subtotal Non-Pay Costs $3,333,952 $2,847,102 -$486,850

Total Budget Authority by Object Class $3,488,335 $3,002,696 -$485,639

1 Includes FTEs whose payroll obligations are supported by the NIH Common Fund.
NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Salaries and Expenses

(Dollars in Thousands)

OBJECT CLASSES FY 2019 Enacted FY 2020 

President's Budget

FY 2020

+/-

FY 2019

Personnel Compensation

Full-Time Permanent (11.1) $66,180 $66,432 $251

Other Than Full-Time Permanent (11.3) 35,203 35,337 134

Other Personnel Compensation (11.5) 4,794 4,812 18

Military Personnel (11.7) 2,077 2,146 70

Special Personnel Services Payments (11.8) 10,042 10,080 38

Subtotal Personnel Compensation (11.9) $118,296 $118,808 $511

Civilian Personnel Benefits (12.1) $34,900 $35,560 $660

Military Personnel Benefits (12.2) 1,187 1,227 40

Benefits to Former Personnel (13.0) 0 0 0

Subtotal Pay Costs $154,383 $155,594 $1,211

Travel & Transportation of Persons (21.0) $3,389 $3,387 -$2

Transportation of Things (22.0) 376 376 0

Rental Payments to Others (23.2) 0 0 0

Communications, Utilities & Misc. Charges (23.3) 1,057 486 -570

Printing & Reproduction (24.0) 12 12 0

Other Contractual Services:

Consultant Services (25.1) 688 679 -9

Other Services (25.2) 83,697 60,313 -23,384

Purchases from government accounts (25.3) 239,875 202,771 -37,104

Operation & Maintenance of Facilities (25.4) 643 643 0

Operation & Maintenance of Equipment (25.7) 27,062 24,386 -2,676

Subsistence & Support of Persons (25.8) 4 4 0

Subtotal Other Contractual Services $351,969 $288,796 -$63,173

Supplies & Materials (26.0) $16,294 $8,070 -$8,223

Subtotal Non-Pay Costs $373,096 $301,127 -$71,969

Total Administrative Costs $527,480 $456,721 -$70,758
NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Detail of Full-Time Equivalent Employment (FTE)

OFFICE/DIVISION

FY 2018 Final FY 2019 Enacted FY 2020 President's 

Budget

Civilian Military Total Civilian Military Total Civilian Military Total

Center for Translation Research and 

Implementation Science

Direct: 14 2 16 16 2 18 16 2 18

Reimbursable: - - - - - - - - -

Total: 14 2 16 16 2 18 16 2 18

Division of Blood and Resources

Direct: 29 1 30 32 1 33 32 1 33

Reimbursable: - - - - - - - - -

Total: 29 1 30 32 1 33 32 1 33

Division of Cardiovascular Sciences

Direct: 119 2 121 124 6 130 124 6 130

Reimbursable: - - - - - - - - -

Total: 119 2 121 124 6 130 124 6 130

Division of Extramural Research 

Activities

Direct: 93 - 93 99 - 99 99 - 99

Reimbursable: - - - - - - - - -

Total: 93 - 93 99 - 99 99 - 99

Division of Intramural Research

Direct: 403 14 417 439 9 448 439 9 448

Reimbursable: 38 1 39 38 1 39 38 1 39

Total: 441 15 456 477 10 487 477 10 487

Division of Lung Diseases

Direct: 33 - 33 36 - 36 36 - 36

Reimbursable: - - - - - - - - -

Total: 33 - 33 36 - 36 36 - 36

Office of the Director

Direct: 125 3 128 133 2 135 133 2 135

Reimbursable: 23 1 24 24 - 24 24 - 24

Total: 148 4 152 157 2 159 157 2 159

Total 877 24 901 941 21 962 941 21 962

Includes FTEs whose payroll obligations are supported by the NIH Common Fund.

FTEs supported by funds from 

Cooperative Research and 

Development Agreements.

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

FISCAL YEAR Average GS Grade

2016 12.5

2017 12.6

2018 12.7

2019 12.7

2020 12.7
NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Detail of Positions1

GRADE FY 2018 Final FY 2019 Enacted FY 2020 President's 

Budget

Total, ES Positions 2 2 2

Total, ES Salary $365,651 $372,781 $375,994

GM/GS-15 90 80 80

GM/GS-14 148 149 149

GM/GS-13 200 255 255

GS-12 64 73 73

GS-11 43 50 50

GS-10 0 0 0

GS-9 36 36 36

GS-8 7 8 8

GS-7 7 4 4

GS-6 1 2 2

GS-5 1 2 2

GS-4 9 8 8

GS-3 5 4 4

GS-2 1 0 0

GS-1 1 2 2

Subtotal 613 673 673

Grades established by Act of July 1, 1944 (42 U.S.C. 

207)

Assistant Surgeon General 1 1 1

Director Grade 7 7 7

Senior Grade 7 7 7

Full Grade 6 6 6

Senior Assistant Grade 0 0 0

Assistant Grade 0 0 0

Subtotal 21 21 21

Ungraded 266 266 266

Total permanent positions 635 635 635

Total positions, end of year 902 0 0

Total full-time equivalent (FTE) employment, end of 

year

901 962 962

Average ES salary $182,826 190,025 190,025

Average GM/GS grade 12.6

Average GM/GS salary $118,820 $123,500 123,500

1 Includes FTEs whose payroll obligations are supported by the NIH Common Fund.