The world's largest biomedical research agency, the National Institutes of Health is made up of 27 Institutes and Centers. It supports the research of more than 2,500 universities and research institutions throughout the nation. Nearly 6,000 scientists work in NIH's own research laboratories, most of which are on the main campus of NIH in Bethesda, MD. NIH includes 300,000 people across the country and around the world working to prevent disease and improve health for millions of people.
The Nation’s Research Hospital
Around 1,500 clinical studies are under way at the NIH Clinical Center at any time. Breakthroughs include:
Cure of a tumor with chemo
First use of AZT to treat AIDS
Use of gene therapy to treat disease
NIH researchers work to answer such questions as, "How can we kill cancer cells while protecting healthy cells?" and "Can we make a universal flu vaccine that will work against all strains?"
Understanding the Human Brain
By accelerating the development and application of innovative technologies, researchers will be able to produce a revolutionary new dynamic picture of the brain that, for the first time, shows how individual cells and complex neural circuits interact in both time and space.
(Photo courtesy of Center for Brain Science at Harvard University.)
The NIH Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Initiative will help researchers explore exactly how the brain enables the human body to record, process, utilize, store, and retrieve vast quantities of information, all at the speed of thought.
(Photo courtesy of D.M. Barch for the WU-Minn HCP Consortium.)
People Make NIH Strong
The strength of NIH doesn't lie in its buildings. It lies in its people.
NIH has facilities full of the latest technology. But, its greatest asset is thousands of people who understand the human body, how to protect it, and how to help it heal.
Learn more about NIH.
The Children’s Inn at NIH
Children who have life-threatening illnesses find hope at NIH. While they receive treatment at NIH, they can stay on campus at the Children's Inn, instead of in a hotel, for weeks—or even months.
Over the past decades, more than 10,000 children and their families have made 50,000 visits to the Children's Inn, which becomes like a second home at a trying time. While NIH takes care of the child's medical needs, the Inn tends to the child's heart, soul, and spirit.
Major Advances
Dr. Michael Gottesman describes successes of NIH's Intramural Program.
Exploring the Unknown
NIH-supported researchers have been winning Nobel Prizes since 1939. The first NIH laureate figured out how genetic information is translated into the various proteins that determine the characteristics of all living things.
As of 2012, 137 NIH-supported scientists have been honored with Nobel Prizes. Watch this video to learn more about the research of Carol Greider, Ph.D., from Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Greider won the 2009 prize in Physiology or Medicine for her discovery of how chromosomes are protected by telomeres and the enzyme telomerase.
Dressing Your Best (in Red!)
to Defeat Heart Disease
The Heart Truth® is a national campaign to make women more aware of the danger of heart disease.
The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) and its partner organizations sponsor The Heart Truth®. The campaign's goal is to give women a personal and urgent wake-up call about their risk of heart disease. NHLBI provides global leadership for a research, training, and education program to promote the prevention and treatment of heart, lung, and blood diseases and enhance the health of all individuals so that they can live longer and more fulfilling lives.
Learn more about NHLBI.
Big Data
“There is an urgent need and increased opportunities for advanced collaboration and coordination of access to, and analysis of, the rapidly expanding collections of biomedical data.”
— Dr. Francis S. Collins, NIH Director
There has been an exponential growth of biomedical research data, such as from genomics, imaging, and electronic health records. NIH and and the National Science Foundation seek to develop and evaluate core technologies and tools that take advantage of available collections of large data sets to accelerate progress in science, biomedical research, and engineering.
Learn more about the BIGDATA initiative.
Like No Other Research
Institution in the World
“We can [do] research here that isn’t possible at other institutions.”
— Sonja Best, Ph.D.
Dr. Best is chief of the Innate Immunity and Pathogenesis Unit at the Laboratory of Virology at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).
Learn more about the work NIAID does each day.
Living Longer and Healthier
Thanks to NIH research, a baby born in the U.S. today may live to age 79.
Good health starts before birth. The people of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) support research on children, adults, and families.
Learn more about NICHD.
Information for Everyone
The world's largest medical library, the National Library of Medicine has free, accurate, clear information on 900-plus conditions. The library has a vast collection (17 million books, journals, etc.) and creates many electronic resources.
Read about the latest medical research at NIH MedlinePlus, the magazine.
Pain Consortium
Today, pain has become the universal disorder, a serious and costly public health issue, and a challenge for family, friends, and health care providers who must give support to the individual suffering from the physical as well as the emotional consequences of pain.
The Pain Consortium at the National Institutes of Health was established to enhance pain research and promote collaboration among researchers across the many NIH Institutes and Centers that have programs and activities addressing pain.
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