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Institutes, Centers & Offices

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Offices

The Office of the Director (OD)
The Office of the Director is the central office at NIH for its 27 Institutes and Centers. The OD is responsible for setting policy for NIH and for planning, managing, and coordinating the programs and activities of all the NIH components. OD's program offices include the Office of AIDS Research and the Office of Research on Women's Health, among others. more >

NIH Institutes

National Cancer Institute (NCI) - Est. 1937
NCI leads a national effort to eliminate the suffering and death due to cancer. Through basic and clinical biomedical research and training, NCI conducts and supports research that will lead to a future in which we can prevent cancer before it starts, identify cancers that do develop at the earliest stage, eliminate cancers through innovative treatment interventions, and biologically control those cancers that we cannot eliminate so they become manageable, chronic diseases. more >
National Eye Institute (NEI) - Est. 1968
NEI conducts and supports research that helps prevent and treat eye diseases and other disorders of vision. This research leads to sight-saving treatments, reduces visual impairment and blindness, and improves the quality of life for people of all ages. NEI-supported research has advanced our knowledge of how the eye functions in health and disease. more >
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) - Est. 1948
NHLBI provides leadership for a national program in diseases of the heart, blood vessels, lung, and blood; blood resources; and sleep disorders. Since October 1997, the NHLBI has also had administrative responsibility for the NIH Woman's Health Initiative. The Institute plans, conducts, fosters, and supports an integrated and coordinated program of basic research, clinical investigations and trials, observational studies, and demonstration and education projects. more >
National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) - Est. 1989
NHGRI supports the NIH component of the Human Genome Project, a worldwide research effort designed to analyze the structure of human DNA and determine the location of the estimated 30,000 to 40,000 human genes. The NHGRI Intramural Research Program develops and implements technology for understanding, diagnosing, and treating genetic diseases. more >
National Institute on Aging (NIA) - Est. 1974
NIA leads a national program of research on the biomedical, social, and behavioral aspects of the aging process; the prevention of age-related diseases and disabilities; and the promotion of a better quality of life for all older Americans. more >
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) - Est. 1970
NIAAA conducts research focused on improving the treatment and prevention of alcoholism and alcohol-related problems to reduce the enormous health, social, and economic consequences of this disease. more >
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) - Est. 1948
NIAID research strives to understand, treat, and ultimately prevent the myriad infectious, immunologic, and allergic diseases that threaten millions of human lives. more >
National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) - Est. 1986
NIAMS supports research into the 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. more >
National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) - Est. 2000
NIBIB improves health by promoting 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. more >
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) - Est. 1962
NICHD research on fertility, pregnancy, growth, development, and medical rehabilitation strives to ensure that every child is born healthy and wanted and grows up free from disease and disability. more >
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) - Est. 1988
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 that affect 46 million Americans. more >
National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) - Est. 1948
NIDCR provides leadership for a national research program designed to understand, treat, and ultimately prevent the infectious and inherited craniofacial-oral-dental diseases and disorders that compromise millions of human lives. more >
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) - Est. 1948
NIDDK conducts and supports basic and applied research and provides leadership for a national program in diabetes, endocrinology, and metabolic diseases; digestive diseases and nutrition; and kidney, urologic, and hematologic diseases. Several of these diseases are among the leading causes of disability and death; all seriously affect the quality of life of those who have them. more >
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) - Est. 1973
NIDA leads the nation in bringing the power of science to bear on drug abuse and addiction through support and conduct of research across a broad range of disciplines and rapid and effective dissemination of results of that research to improve drug abuse and addiction prevention, treatment, and policy. more >
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) - Est. 1969
NIEHS reduces the burden of human illness and dysfunction from environmental causes by, defining how environmental exposures, genetic susceptibility, and age interact to affect an individual's health. more >
National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) - Est. 1962
NIGMS supports basic biomedical research that is not targeted to specific diseases. NIGMS funds studies on genes, proteins, and cells, as well as on fundamental processes like communication within and between cells, how our bodies use energy, and how we respond to medicines. The results of this research increase our understanding of life and lay the foundation for advances in disease diagnosis, treatment, and prevention. NIGMS also supports research training programs that produce the next generation of biomedical scientists, and it has special programs to encourage underrepresented minorities to pursue biomedical research careers. more >
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) - Est. 1949
NIMH provides national leadership dedicated to understanding, treating, and preventing mental illnesses through basic research on the brain and behavior, and through clinical, epidemiological, and services research. more >
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) - Est. 1950
The mission of the NINDS is to reduce the burden of neurological diseases -- a burden borne by every age group, every segment of society, and people all over the world. To accomplish this goal the 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. more >
National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) - Est. 1986
NINR supports clinical and basic research to establish a scientific basis for the care of individuals across the life span--from the management of patients during illness and recovery to the reduction of risks for disease and disability; the promotion of healthy lifestyles; the promotion of quality of life in those with chronic illness; and the care for individuals at the end of life. This research may also include families within a community context, and it also focuses on the special needs of at-risk and under-served populations, with an emphasis on health disparities. more >
National Library of Medicine (NLM) - Est. 1956
NLM collects, organizes, and makes available biomedical science information to scientists, health professionals, and the public. The Library's Web-based databases, including PubMed/Medline and MedlinePlus, are used extensively around the world. NLM conducts and supports research in biomedical communications; creates information resources for molecular biology, biotechnology, toxicology, and environmental health; and provides grant and contract support for training, medical library resources, and biomedical informatics and communications research. more >

NIH Centers

Center for Information Technology (CIT formerly DCRT, OIRM, TCB) - Est. in 1964
CIT incorporates the power of modern computers into the biomedical programs and administrative procedures of the NIH by focusing on three primary activities: conducting-computational biosciences research, developing computer systems, and providing computer facilities. more >
Center for Scientific Review (CSR) - Est. in 1946
CSR is the focal point at NIH for the conduct of initial peer review, the foundation of the NIH grant and award process. The Center carries out peer review of the majority of research and research training applications submitted to the NIH. In addition, the Center serves as the central receipt point for all such Public Health Service (PHS) applications and makes referrals to scientific review groups for scientific and technical merit review of applications and to funding components for potential award. To this end, the Center develops and implements innovative, flexible ways to conduct referral and review for all aspects of science. more >
John E. Fogarty International Center for Advanced Study in the Health Sciences (FIC) - Est. in 1968
FIC promotes and supports scientific research and training internationally to reduce disparities in global health. more >
National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) - Est. in 1999
NCCAM is dedicated to exploring complementary and alternative medical (CAM) practices in the context of rigorous science; training CAM researchers and disseminating authoritative information. more >
National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NCMHD) - Est. in 1993
The mission of NCMHD is to promote minority health and to lead, coordinate, support, and assess the NIH effort to reduce and ultimately eliminate health disparities. In this effort NCMHD will conduct and support basic, clinical, social, and behavioral research, promote research infrastructure and training, foster emerging programs, disseminate information, and reach out to minority and other health disparity communities. more >
National Center for Research Resources (NCRR) - Est. in 1962
NCRR provides laboratory scientists and clinical researchers with the environments and tools they need to understand, detect, treat, and prevent a wide range of diseases. With this support, scientists make biomedical discoveries, translate these findings to animal-based studies, and then apply them to patient-orientated research. more >
NIH Clinical Center (CC) - Est. in 1953
CC is the clinical research facility of the National Institutes of Health. As a national resource, it provides the patient care, services, and environment needed to initiate and support the highest quality conduct of and training in clinical research. more >
This page was last reviewed on March 11, 2008 .
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