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NIH Leadership

NIH Director Elias A. Zerhouni, M.D.

NIH Director Elias A. Zerhouni, M.D.

On May 20, 2002, Dr. Elias A. Zerhouni began his tenure as the 15th Director of the National Institutes of Health. Read Dr. Zerhouni's bio sketch.

The NIH Director plays an active role in shaping the agency's activities and outlook. With a unique and critical perspective on the whole of the NIH, the Director is responsible for providing leadership to the Institutes and for constantly identifying needs and opportunities, especially for efforts that involve multiple Institutes. Read more about the role of the NIH Director.

Deputy Directors

Raynard Kington
Raynard
Kington
Norka Ruiz-Bravo
Norka
Ruiz Bravo
Michael Gottesman
Michael
Gottesman
Colleen Barros
Colleen
Barros
Alan Krensky
Alan
Krensky

Institute and Center Directors

Each NIH Institute and Center has its own director to lead the pursuit of the research mission specific to the Institute.

The Role of the NIH Director

The NIH Director plays an active role in shaping the agency's activities and outlook. With a unique and critical perspective on the whole of the NIH, the Director is responsible for providing leadership to the Institutes and for constantly identifying needs and opportunities, especially for efforts that involve multiple Institutes.

The Director stays in touch with each Institute's priorities and accomplishments through:

  • regular senior staff meetings,
  • discussions with scientific interest groups, and
  • briefing sessions with Institute directors.

The Director also seeks advice from an appointed group of public representatives and the Council of Councils, a special panel of experts convened to advise the NIH Director on matters related to the policies and activities of the Division of Program Coordination, Planning and Strategic Initiatives. In addition to this flow of information from scientists, the Director is advised through discussions with the Administration, usually through the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and with the Congress.

The NIH Director is responsible for advising the President on his annual budget request to Congress on the basis of extensive discussions with the Institute Directors.

Related Links

  • Executive Secretariat—manages the flow of information to and from the NIH Director
  • Office of Management—advises the NIH Director and staff on all phases of NIH-wide administration and management
  • NIH Consensus Development Program—a panel of experts who produce evidence-based consensus statements on complex medical issues for use by health care providers, patients, and the general public
The NIH Vision—
NIH Roadmap for Medical Research
  • Trans-NIH
  • Drives progress in medical research
  • Transforms ways science is conducted through:
    • Finding new pathways to discovery
    • Building research teams of the future
    • Reengineering clinical research practice
  • Conquering roadblocks
The NIH Vision—
NIH Strategic Plan for Obesity Research
  • Affects 65% of U.S. adults or 130 million people
  • Trans-NIH effort of 19 Institutes encourages research on:
    • lifestyle modification
    • pharmacologic, surgical, and other medical approaches
    • links to diseases and health disparities
    • education/outreach efforts
The NIH Vision—
NIH Neuroscience Blueprint
  • Trans-NIH — 15 institutes collaborate on reducing human suffering from mental illness, neurological disorders and a wide range of behavioral disorders:
    • creating new resources
    • tackling common scientific problems
    • training next generations of neuroscientists
This page was last reviewed on January 24, 2008 .
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