The NIH Almanac

Originally National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Blindness. Name changed 1968 to National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Stroke; March 1975 to National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Disorders and Stroke; and October 1988 to present name.

Mission

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) is one of 27 Institutes and Centers comprising the National Institutes of Health (NIH). NIH, located in Bethesda, Maryland, is an agency of the Public Health Service within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Created by the U.S. Congress in 1950, NINDS has occupied a central position in the world of neuroscience for more than 50 years.

The mission of NINDS is to reduce the burden of neurological disease—a burden borne by every age group, every segment of society, and people all over the world.

To accomplish this goal, the Institute supports and conducts research on the healthy 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.

The Institute's extramural program supports thousands of research project grants and research contracts. Institutional training grants and individual fellowships support hundreds of scientists in training and provide career awards that offer a range of research experience and support for faculty members at various levels. Scientists in the Institute's laboratories and clinics in Bethesda conduct research in the major areas of neuroscience and on many of the most important and challenging neurological disorders, and collaborate with scientists in several other NIH Institutes.

This is a time of accelerating progress and increasing hope in the battle against brain disease. Advances in understanding the nervous system are beginning to pay off in the form of treatments for previously intractable problems such as spinal cord injury, acute stroke, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, and Parkinson's disease, to name a few. It is fortunate that scientific progress is matched by unprecedented public commitment to research. NINDS is aware that increased public support and funding require visionary leadership and effective stewardship of the resources entrusted to the Institute.

The NINDS vision is:

• To lead the neuroscience community in shaping the future of research and its relationship to brain diseases.
• To build an intramural program that is the model for modern collaborative neuroscience research.
• To develop the next generation of basic and clinical neuroscientists through inspiration and resource support.
• To seize opportunities to focus our resources to rapidly translate scientific discoveries into prevention, treatment, and cures.
• To be the first place the public turns to for authoritative neuroscience research information.

Important Events in NINDS History

1950—On August 15 President Harry S. Truman signed Public Law 81-692, establishing the National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Blindness (NINDB).

1951—NINDB received its first budget of $1,232,253.

1953—The NINDB budget became a line item in the NIH budget.

1953-54—An intramural program of clinical investigation was initiated, including medical neurology, surgical neurology, and electroencephalography. Training programs in neurology and ophthalmology were initiated.

1955—Basic science training grants were initiated.

1956—The intramural clinical investigations program was expanded to include work in ophthalmology.

1957—Training programs in otolaryngology and pediatric neurology began.

Field investigations involving collaborative and cooperative clinical studies began and the initial phase of the Collaborative Perinatal Project was started.

1960—The joint intramural basic research program of NINDB and the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) was divided and organized into 2 basic research laboratory programs.

1961—First program projects and clinical research centers in stroke and communicative disorders were supported.

1962—Funds were appropriated for professional and technical information assistance. Training grants in neurosurgery and neuroradiology were initiated.

1963—Developmental graduate training grants were initiated.

1965—A head injury research program was established.

1966—The stroke research program was expanded; additional grants for clinical research centers were awarded. An antiepileptic drug testing program began.

1967—Vision outpatient research centers were established. A program of research in neural control mechanisms and prostheses was initiated.

1968—The Institute was renamed the National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Stroke. The NINDS blindness program became the nucleus of the National Eye Institute.

1969—Research Building 36—dedicated by the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW) Secretary Robert H. Finch—was occupied by NINDS and NIMH research laboratories.

1971—Programs in applied neurological research (epilepsy, head injury), infectious diseases, and biometry were added to the Collaborative and Field Research Division.

1973—Two new communicative disorders programs began with establishment of an intramural Laboratory of Neuro-Otolaryngology and a section on communicative disorders in the Collaborative and Field Research Division.

1974—Laboratories for neuroimmunology and neuropharmacology were established.

1975—NINDS was renamed the National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Disorders and Stroke (NINCDS).

The Institute reorganized into 6 units for intramural research, fundamental neurosciences, communicative disorders, neurological disorders, stroke and trauma, and extramural activities.

1976—Dr. D. Carleton Gajdusek, chief, Laboratory of Central Nervous System Studies, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for work on atypical slow viruses.

1979—A neuroepidemiology section and a section of neurotoxicology were established within the Intramural Research Program. NINCDS substantially expanded extramural support of research studies using positron emission tomography.

1982—The Institute's Neurological Disorders Program was replaced by 2 new program units: convulsive, developmental, and neuromuscular disorders and demyelinating, atrophic, and dementing disorders.

1984—NINCDS established the Senator Jacob Javits Neuroscience Awards, which provide research grant support for up to 7 years in the basic and clinical neurosciences and communicative sciences.

A Laboratory of Neurobiology and a Laboratory of Experimental Neuropathology were established within the Intramural Research Program.

1986—A Laboratory of Neural Regeneration and Implantation was established within the Intramural Research Program.

1987—NINCDS programs were renamed divisions, reflecting major areas of research interest: communicative and neurosensory disorders; convulsive, developmental, and neuromuscular disorders; demyelinating, atrophic, and dementing disorders; fundamental neurosciences; stroke and trauma; extramural activities; and intramural research.

A Clinical Neuroscience Branch was established within the Division of Intramural Research.

1988—The communicative disorders program became the nucleus of the National Institute of Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. NINCDS was renamed the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

1989—On July 25 President George H.W. Bush signed P.L. 101-58, declaring the 1990s the "Decade of the Brain."

1990—A Stroke Branch was established within the Division of Intramural Research.

1998—NINDS formed 7 planning panels comprising neuroscience leaders. Panel members outlined opportunities for research investment.

1999—NINDS published Neuroscience at the New Millennium: Priorities and Plans for the NINDS, Fiscal Years 2000-2001.

2000—The Parkinson's Disease Research Agenda was developed.

2001—NINDS celebrated its 50th anniversary with a 2-day scientific symposium, "Celebrating 50 Years of Brain Research: New Discoveries, New Hope."

The Stroke Progress Review Group was created.

The Research Agenda for Epilepsy was developed.

2002—The Report of the Stroke Progress Review Group was published.

2004—The new National Neuroscience Research Center opened.

NINDS Legislative Chronology

August 15, 1950—Public Law 81-692 established NINDB "for research on neurological diseases (including epilepsy, cerebral palsy, and multiple sclerosis) and blindness."

August 16, 1968—Public Law 90-489 renamed the NINDB the National Institute of Neurological Diseases.

October 24, 1968—Public Law 90-636 changed the name of the Institute to the National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Stroke.

October 25, 1972—Public Law 92-564 established a temporary National Commission on Multiple Sclerosis supported by NINDS.

March 14, 1975—Part 8 of a HEW Statement of Organization, Functions, and Delegations of Authority was amended to change the title of NINDS to the National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Disorders and Stroke.

July 29, 1975—Public Law 94-63 established 2 temporary commissions to be supported by NINCDS: Commission for the Control of Epilepsy and Its Consequences, and Commission for the Control of Huntington's Disease and Its Consequences.

October 28, 1988—Public Law 100-553 changed the name of NINCDS to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

June 10, 1993—Public Law 103-43 added language on Multiple Sclerosis research to the legislative mandate of the NINDS.

November 13, 1997—Public Law 105-78, the Morris K. Udall Parkinson's Disease and Research Act, added language authorizing increased Parkinson's disease research and training, including research centers.

November 17, 2000—Public Law 106-310, the Children's Health Act of 2000, amended the Public Health Service Act with regard to a wide range of issues affecting children's health. Specifically relevant to the NINDS mission were authorizing provisions for the expansion of autism research, including research centers of excellence, and the establishment of an interagency Autism Coordinating Committee; the establishment of a Pediatric Research Initiative; the development of a pediatric research loan repayment program; the conduct of a national longitudinal study of environmental influences on children's health and development; the study of risk factors for childhood cancers, including malignant tumors of the central nervous system; the support of research with respect to cognitive disorders and neurobehavioral consequences arising from traumatic brain injury; and the expansion and coordination of muscular dystrophy research.

December 18, 2001—Public Law 107-084, the Muscular Dystrophy Community Assistance, Research, and Education Amendments of 2001, or the "MD-CARE Act," amended the Public Health Service Act to provide for the expansion and coordination of research with respect to various forms of muscular dystrophy, including the establishment of research centers of excellence and an interagency coordinating committee.

Biographical Sketch of NINDS Director Story C. Landis Ph.D.

Dr. Landis has been Director of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke since September 1, 2003. As Director, she oversees an annual budget of $1.5 billion and a staff of more than 900 scientists, physician-scientists, and administrators.

Dr. Landis received her B.A. in biology from Wellesley College in 1967 and her master's degree (1970) and her Ph.D. (1973) from Harvard University. She held postdoctoral fellowships at the National Institute of Mental Health and Harvard Medical School and also held faculty positions at Harvard Medical School and Case Western Reserve University. At Case Western Reserve, she was responsible for the creation of a Department of Neurosciences. Under 5 years of her leadership, the program achieved worldwide acclaim and a reputation for excellence. In 1995, Dr. Landis joined NINDS as Scientific Director and was responsible for the direction and excellence of research conducted in the Institute's intramural program.

Dr. Landis's own research is aimed at understanding how functional connections form in the developing nervous system. Starting with evidence of surprising plasticity and environmental influences obtained in cell culture systems, her work has focused on dissecting the cellular interactions that drive synapse formation in the peripheral nervous system and on identifying the molecular mechanisms responsible.

Dr. Landis has received distinction as an Established Investigator of the American Heart Association, a Javits Neuroscience Investigator, and a MacKnight Senior Investigator, and as an elected Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Dr. Landis has served on numerous scientific advisory committees, including selection and review committees for the NIH and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. In 2002, she was named the President-Elect of the Society for Neuroscience.

NINDS Directors

Name	In Office from	To
Pearce Bailey	1951	1959
Richard L. Masland	1959	1968
Edward F. MacNichol, Jr.	September 1, 1968	1973
Donald B. Tower	May 31, 1974	February 1, 1981
Murray Goldstein	December 23, 1982	October 1, 1993
Patricia A. Grady (Acting)	September 1993	August 31, 1994
Zach W. Hall	September 1, 1994	December 31, 1997
Audrey S. Penn (Acting)	January 1, 1998	July 31, 1998
Gerald D. Fischbach	August 1, 1998	January 31, 2001
Audrey S. Penn (Acting)	February 1, 2001	August 31, 2003
Story C. Landis	September 1, 2003	Present

Major Divisions

The Institute is organized into a division of extramural research and a division of intramural research.

Division of Extramural Research

The Division of Extramural Research funds grants, cooperative agreements, and contracts to support research, research training, and career development. The Division is organized into work groups known as “program clusters.” The clusters were organized around critical, cross-cutting scientific topics that hold great promise for advancing knowledge and reducing the burden of neurological disease. The current scientific clusters are: Repair and Plasticity; Systems and Cognitive Neuroscience; Channels, Synapses, and Circuits; Neurogenetics; Neural Environment; and Neurodegeneration. and In addition, the Extramural Division includes the Clinical Trials group, the Office of Minority Health and Research, the Technology Development group; and the Office of International Activities. It also includes the Office of Training and Career Development, which manages programs to meet the future needs of neuroscience.

The Division monitors developments in these program areas; assesses the national need for research on the cause, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of disorders of the brain and nervous system; and pursues technological development, the application of research findings, and research training and career development. The Division also (a) determines program priorities, (b) collaborates with other institutes of the NIH on specific research efforts, (c) prepares reports and analyses of national needs to assist NINDS staff and advisory groups in carrying out their responsibilities and in developing new areas of emphasis, and (d) consults with extramural scientists, voluntary health organizations, and professional associations in identifying research needs and developing programs to meet these needs.

The Division coordinates training of young investigators in all basic and clinical neurological research areas. This includes institutional and individual training programs as well as support through research career development awards and clinical investigator development awards.

Repair and Plasticity
http://www.ninds.nih.gov/funding/areas/repair_and_plasticity/index.htm

• To understand mechanisms of plasticity in the healthy nervous system and explore implications for repair.
• To develop interventions to modify the course of injury and disease progression, and improve functional outcome in individuals following injury to the nervous system.
• To understand the course of degeneration and repair following spinal cord injury and brain injury on timescales ranging from seconds to years.
• To develop interventions to permit spinal cord tracts to regrow past an injury site and establish functional connections distally.
• To understand the role of endogenous neurogenesis and to promote development of stem cell biology to repair the nervous system.
• To promote the development of neural prosthetic devices designed to restore function after neurological injury or disease.

Systems and Cognitive Neuroscience
http://www.ninds.nih.gov/funding/areas/systems_and_cognitive_neuroscience/index.htm

• To encourage and support research on higher brain functions,, such as learning, memory, language, cognition, emotion, movement, attention, regulation of the wakefulness-sleep cycle, food intake, body weight, sensory perception, and response to pain.
• To provide grant opportunities in such fields as pain research and neuroinformatics.
• To support non-invasive functional imaging research such as PET (positron emission tomography), fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging), simultaneous multi-electrode array in vivo, electrophysiological recordings of brain and muscle activity, as well as combinations of imaging with EEG and MEG.
• To encourage efforts in translational research in developing adaptive and rehabilitative strategies for functional sensorimotor recovery in patients with motor or sensory impairment as a result of neurological disorders such as stroke.
• To promote the identification of biological markers for neurological diseases.
• To initiate, plan, and implement workshops to gather and disseminate knowledge in these domains, which will identify opportunities and insights on rehabilitation and treatment approaches.

Channels, Synapses, and Circuits
http://www.ninds.nih.gov/funding/areas/channels_synapses_and_circuits/index.htm

• To initiate and support basic and translational research on ion channels, transporters, and pumps implicated in neuronal function and disease.
• To advance basic and translational research in mechanisms of synaptic transmission, development, and plasticity, including research on function and dysfunction of the neuromuscular junction.
• To support basic, translational, and clinical studies in epilepsy and epileptogenesis.
• To implement the epilepsy benchmarks (http://www.ninds.nih.gov/funding/research/epilepsyweb/index.htm).
• To support research on the pathogenesis and treatment of inherited/acquired neuropathies, muscular dystrophies, and other neuromuscular disorders, including myasthenia gravis.
• To promote the development of new methodologies for basic research, including genetic models, high-resolution structural studies of membrane proteins, optical recording, neuroimaging, and neuroinformatics tools.

Neurogenetics
http://www.ninds.nih.gov/funding/areas/neurogenetics/index.htm

• To promote efforts to identify genes and susceptibility loci for neurological diseases.
• To promote investigation of the mechanisms by which genetic variants cause or contribute to risks for neurological disease.
• To develop gene-based assays, diagnostics, and therapeutics for neurological disorders.
• To develop cutting-edge tools and resources for neurogenetic research.
• To promote basic and translational research in neurogenetics and genomics.
• To investigate the genetic basis of normal neural development, function, and perturbations that can lead to neurological disorders.
• To promote and assist in the training of neuroscientists in molecular medicine.
• To educate the scientific and lay communities in the ethical, legal, and social issues in neurogenetics.
• To engage patient voluntary and advocacy groups in partnerships to promote research in neurogenetics.

Neural Environment
http://www.ninds.nih.gov/funding/areas/neural_environment/index.htm

• To encourage studies on the role of diverse cell populations of the nervous system and mechanisms of cell-cell interaction responsible for the normal function and maintenance of the nervous system as an organ, including the function of glial cells, brain blood supply, and flow of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF).
• To encourage research on infectious, immune, and inflammatory mechanisms in nervous system disorders such as multiple sclerosis, prion diseases, stroke, brain tumors, and neuroAIDS.
• To encourage studies to identify the molecular mechanisms of cell injury and death in the nervous system.
• To foster studies on vascular mechanisms of neurological disorders; vascular development in the central nervous system (CNS); and the role of microvascular endothelia, extracellular matrix, and cells of hematopoietic origin within the CNS.
• To promote the development of diagnostics and of therapies that will prevent, arrest, or reverse autoimmune neurological disorders such as multiple sclerosis.
• To expand studies on the mechanisms of blood-brain and brain-CSF barrier functions and of cell migration (and/or trafficking) into the CNS in stroke, immune disorders, brain tumors, and CNS infections.
• To encourage the development of animal models for infectious and immune disorders, CNS and peripheral nervous system tumors, and stroke (e.g., transgenic or knockout/in models, viral models).
• To encourage the study of normal glial or progenitor/stem cell populations and their role in the development or treatment of CNS and peripheral nervous system tumors.
• To promote the study of biomarkers for vascular, tumorigenic, and immune diseases of the nervous system.
• To strongly encourage bi-directional translational research that transfers insights gained from basic research and clinical investigations.

Neurodegeneration
http://www.ninds.nih.gov/funding/areas/neurodegeneration/index.htm

• To stimulate basic and clinical research on the mechanisms of neuron death and neurodegeneration underlying a wide range of neurodegenerative disorders including Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Huntington's disease, frontotemporal dementia, progressive supranuclear palsy and Pick's disease, Lewy body diseases, multiple system atrophy, corticobasal degeneration, etc.
• To encourage the translation of basic research to the development and testing of therapeutics for the treatment and cure of neurodegenerative diseases.
• To encourage gene discovery and population-based epidemiological studies of neurological disorders in order to elucidate the natural history of neurodegeneration and to identify biomarkers for neurodegenerative disorders.
• To support the rigorous testing of candidate therapies in controlled clinical trials in conjunction with the NINDS Clinical Trials Group.
• To promote the development of advanced research technologies necessary for achieving new breakthroughs in neurodegeneration research.
• To promote the development of representative models of human neurodegenerative diseases to support gene and drug discovery research.

Clinical Trials
http://www.ninds.nih.gov/funding/areas/clinical_trials/index.htm

• To promote the development of clinical interventions for neurological disorders and stroke.
• To stimulate the translation of findings in the laboratory to clinical research and clinical interventions.
• To ensure measures for protection of human subjects and safety monitoring.
• To encourage innovation in clinical research methodology.
• To support the development of neurology clinical researchers with training in biostatistics, epidemiology, and clinical trial methodology.

Office of Minority Health and Research
www.ninds.nih.gov/funding/areas/office_of_minority_health_and_research/index.htm

• To assist in the overall development of state-of-the-art neuroscience research programs at minority-serving institutions.
• To foster innovative and effective partnerships and collaboration between minority-serving institutions and established neuroscience laboratories at Federal and non-Federal research institutions.
• To provide support to develop and sustain competitively funded neuroscience research projects and programs at minority-serving institutions.
• To create, support, and maintain a stimulating academic and intellectual milieu to inspire and prepare diverse students and fellows to pursue research careers in neuroscience. To enhance the diversity of the biomedical research workforce through supporting individuals from underrepresented ethnic/racial minority groups or disadvantaged backgrounds, individuals with disabilities, and individuals re-entering the research workforce.
• To aid the Institute in achieving its goals of decreasing health disparities in neurological disorders.

Technology Development
http://www.ninds.nih.gov/funding/areas/technology_development/index.htm

Anticonvulsant Screening Program: http://www.ninds.nih.gov/funding/research/asp/index.htm

NINDS High Throughput Drug Screening Service Facility for Neurodegeneration at Southern Research Institute: http://www.ninds.nih.gov/funding/areas/technology_development/HTS_Facility.htm

Counterterrorism Research: http://www.ninds.nih.gov/funding/research/counterterrorism/index.htm

• To advance understanding of the basic molecular and cellular mechanisms of nervous system function through the development and use of new technologies, such as gene microarrays and other genetic tools, proteomics, electrode arrays, imaging, and informatics.
• To facilitate the discovery and development of new therapeutic interventions for neurological disorders through the use of molecular libraries, screening assays, and gene transfer.
• To develop new molecular, cellular, and animal models of neurological function and disease.
• To facilitate testing of chemical compounds as mechanistic tools and as therapeutic candidates with high-throughput screening and in vivo testing for efficacy and toxicity.
• To facilitate advances in neuroscience research through sharing and distribution of data and resources.
• To promote the development of novel and powerful computational tools and theoretical neuroscience approaches for the analysis, interpretation, and modeling of complex neural data within and across all levels of organization.
• To develop new and improved medical countermeasures against chemical threat agents.

Office of Training and Career Development
http://www.ninds.nih.gov/funding/areas/training_and_career_development/index.htm

The Training Office provides support for the research training and career development of outstanding young investigators during the predoctoral, postdoctoral, and early faculty phases of their careers.  Future discoveries that will lead to a reduction in the burden of neurological disorders will require an outstanding cadre of scientists in basic, clinical, and translational research.  Thus, support for training in all of these realms is a high priority at NINDS.

Office of International Activities
http://www.ninds.nih.gov/funding/areas/office_of_international_activities/index.htm

• To identify significant global health issues as they relate to neurological disorders and stroke.
• To develop creative approaches that promote international research in the neurosciences.
• To stimulate international activities with other NIH Institutes and Centers, other domestic and foreign government agencies, and non-governmental organizations.
• To encourage international neuroscience collaborations, training, and capacity building through grants, short-term travel supplements, and international conferences.
• To coordinate bilateral and multilateral activities under agreements between the U.S. and other countries.

Division of Intramural Research

A full description of the NINDS Division of Intramural Research can be found at http://intra.ninds.nih.gov.

Additional information on NIH neuroscience programs, including programs sponsored by the NINDS, is available at http://neuroscience.nih.gov.