Below are answers to some Frequently Asked Questions about the National Institute of Nursing Research. For more specific inquiries, please contact the NINR Division of Science Policy and Public Liaison (DSPPL) at (301) 496-0207.
A. GENERAL INFORMATION
Q: What is NINR?
Q: Who is the Director of NINR?
Q: Where is NINR located?
Q: How Do I Contact NINR?
Q: What is the Mission of NINR?
Q: I am a member of the press and am interested in more information about NINR and/or a possible interview with the NINR Director or staff. Whom do I contact?
B. RESEARCH INFORMATION
Q: What is Nursing Research?
Q: What types of research does NINR support?
Q: What are NINR's areas of research emphasis?
Q: How do I apply for a Grant?
Q: Where can I find a list of the projects and/or initiatives that NINR supports or has supported?
Q: Does NINR have any available video or audio files with information about topics important to the Institute?
A. GENERAL INFORMATION
Q: What is NINR?
A: NINR is the National Institute of Nursing Research, one of 27 Institutes that comprise the National Institutes of Health (NIH). It was originally established in 1986 as the National Center for Nursing Research (NCNR). NCNR was elevated to an NIH Institute as part of Public Law 103-43 (The NIH Revitalization Act of 1993), which became law on June 10, 1993.
Q: Who is the Director of NINR?
A: Shannon N. Zenk, PhD, MPH, RN, FAAN currently serves as NINR Director.
Q: Where is NINR located?
A: The Office of the Director, along with several other offices and staff, are located on the main NIH Campus at 9000 Rockville Pike, in Bethesda , MD. These offices are located in Building 31, the Claude D. Pepper Building . Other NINR offices are located on Democracy Boulevard in Bethesda.
Q: How do I Contact NINR?
A: NINR can be reached by email at info@ninr.nih.gov, by phone at 301-496-0207, or by fax at 301-480-8845. Additional contact information for the Institute can be found on the Contact Us page.
Q: What is the mission of NINR?
A: The mission of NINR is to promote and improve the health of individuals, families, communities, and populations. NINR supports and conducts clinical and basic research and research training on health and illness across the lifespan. The Institute's research focus encompasses health promotion and disease prevention, quality of life, health disparities, and end-of-life. NINR seeks to extend nursing science by integrating the biological and behavioral sciences, employing new technologies to research questions, improving research methods, and developing the scientists of the future.
Q: I am a member of the press and am interested in more information about NINR and/or a possible interview with the NINR Director or staff. Whom do I contact?
A: Members of the media are encouraged to contact NINR’s Office of Communications and Public Liaison for information about news releases and to arrange interviews with NINR staff.
Phone: 301-496-0235
Email: edmond.byrnes@nih.gov
Fax: 301-496-8845
B. RESEARCH INFORMATION
Q: What is Nursing Research?
A: Nursing research develops knowledge to:
- Build the scientific foundation for clinical practice,
- Prevent disease and disability,
- Manage and eliminate symptoms caused by illness,
- Enhance end-of-life and palliative care.
Q: What types of research does NINR support?
A: NINR supports clinical and basic research and research training on health and illness across the lifespan. The Institute's research focus encompasses health promotion and disease prevention, quality of life, health disparities, and end-of-life. NINR sponsors research by outside investigators at colleges, universities, and other research sites (Extramural Research) and conducts its own research at NIH (Intramural Research).
- The Extramural program, managed through the Division of Extramural Science Programs (DESP), accepts unsolicited, investigator-initiated applications, as well as those submitted in response to a published Request for Applications (RFA) or Program Announcement (PA). More information about DESP is available here.
- The Intramural program, managed through the Division of Intramural Research (DIR), is dedicated to conducting basic and clinical research on the interactions among molecular mechanisms underlying a single symptom or cluster of symptoms and environmental influences on individual health outcomes. It encompasses the individual variability inherent in symptoms associated with cancer-treatment-related fatigue, the mechanisms of chemosensory symptoms such as alterations in taste and smell, and the neurological and behavioral symptoms of traumatic brain injury. DIR also includes the Intramural Training Programs: NINR's Summer Genetics Institute, Symptom Research Methodologies Boot Camp, and Graduate Partnerships Program. More information about DIR is available here.
Q: What are NINR's areas of research emphasis?
A: According to the NINR Strategic Plan released in 2016, there are four current areas of research emphasis at NINR. The Institute supports and conducts clinical and basic research and research training on health and illness across the lifespan to build the scientific foundation for clinical practice, prevent disease and disability, manage and eliminate symptoms caused by illness, and improve palliative and end-of-life care. The Strategic Plan is available here.
Q: How do I apply for a Grant?
A: On the NINR website, information is available on how to apply for a grant through NINR, as well as on the entire grant application process, which can be found here.
In addition, NINR offers several free online trainings for nursing graduate students and early stage investigators, including the Developing Nurse Scientists course.
Q: Where can I find a list of the projects and/or initiatives that NINR supports or has supported?
A: Lists of NINR-funded grants from FY 1986 to the present are available through NIH’s RePORTER tool. Additional information can be found here.
Q: Does NINR have any available video or audio files with information about topics important to the Institute?
A: Yes, archived mp3 files, podcasts, and videos are available here.
