The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and health-related research. It comprises 27 separate institutes and centers (ICs) that carry out its mission in different areas of biomedical research. It also includes the Office of the Director, which sets policies and coordinates activities of the 27 ICs.

Institutes NameAcronymDescription Budget (mil)URLNational Cancer InstituteNCIResearch and training aimed to eliminate the suffering and death due to cancer.1937 $5,081.8www.cancer.govNational Institute of Allergy and Infectious DiseasesNIAIDResearch goals include striving to understand, treat, and ultimately prevent infectious, immunologic, and allergic diseases. The NIAID-funded Influenza Genome Sequencing Project is a collaborative effort designed to increase the genome knowledge base of influenza and help researchers understand how flu viruses evolve, spread and cause disease.1948 $4,512.9www.niaid.nih.govNational Institute of Dental and Craniofacial ResearchNIDCRProvides leadership for a national research program designed to understand, treat, and ultimately prevent infectious and inherited craniofacial-oral-dental diseases and disorders.1948 $404.8nidcr.nih.govNational Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases NIDDKConducts and supports research and provides leadership for a national program in diabetes, endocrinology, and metabolic diseases, digestive diseases and nutrition, and kidney, urologic, and hematologic diseases.1950 $1,771.4www.niddk.nih.govNational Heart, Lung, and Blood InstituteNHLBIProvides leadership for a national program in diseases of the heart, blood vessels, lung, and blood; blood resources; and sleep disorders. Also has administrative responsibility for the NIH Women's Health Initiative.1948 $3,035.1www.nhlbi.nih.govNational Institute of Mental HealthNIMHUnderstanding, treatment, and prevention of mental illnesses through basic research on the brain and behavior, and through clinical, epidemiological, and services research.1949 $1,512.4nimh.nih.govNational Institute of Neurological Disorders and StrokeNINDSSupports 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.1950 $1,656.3ninds.nih.govNational Library of MedicineNLMNLM collects, organizes, and makes available biomedical science information to investigators, educators, and practitioners and carries out programs designed to strengthen medical library services in the United States. The NLM established the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) which is a central repository of biological information and includes the PubMed literature database and the gene database GenBank. The NCBI is one of the largest components of the NLM.1956 $341.1www.nlm.nih.govNational Institute of Child Health and Human DevelopmentNICHDNICHD researches fertility, pregnancy, growth, development, and medical rehabilitation for the promotion of all aspects of child health.1962 $1,305.6www.nichd.nih.govNational Institute of General Medical SciencesNIGMSNIGMS supports basic biomedical research not targeted to specific diseases, funds studies on genes, proteins, and cells, supports research training programs that produce the next generation of biomedical scientists, has special programs to encourage underrepresented minorities to pursue biomedical research careers.1962 $2,439.4nigms.nih.govNational Eye InstituteNEIConducts and supports research that helps prevent and treat eye diseases and other disorders of vision.1968 $698.1nei.nih.govNational Institute of Environmental Health SciencesNIEHSResearch on how environmental exposures, genetic susceptibility, and age interact to affect an individual's health.1969 $675.8niehs.nih.govNational Institute on Alcohol Abuse and AlcoholismNIAAANIAAA research is focused on improving the treatment and prevention of alcoholism and alcohol-related problems.1970 $456.0niaaa.nih.govNational Institute on Drug AbuseNIDANIDA supports and conducts research on drug abuse and addiction prevention, treatment, and policy.1974 $1,050.9nida.nih.govNational Institute on AgingNIANIA undertakes research on the biomedical, social, and behavioral aspects of the aging process, prevention of age-related diseases and disabilities, promotion of better quality of life for all older Americans.1974 $1,518.4nia.nih.govNational Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin DiseasesNIAMSNIAMS supports research into 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.1986 $528.1niams.nih.govNational Institute of Nursing ResearchNINRNINR supports clinical and basic research to establish a scientific basis for the care of individuals across the life span.1986 $142.7www.ninr.nih.govNational Institute on Deafness and Other Communication DisordersNIDCDConducts 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.1988 $412.4www.nidcd.nih.govNational Human Genome Research InstituteNHGRISupports the NIH component of the Human Genome Project. NHGRI's Intramural Research Program develops and implements technology for understanding, diagnosing, and treating genetic diseases.1989 $505.6www.genome.govNational Institute of Biomedical Imaging and BioengineeringNIBIBPromotes 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.2000 $338.4www.nibib.nih.govNational Institute on Minority Health and Health DisparitiesNIMHDPromotes minority health, conducts and supports research, training, research infrastructure, fosters emerging programs, disseminates information, and reaches out to minority and other health disparity communities.1993 $272.5nimhd.nih.gov

Centers of the NIH In addition to being divided by research area, NIH has many operating groups called centers operating across all of the Institutes.

NameAcronymDescription Budget (mil)URLCenter for Scientific ReviewCSRThe CSR is the focal point at NIH for the conduct of initial peer review of grant and fellowship applications, implements ways to conduct referral and review.1946$BUDGETwww.csr.nih.govClinical CenterCCThe clinical research facility of the National Institutes of Health; provides patient care, services, and environment needed to initiate and support conduct of and training in clinical research.1953$BUDGETwww.cc.nih.govNational Center for Advancing Translational SciencesNCATSNCATS aims to catalyze the generation of innovative methods and technologies that will enhance the development, testing and implementation of diagnostics and therapeutics across a wide range of human diseases and conditions.2011$643.1ncats.nih.govCenter for Information TechnologyCITThe CIT incorporates computers into the biomedical programs and administrative procedures of the NIH by conducting computational biosciences research, developing computer systems, and providing computer facilities.1964$BUDGETcit.nih.govJohn E. Fogarty International CenterFICFIC promotes and supports scientific research and training internationally to reduce disparities in global health.1968$68.6www.fic.nih.govNational Center for Complementary and Integrative HealthNCCIHNCCIH explores complementary and alternative medical practices in the context of rigorous science, training researchers, and disseminating authoritative information.1999$127.6nccih.nih.govNational Center for Medical Rehabilitation ResearchNCMRRNCMRR fosters development of scientific knowledge needed to enhance the health, productivity, independence, and quality-of-life of people with physical disabilities.1991$BUDGETnichd.nih.gov/ncmrrNational Center for Research ResourcesNCRRNCRR provided funding to laboratory scientists and researchers for facilities and tools in the goal of curing and treating diseases.1990 (extinct 2011)www.ncrr.nih.gov

Office of the Director The Office of the Director is the central office at NIH. The OD is responsible for setting policy for NIH and for planning, managing, and coordinating the programs and activities of all the NIH components. Program offices in the Office of the Director are responsible for stimulating specific areas of research throughout NIH and for planning and supporting research and related activities. Current program areas are: minority health, women's health, AIDS research, disease prevention, and behavioral and social sciences research. In July 2009, President Barack Obama nominated Dr. Francis S. Collins, M.D., PhD, to be the Director of the NIH. On August 7, 2009, the US Senate confirmed Collins by a unanimous vote.

Program offices within the Office of the Director fund research through the institutes: