Director of the National Institutes of Health

In the United States, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the primary agency responsible for medical research. The director of the National Institutes of Health plays an active role in shaping the agency's activities and outlook. 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 NIH director is responsible for advising the U.S. president on their annual budget request to Congress on the basis of extensive discussions with the institute directors.

History The position of the NIH director became presidentially appointed with the passage of the National Cancer Act of 1971 and Senate confirmed with the National Cancer Act Amendments of 1974.  Prior to 1971, all NIH directors were appointed by the surgeon general, with the exception of Robert Q. Marston, who was appointed by the secretary of health, education, and welfare. Acting directors are selected by the secretary of health and human services and hold the position until the president nominates a new director who is confirmed by the Senate.

List of directors The following persons served as directors of the National Institutes of Health:

Unnumbered, colored rows indicate acting directors. PortraitNameTerm startTerm endAppointed by1Joseph J. KinyounAugust 1887April 30, 1899John B. Hamilton2Milton J. RosenauMay 1, 1899September 30, 1909Walter Wyman3John F. AndersonOctober 1, 1909November 19, 1915Walter Wyman4George W. McCoyNovember 20, 1915January 31, 1937Rupert Blue5Lewis Ryers ThompsonFebruary 1, 1937January 31, 1942Thomas Parran6Rolla DyerFebruary 1, 1942September 30, 1950Thomas Parran7William H. Sebrell Jr.October 1, 1950July 31, 1955Leonard A. Scheele8James A. ShannonAugust 1, 1955August 31, 1968Leonard A. Scheele9Robert Q. MarstonSeptember 1, 1968January 21, 1973Wilbur J. Cohen– John F. Sherman January 21, 1973 May 28, 1973 Elliot L. Richardson 10Robert StoneMay 29, 1973January 31, 1975Richard Nixon– Ronald W. Lamont-Havers February 1, 1975 June 30, 1975 Caspar Weinberger 11Donald S. FredricksonJuly 1, 1975June 30, 1981Jimmy Carter– Thomas E. Malone July 1, 1981 April 28, 1982 Richard S. Schweiker 12James WyngaardenApril 29, 1982July 31, 1989Ronald Reagan– William F. Raub August 1, 1989 April 8, 1991 Louis Wade Sullivan 13Bernadine HealyApril 8, 1991June 30, 1993George H. W. Bush– Ruth L. Kirschstein July 1, 1993 November 22, 1993 Donna Shalala 14Harold E. VarmusNovember 23, 1993December 31, 1999Bill Clinton– Ruth L. Kirschstein January 1, 2000 May 1, 2002 Donna Shalala 15Elias ZerhouniMay 2, 2002October 31, 2008George W. Bush– Raynard S. Kington November 1, 2008 August 16, 2009 Michael O. Leavitt 16Francis CollinsAugust 17, 2009December 19, 2021Barack Obama– Lawrence A. Tabak December 20, 2021 November 8, 2023 Xavier Becerra 17Monica BertagnolliNovember 9, 2023January 17, 2025Joe Biden– Matthew MemoliJanuary 22, 2025March 31, 2025Dorothy Fink18Jay BhattacharyaApril 1, 2025PresentDonald Trump

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