National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Organization and location

NIH is organized into 27 institutes and centers, each focusing on particular biological systems, diseases, or research capabilities. Together they manage intramural laboratories on the main campus and a large extramural grants program. The principal NIH campus and many of its institutes are based in Bethesda, Maryland, while other centers and staff exist nationwide and overseas to support collaborative work.

Research programs and activities

NIH runs two complementary programs: intramural research, in which scientists are employed directly by NIH and work on site, and extramural support, in which NIH awards competitive grants and contracts to universities, hospitals and research organizations. The agency operates the NIH Clinical Center, a hospital dedicated to clinical research and early-stage trials. Peer review panels assess grant applications to fund projects judged to be scientifically meritorious.

Contributions and examples

NIH-funded science has been central to many public health advances. Through laboratory work, clinical trials, and partnerships with industry and academia, NIH-supported investigators contributed to the development of vaccines and therapies for diseases such as hepatitis B, Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) and human papillomavirus (HPV). The agency also supports long-term cohort studies, genomics initiatives, and rapid responses to emerging health threats.

History and governance

The agency traces its roots to late 19th-century public health laboratories and grew substantially in the 20th century as biomedical science expanded. NIH is led by a director and governed by institute directors and advisory councils; the director sets agency priorities, oversees budgets and coordinates cross-cutting programs. As of 2024 the director is Monica Bertagnolli; an earlier director, Francis Collins, served in that role and helped advance genomic research and large-scale initiatives.

How NIH matters

NIH is widely regarded as one of the world’s largest funders of biomedical research. Its grants and training programs support basic discovery science, translational efforts that turn discoveries into treatments, and public-health studies that inform policy. For more on NIH's mission and its funding opportunities, see resources on biomedical research and specific program pages. Historical and vaccine-related summaries are available through documents on vaccine research such as summaries of hepatitis B vaccine research.

• Core functions: fund research, conduct research, train scientists, translate discoveries.
• Two main pathways: intramural labs and extramural grants.
• Global impact through collaborations, public data resources, and clinical trials.