National Institutes of Health (NIH), agency of the United States government that conducts and supports biomedical research into the causes, cure, and prevention of disease. The NIH is an agency of the Public Health Service of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is the largest single supporter of biomedical research in the country and also provides training for health researchers and disseminates medical information.
The NIH comprises 25 specialized institutes that conduct or support research in various fields of health and disease, including the National Cancer Institute, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institute of General Medical Sciences, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Eye Institute, National Institute on Aging, and National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases.
In addition to its various institutes, the NIH maintains the National Library of Medicine, which is the foremost source of medical information in the United States. The NIH also maintains several general research centres and the Division of Computer Research and Technology, which uses computer technologies to support health research programs nationwide.
Most of the research funded by the NIH is conducted in medical schools, universities, and other nonfederal institutions. The primary form of funding is the research grant.
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Human Genome Project: Timeline of the HGPDepartment of Energy and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The effort was soon joined by scientists from around the world. Moreover, a series of technical advances in the sequencing process itself and in the computer hardware and software used to track and analyze the resulting data enabled rapid progress…
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clinical trial: Trial sponsorsThe National Institutes of Health, an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, funds the largest number of clinical trials worldwide. Many other government agencies support clinical trials as well. In the first decade of the 21st century, pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies represented…
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J. Craig Venter: Education and NIH research…1984 Venter moved to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), in Bethesda, Md., and began studying genes involved in signal transmission between neurons.…
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Francis CollinsNational Institutes of Health (NIH) public research consortium in the Human Genome Project (HGP). In 2009 Pres. Barack Obama nominated Collins to head the NIH, a move that was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in August of that year.…
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James Watson…1988 to 1992 at the National Institutes of Health, Watson helped direct the Human Genome Project, a project to map and decipher all the genes in the human chromosomes, but he eventually resigned because of alleged conflicts of interest involving his investments in private biotechnology companies.…
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