Healthy Websites: NIH

by Aimee Amodio | More from this Blogger

17 May 2008 12:18 PM

One of my favorite websites for health information is NIH -- the National Institutes of Health. NIH is a part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and is the primary government agency responsible for conducting and supporting medical research.

The agency traces its roots back to the Laboratory of Hygiene at the Marine Hospital in Staten Island, New York -- way back in 1887. Today, the NIH is made up of twenty-seven different Institutes and Centers that provide leadership, guidance, and financial support to medical researchers across the country and around the world. More than eighteen thousand people work for the National Institutes of Health.

NIH's mission is to find causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. They also seek to prevent disease whenever possible, understand the processes of human growth and development, and investigate the effects of environmental contaminants. The agency supports creative discoveries, innovative research, and scientific integrity. Approximately eighty percent of government funding for the NIH is used for funding research grants.

Among the Institutes and Centers that make up the National Institutes of Health are:

• The National Cancer Institute (NCI). Established in 1937, the National Cancer Institute leads the national effort to treat cancer while minimizing suffering and death. Among many other goals, NCI supports research that helps identify cancers at the earliest stage possible and eliminate cancer using innovative treatment.
• The Center for Scientific Review (CSR). Established in 1946, this center conducts reviews of research submitted to the NIH.
• The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI). Established in 1948, the NHLBI leads the national effort to research, treat, and cure diseases of the heart, blood vessels, lungs, and blood. Since 1997, the NHLBI is also home to the NIH Women's Health Initiative.
• The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). Established in 1949, this institute looks to understand, treat, and prevent mental illness.
• The National Library of Medicine (NLM). Established in 1956, this organization collects, organizes, and disseminates medical information to the public.
• The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). Established in 1962, this center focuses on fertility, pregnancy, growth, and development.
• The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). Established in 1973, the NIDA leads the nation in working to improve drug abuse and addiction prevention, treatment, and policy.
• The National Institute on Aging (NIA). Established in 1974, the NIA leads national research on aging in order to promote a better quality of life for older Americans.
• The National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI). Established in 1989, this institute is part of the world-wide Human Genome Project.
• The National Center for Complimentary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM). Established in 1999, this center explores complimentary and alternative medicine under scientific conditions.

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