NIH (National Institutes of Health)


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Title: National Institutes Of Health
Date: 2012
Source: Wikipedia



The NIH's research is divided into two parts: the Extramural Research Program is responsible for the funding of biomedical research outside the NIH, while the Intramural Research Program (IRP) is the internal research program of the NIH, known for its synergistic approach to biomedical science. With 1,200 principal investigators and more than 4,000 postdoctoral fellows in basic, translational, and clinical research, the IRP is the largest biomedical research institution on earth. The unique funding environment of the IRP facilitates opportunities to conduct both long-term and high-impact science that would otherwise be difficult to undertake. With rigorous external reviews ensuring that only the most innovative research secures funding, the IRP is responsible for many scientific accomplishments, including the discovery of fluoride to prevent tooth decay, the use of lithium to manage bipolar disorder, and the creation of vaccines against hepatitis, Haemophi­lus influenzae (HIB), and human papillomavirus. Intramural research is primarily conducted at the main campus in Bethesda, Maryland, and the surrounding communities. The National Institute on Aging and the National Institute on Drug Abuse are located in Baltimore, Maryland, and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences is in Research Triangle, North Carolina. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) maintains Rocky Mountain Labs in Hamilton, Montana, with an emphasis on virology.

The goal of NIH research is to acquire new knowledge to help prevent, detect, diagnose, and treat disease and disability, from the rarest genetic disorder to the common cold. The NIH mission is to uncover new knowledge that will lead to better health for everyone. NIH works toward that mission by conducting research in its own laboratories, supporting the research of non-federal scientists (in universities, medical schools, hospitals, and research institutions throughout the country and abroad), helping in the training of research investigators, and fostering communication of medical and health sciences information (Wikipedia, 2012).

Title: NIH Plans Bioterrorism Research
March 14, 2002
Source: UCLA

Abstract: Testing of potential new vaccines against anthrax and the Ebola virus and basic research on how the immune system fends off invaders top the government's plans for how to spend some $1.2 billion in bioterrorism research funding.

Congress has not yet voted on the Bush administration's proposal to award the National Institutes of Health that amount for bioterrorism work.

But the NIH on Thursday unveiled its plans to explain the mesh of basic laboratory research and clinical studies necessary for battling the most worrisome bioterrorism agents: anthrax, smallpox, plague, tularemia, viral hemorrhagic fevers and botulism.

Such research, particularly studies focusing on the immune system, brings an added bonus, said Dr. Anthony Fauci, the NIH's bioterrorism chief. What scientists learn about how the immune system deals with, or is stumped by, a bioterrorist-caused disease should shed light on naturally occurring killers, too, he said.

The NIH's anti-bioterrorism agenda describes six major research categories:

1. Microbial biology, including unraveling the genetic structure of each bioterrorism agent, to understand how the bugs cause disease.

2. Better understanding of human immunology, important as a basis to create new vaccines, diagnostic tests and broadly acting drugs.

3. Developing new vaccines. Experimental candidates against the Ebola virus and better anthrax vaccines should soon enter clinical trials, the NIH said.

4. Hunting new treatments. Already NIH research has uncovered that an anti-AIDS drug called cidofovir may help treat smallpox.

5. Hunting more rapid tests to diagnose if someone is infected with a bioterrorism agent.

6. Developing the very tools needed to do such research, including more high-containment laboratories and animal models of the diseases (UCLA, 2002).