Resource Report

URL: http://www.nih.gov/icd/od/

Proper Citation: NIH Office of the Director (RRID:SCR_012748)

Description: The NIH is comprised of the Office of the Director and 27 Institutes and Centers. The Office of the Director is the central office at NIH. The OD is responsible for setting policy for NIH and for planning, managing, and coordinating the programs and activities of all the NIH components. The NIH Director provides overall leadership to NIH activities in both scientific and administrative matters. Although each institute within the NIH has a separate mission, the NIH Director plays an active role in shaping the agency''s research agenda and outlook. With a unique and critical perspective on the mission of the entire NIH, the Director is responsible for providing leadership to the institutes for identifying needs and opportunities, especially for efforts that involve several institutes. The NIH Director is assisted by the Principal Deputy Director, who shares in the overall direction of the agency''s activities. In carrying out these responsibilities, the NIH Director stays informed about program priorities and accomplishments through regular staff meetings, discussions, and briefing sessions with OD and institute staff. The Director also receives input from: * the extramural scientific community, including both individual researchers and scientific organizations * patient advocacy and voluntary health groups that deal directly with NIH or indirectly through Congress and the media * the Congress and the Administration the Council of Public Representatives, which brings public views to NIH. Ongoing discussions with these groups and others provides the basis for an established framework within which priorities for the agency are identified, reviewed, and justified. Dr. Francis Collins, the NIH Director, has outlined five key themes for NIH: * Applying high throughput technologies to understand fundamental biology, and to uncover the causes of specific diseases * Translating basic science discoveries into new and better treatments * Putting science to work for the benefit of health care reform * Encouraging a greater focus on global health * Reinvigorating and empowering the biomedical research community Program offices in the Office of the Director are responsible for stimulating specific areas of research throughout NIH and for planning and supporting research and related activities. Current program areas are: minority health, women''s health, AIDS research, disease prevention, and behavioral and social sciences research. Program offices within the Office of the Director fund research through the institutes.

Abbreviations: NIH OD, OD

Synonyms: Office of the Director at National Institutes of Health, National Institutes of Health Office of the Director, Office of the Director

Resource Type: institution