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About NIH

NIH Organization

The National Institutes of Health is made up of 27 different components called Institutes and Centers. Each has its own specific research agenda. All but three of these components receive their funding directly from Congress, and administrate their own budgets.

The Office of the Director is the central office, responsible for setting policy for NIH and for planning, managing, and coordinating the programs and activities of all the NIH components.

Location

Headquarters for the Office of the Director and the Institutes and Centers are located in Bethesda, Maryland, USA. NIH has more than 75 buildings in a campus-like environment over 300 acres. Some research is performed on campus in state-of-the-art laboratory facilities, although more than 80% of research activities are conducted by scientists working in every state and around the world.

The nation's medical research hospital

aerial view of the Clinical Research Center in Bethesda, Maryland

The Mark O. Hatfield Clinical Research Center is the latest addition to the NIH Clinical Center, the world's largest clinical research complex. The Clinical Center serves a dual role: providing humane and healing patient care as well as the environment clinical researchers need to advance clinical science.

More campus photos

This page last reviewed on September 20, 2012

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