The NIH Almanac
National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering
Mission | History | Director | Programs | Photo Gallery
Mission
The mission of the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) is to improve health by leading the development and accelerating the application of biomedical technologies. The Institute is committed to integrating the physical and engineering sciences with the life sciences to advance basic research and medical care. This is achieved through: research and development of new biomedical imaging and bioengineering techniques and devices to fundamentally improve the detection, treatment, and prevention of disease; enhancing existing imaging and bioengineering modalities; supporting related research in the physical and mathematical sciences; encouraging research and development in multidisciplinary areas; supporting studies to assess the effectiveness and outcomes of new biologics, materials, processes, devices, and procedures; developing technologies for early disease detection and assessment of health status; and developing advanced imaging and engineering techniques for conducting biomedical research at multiple scales.
Important Events in NIBIB History
December 29, 2000—The National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering Establishment Act (H.R. 1795) is signed into law by President William Jefferson Clinton.
2001—The NIBIB Establishment Plan is approved by the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, Mr. Tommy G. Thompson.
Dr. Donna J. Dean is named as Acting Director of NIBIB.
The National Advisory Council for Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering is established.
NIBIB assumes administration of the NIH's Bioengineering Consortium (BECON).
The NIBIB website is launched.
2002—A working group is established to review and recommend the transfer of grants to NIBIB.
NIBIB receives its first budget appropriation (FY 2002) in the amount of $112 million.
NIBIB announces its first 2 Requests for Applications.
The NIBIB announces the award of its first research grants.
Dr. Roderic Pettigrew, professor of radiology, medicine (cardiology), and bioengineering, and director of the Emory Center for MR Research, Emory University School of Medicine, assumes the position of Director of NIBIB.
Dr. Donna Dean becomes the first Deputy Director of NIBIB.
2003—The National Advisory Council for Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering meets for the first time in Bethesda, Maryland.
A new NIBIB organization is announced by Dr. Roderic Pettigrew.
The NIBIB Special Emphasis Panel is established.
Dr. Belinda Seto is named the Deputy Director of NIBIB.
2004—NIBIB initiates its Strategic Planning process.
NIBIB and the Center for Devices and Radiological Health, FDA, sign an interagency agreement establishing the joint Laboratory for the Assessment of Medical Imaging Systems.
NIBIB hosts a Blue Ribbon Panel on Intramural Research to provide recommendations on the planning and development of an intramural research program.
NIBIB and Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) announce a partnership to support the HHMI/NIBIB Interfaces Initiative for Interdisciplinary Graduate Research Training.
The Positron Emission Tomography (PET) Radiochemistry Group joins the Institute as the NIBIB Intramural Research Program.
NIBIB and the National Science Foundation sponsor a conference on "Research at the Interface of the Life and Physical Sciences: Bridging the Sciences."
2005—NIBIB issues a draft Strategic Plan and invites public comment.
NIBIB holds its first Regional Grantsmanship Seminar in Troy, New York. The seminars are intended to provide an overview of NIBIB funding opportunities and NIH application, review, and grant-making processes and policies.
NIBIB launches re-designed website.
2006—NIBIB awards its first Quantum Grant to Baylor College of Medicine.
NIBIB names Dr. Richard Leapman as Scientific Director of the Intramural Sciences Program.
NIBIB publishes its first strategic plan, Strategic Plan I, following a year-long process of input from the public, staff, and groups of outside experts. This plan is designed to (1) define key goals, (2) optimize the use of resources, and (3) install tools and processes for smart management in order to help NIBIB achieve its mission and realize its vision.
NIBIB website wins Award of Distinction from The Communicator Awards.
2007—NIBIB celebrates its 5-year anniversary with a commemorative scientific symposium on technological innovation in medicine entitled, "Changing the World's Healthcare through Biomedical Technologies." View Image.
NIBIB presents the first NIBIB Landmark Achievement Award to Dr. Paul Lauterbur (posthumously), 2003 Nobel Laureate, Physiology or Medicine, for his vision and fundamental discoveries in the development of magnetic resonance imaging. View Image.
The Division of Bioengineering and Physical Science is transferred from the NIH Office of Research Services to the NIBIB intramural research program.
NIBIB awards Quantum Grants to Wake Forest University Health Sciences, the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine-CWRU, and Massachusetts General Hospital.
NIBIB and the Department of Biotechnology of the Ministry of Science and Technology, Republic of India, sign a bilateral agreement to develop low-cost healthcare technologies aimed at the medically underserved. View Image.
2008—NIBIB enters into a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Defense and the Office of Naval Research to support and manage the Armed Forces Institute of Regenerative Medicine (AFIRM). Over the next 5 years, AFIRM will provide $8.5 million per year for research in the field of regenerative medicine.
NIBIB holds the first Quantum Grantees' meeting.
NIBIB's Point-of-Care Technologies Network holds a first-year meeting to discuss progress and future plans.
Dr. Roderic I. Pettigrew, NIBIB Director, participates in the 2008 South Africa Ph.D. Project Conference.
NIBIB and the Department of Biotechnology of the Ministry of Science and Technology, Republic of India, hold a 2-day workshop entitled "Low-Cost Diagnostic and Therapeutic Medical Technologies," in Hyderabad, India, aimed at promoting U.S./Indian scientific collaborations in the development of low-cost diagnostics and therapeutics.
2009—NIBIB hosts the first in a series of forums on Technology Translation. The first forum focused on the role of public-private partnerships in the development and translation of in-vitro diagnostic technologies.
NIBIB provides support for the RSNA RadLex Ontology Project, which will provide a uniform source of terms and concepts for indexing and retrieving imaging information sources.
The Neuroimaging Tools and Resources Clearinghouse (NITRC) wins the 2009 Excellence in Government Award from the American Council for Technology. NITRC is supported by the NIH Blueprint for Neuroscience Research and managed by NIBIB. View Image.
NIBIB awards ten grants in Phase II of the NIBIB-HHMI Interfaces Initiative for Interdisciplinary Graduate Research Training.
Biographical Sketch of NIBIB Director Roderic I. Pettigrew, Ph.D., M.D.
Roderic I. Pettigrew, Ph.D., M.D., is the first Director of the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering at the NIH. Prior to his appointment at the NIH, he was professor of radiology, medicine (cardiology) at Emory University and Bioengineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology and director of the Emory Center for MR Research, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta.
Dr. Pettigrew is known for his pioneering work at Emory University involving 4-dimensional imaging of the heart using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Dr. Pettigrew graduated cum laude with a B.S. in physics from Morehouse College, where he was a Merrill Scholar; has an M.S. in nuclear science and engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; and a Ph.D. in applied radiation physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he was a Whitaker Harvard-MIT Health Sciences Scholar. Subsequently, he received an M.D. from the University of Miami School of Medicine in an accelerated 2-year program, did an internship and residency in internal medicine at Emory University and completed a residency in nuclear medicine at the University of California, San Diego. Dr. Pettigrew then spent a year as a clinical research scientist with Picker International, the first manufacturer of MRI equipment. In 1985, he joined Emory as a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Fellow with an interest in noninvasive cardiac imaging.
Dr. Pettigrew's awards include membership in Phi Beta Kappa, the Bennie Award (Benjamin E. Mays) for Achievement, and being named the Most Distinguished Alumnus of the University of Miami. In 1989, when the Radiological Society of North America celebrated its 75th diamond anniversary scientific meeting, it selected Dr. Pettigrew to give the keynote Eugene P. Pendergrass New Horizons Lecture. He has also served as chairman of the Diagnostic Radiology Study Section, Center for Scientific Review, NIH. He has been elected to membership in the Institute of Medicine and fellowship in the American Heart Association, American College of Cardiology, American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, and the Biomedical Engineering Society.
NIBIB Directors
| Name | In Office from | To |
|---|---|---|
| Donna J. Dean (Acting) | April 26, 2001 | September 22, 2002 |
| Roderic I. Pettigrew | September 23, 2002 | Present |
NIBIB Programs
Extramural Research
The NIBIB extramural research program brings together the research communities of biomedical imaging, bioengineering, the physical sciences, and the life sciences to advance human health by improving quality of life and reducing the burden of disease. The extramural research program is organized into 3 divisions: Discovery Science and Technology, Applied Science and Technology, and Inter-Disciplinary Training.
The Institute supports basic research and research training through investigator-initiated grants, contracts, program project and center grants, and career development and training awards.
Intramural Research
The NIBIB Intramural Research Program plays a key role in advancing the Institute's mission. Specifically, the program advances knowledge in imaging and bioengineering research using a combination of basic, translational, and clinical science. The intramural research program has also developed several unique training opportunities in these and related fields.
The Intramural Research Program has expertise that spans technologies ranging in scale from near-atomic resolution to intact organisms. Current research areas include: molecular imaging probe development; nano theranostics; cardiovascular imaging; high resolution optical imaging; biophotonics; supramolecular structure and function; dynamics of macromolecular assembly; complex biological systems; immunochemical nanoscale analysis and diagnostics; pharmacokinetics and drug delivery; and non-invasive optical imaging.
NIBIB's Intramural Research Program offers training opportunities at several educational levels:
- Imaging Sciences Training Program — a joint NIBIB/NIH Clinical Center program for MDs and PhDs seeking research careers in clinical, translational, and basic imaging research. www.cc.nih.gov/drd/training/index.html
- Research Associateship Program — a joint NIH/NIST program for postdocs. www.training.nih.gov/postdoctoral/nist.asp
- Biomedical Engineering Summer Internship Program — for college students completing their junior year in a bioengineering program. www.nibib.nih.gov/Training/UndergradGrad/besip/home
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