NIBIB Fact Sheet
Contents
Introduction
The National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, the newest component of the National Institutes of Health, takes a unique approach to solving the mysteries of disease and enhancing human health. NIBIB, created in 2000, is a multidisciplinary institute that supports cutting-edge research in both the biological and the physical sciences. Technologies developed under NIBIB's guidance enhance the study of a broad spectrum of biological processes, ultimately improving diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease.
NIBIB's Overarching Goals
NIBIB's overarching goals are to:
- Support and conduct focused, multidisciplinary research in biomedical imaging and bioengineering to advance the nation’s health care agenda.
- Develop and implement programs that provide interdisciplinary training in the quantitative and biomedical sciences. These programs help ensure availability of future generations of highly trained researchers.
- Promote trans-NIH, interagency, and multi-organizational collaborations to translate fundamental research discoveries into biomedical applications.
- Establish an intramural research and training program focusing on emerging biomedical technologies that cut across disciplines and applications.
NIBIB's Organizational Structure
In addition to its offices of science administration and administrative management, NIBIB oversees an extramural science program, including:
- Division of Discovery Science and Technology, which fosters basic bioengineering and biomedical imaging research, including the development of new technologies.
- Division of Applied Science and Technology, which ensures that the outcomes of basic research find clinical applications.
- Division of Interdisciplinary Training, which coordinates cross-disciplinary research training and education, including training program development.
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Research Directions
Examples of innovative technologies supported by NIBIB include:
Light-Based Tools for Biotechnology, Medicine, and Surgery – New optical techniques provide for innovative ways to study, diagnose, and treat conditions in living beings. For example, light may be used to interrogate tissues for diagnostic purposes and may one day be the tool of choice for minimally invasive inspection of plaque in arteries.
Tissue Engineering – Tissue engineers work with cells, scaffolds, and bioreactors to develop specific types of tissues. The long-term application includes promoting growth of skin on burn victims, restoring vision in damaged eyes, or potentially creating new organs for transplant patients.
Drug Delivery Devices – Development of effective methods for delivering medications to targets in the human body often lags far behind development of the drugs themselves. Some of the innovative possibilities now being evaluated include microneedles that allow painless delivery of drugs, use of ultrasonic energy to enhance drug uptake, and implantable products that release drugs as needed.
Diagnostic Techniques – Magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI, creates images of the body using properties of the resonance spin of atomic nuclei, especially hydrogen. New research in this noninvasive imaging technique has yielded superior anatomical detail in thin-section images of the body from any angle and direction. These high-resolution images, along with functional images that observe brain activity, can enhance diagnosis and treatment of many diseases and disorders.
Training
To ensure that the nation has interdisciplinary scientists capable of conducting high-quality biomedical imaging and bioengineering research, NIBIB offers a number of training opportunities. Currently, NIBIB supports institutional research training grants and individual fellowships (pre- and post-doctoral), academic research enhancement awards, mentored and independent career development awards, and supplements for minorities and individuals with disabilities to attract individuals to careers in biomedical imaging and bioengineering.
Research Collaborations
NIBIB fosters the transformation of emerging technological capabilities in biomedical imaging and bioengineering into clinically useful tools. To achieve this task efficiently, NIBIB takes full advantage of existing resources through collaborations with biomedical imaging and bioengineering programs at NIH and other Federal agencies.
- NIBIB participates in the NIH Human Brain Project to promote research on neuroinformatics, a new field devoted to the establishment of neuroscience databases.
- NIBIB partnered with the National Academy of Engineering/Institute of Medicine to explore the potential for harnessing advances in engineering and related fields to improve health care delivery.
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Funding Opportunities
NIBIB supports biomedical imaging and bioengineering research through a variety of NIH grant mechanisms.
- Research Projects (R01) support investigator initiated research projects.
- Exploratory/Developmental Grants (R21) support projects that explore novel concepts.
- Research Program Projects (P01) provide broad-based, multidisciplinary, and often long-term support.
- Small Research Grants (R03) are nonrenewable grants supporting preliminary, short-term projects.
- Research Career/Training/Fellowship (F, K, and T) Awards support training or career development.
- Academic Research Enhancement Awards (R15) fund small research projects at academic institutions that are not primarily research institutes.
- Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Awards support exploration of ideas that may ultimately lead to commercial products or services (SBIR), or fund cooperative research and development projects between small business concerns and research institutions (STTR).
Additional Information
- To learn more about NIBIB activities and funding opportunities, visit www.nibib.nih.gov.
- Join the NIBIB Listserv (https://list.nih.gov/archives/nibib_listserv.html), which provides timely notice of NIBIB funding opportunities, workshops, and symposia.
- Contact the NIBIB resources listed below:
National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering
6707 Democracy Boulevard
Bethesda, MD 20892-5469
Telephone: 301-496-8859
Fax: 301-480-0679
Extramural Scientific Programs
Telephone: 301-451-4772
Fax: 301-480-4973
Office of Science Administration
Telephone: 301-451-6768
Fax: 301-480-4973
Grants Management Office
Telephone: 301-451-4782
Fax: 301-480-4974
Scientific Review Office
Telephone: 301-496-8633
Fax: 301-480-0675
Office of Science Policy and Public Liaison
Telephone: 301-451-4772
Fax: 301-480-1613
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Last Updated On 10/05/2011