National Institutes of Health

The National Institutes of Health (NIH), the nation's medical research agency, is the primary federal agency for supporting and conducting medical research, including basic, clinical, and translational research. Leading the way to important medical discoveries that improve health and save lives, NIH scientists investigate ways to prevent disease as well as to discover the causes, treatments, and cures for both common diseases and the more than 6,000 rare diseases that affect our nation's citizenry. NIH also contributes knowledge about disease to the global community and collaborates on international health threats. For more than a century, NIH has played a key role in improving the health of the nation.