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From
the NIH website:
Begun as a one-room Laboratory of Hygiene in 1887, the
National Institutes of Health (NIH) today is one of the
world's foremost medical research centers. An agency of
the Department of Health and Human Services, the NIH is
the Federal focal point for health research.
NIH is the steward of medical and behavioral research
for the Nation. Its mission is science in pursuit of fundamental
knowledge about the nature and behavior of living systems
and the application of that knowledge to extend healthy
life and reduce the burdens of illness and disability.
The goals of the agency are as follows: 1) foster fundamental
creative discoveries, innovative research strategies,
and their applications as a basis to advance significantly
the Nation's capacity to protect and improve health; 2)
develop, maintain, and renew scientific human and physical
resources that will assure the Nation's capability to
prevent disease; 3) expand the knowledge base in medical
and associated sciences in order to enhance the Nation's
economic well-being and ensure a continued high return
on the public investment in research; and 4) exemplify
and promote the highest level of scientific integrity,
public accountability, and social responsibility in the
conduct of science.
In realizing these goals, the NIH provides leadership
and direction to programs designed to improve the health
of the Nation by conducting and supporting research: in
the causes, diagnosis, prevention, and cure of human diseases;
in the processes of human growth and development; in the
biological effects of environmental contaminants; in the
understanding of mental, addictive and physical disorders;
in directing programs for the collection, dissemination,
and exchange of information in medicine and health, including
the development and support of medical libraries and the
training of medical librarians and other health information
specialists. |
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