You are here
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
Mission
The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) provides global leadership for research, training, and education to promote the prevention and treatment of heart, lung, blood, and sleep disorders to enhance the health of all individuals so that they can live longer and more fulfilling lives.
The NHLBI stimulates basic discoveries about the causes of disease, enables the translation of basic discoveries into clinical practice, fosters training and mentoring of emerging scientists and physicians, and communicates research advances to the public. It creates and supports a robust, collaborative research infrastructure in partnership with private and public organizations, including academic institutions, industry, and other government agencies. The institute collaborates with patients, families, health care professionals, scientists, professional societies, patient advocacy groups, community organizations, and the media to promote the application of research results and leverage resources to address public health needs. The NHLBI also collaborates with international organizations to help reduce the burden of heart, lung, and blood diseases worldwide.
Important Events in NHLBI History
June 1948 — President Harry S. Truman signed the National Heart Act, which established the National Heart Institute (NHI) in the Public Health Service (PHS) as well as the National Advisory Heart Council.
August 1948 — Surgeon General Leonard A. Scheele, by General Circular No. 36, Organization Order No. 14, established the NHI as one of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), responsible for heart research, training, and administration as set forth in the National Heart Act. Intramural research projects in cardiovascular diseases and gerontology, conducted elsewhere in NIH, were transferred to the NHI. The director of the NHI was designated to lead and coordinate the entire PHS heart program.
September 1948 — The National Advisory Heart Council held its first meeting. Dr. Paul Dudley White served as the Council's Executive Director.
January 1949 — Cooperative research units were established at the University of California, University of Minnesota, Tulane University, and Massachusetts General Hospital. These units were jointly financed by NIH and the institutions, pending completion of the NHI’s own research organization and availability of additional research facilities.
July 1949 — The NHI Intramural Research Program was established.
The Heart Disease Epidemiology Study at Framingham, Massachusetts, was transferred from the PHS's Bureau of State Services to the NHI.
July 1953 — The Clinical Center admitted its first patient for heart disease research.
July 1957 — The first members of the NHI Board of Scientific Counselors began their terms. The Board was established in 1956 "to provide advice on matters of general policy, particularly from a long-range viewpoint, as they relate to the intramural research program."
February 1959 — The American Heart Association and the NHI presented a report to the nation called A Decade of Progress Against Cardiovascular Disease.
October 1968 — A Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Dr. Marshall W. Nirenberg, Chief of the NHI Laboratory of Biochemical Genetics, for discovering the key to deciphering the genetic code. Dr. Nirenberg was the first NIH Nobel laureate and the first federal employee to receive a Nobel Prize.
October 1968 — The NHI received the National Hemophilia Foundation's Research and Scientific Achievement Award for its "medical leadership ... tremendous stimulation and support of research activities directly related to the study and treatment of hemophilia."
November 1969 — The NHI was renamed the National Heart and Lung Institute (NHLI), reflecting an expansion of its functions.
February 1971 — In his Health Message to the Congress, President Richard M. Nixon identified sickle cell anemia as a high-priority disease target and called for increased federal expenditures. Subsequently, the Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW) assistant secretary for health and scientific affairs assigned NIH and NHLI as the lead agencies responsible for coordinating a National Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) Program.
June 1972 — HEW Secretary Elliot Richardson approved the National High Blood Pressure Education Program to alert the public and clinicians to the dangers of hypertension. The secretary appointed the Hypertension Information and Education Advisory Committee, chaired by the director of the NIH, and the Interagency Working Group, chaired by the director of the NHLI, to implement the program.
July 1972 — The NHLI initiated the National High Blood Pressure Education Program (NHBPEP).
July 1972 — Secretary Richardson approved a reorganization of the NHLI, elevating the institute to bureau status within NIH.
June 1976 — The NHLI was renamed the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, reflecting an expansion in blood-related activities within the institute.
November 1979 — The results of the Hypertension Detection and Follow-up Program, a clinical trial initiated by the NHLI in 1971, provided evidence that systematic, aggressive treatment of hypertension saves lives.
October 1981 — The NHLBI Beta-Blocker Heart Attack Trial demonstrated benefits to participants who received the medicine propranolol, compared to those who received a placebo.
October 1983 — The NHLBI Coronary Artery Surgery Study results demonstrated that mildly symptomatic patients with coronary artery disease can safely defer coronary artery bypass surgery until symptoms worsen.
January 1984 — The NHLBI Lipid Research Clinics Coronary Primary Prevention Trial established conclusively that reducing total blood cholesterol reduces the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) in men who were at increased risk for the condition because of elevated cholesterol levels. Each 1% decrease in cholesterol was shown to reduce heart attack risk by 2%.
April 1985 — Phase I of the NHLBI Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction Trial found that a new thrombolytic agent called recombinant tissue plasminogen activator is approximately twice as effective as streptokinase in opening thrombosed coronary arteries.
October 1985 — NHLBI-supported researchers Michael S. Brown and Joseph L. Goldstein received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their discoveries concerning the regulation of cholesterol metabolism.
November 1985 — The NHLBI initiated the National Cholesterol Education Program.
June 1986 — Results of the NHLBI prophylactic penicillin trial demonstrated the efficacy of prophylactic penicillin in reducing morbidity and mortality associated with pneumococcal infections in children with SCD.
March 1989 — The NHLBI initiated the National Asthma Education Program. The program was later renamed the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program (NAEPP).
September 1990 — Scientists from the NHLBI and the National Cancer Institute began the first gene therapy trial in a human patient, a 4-year-old girl with an inherited immune dysfunction.
January 1991 — The NHLBI developed an Obesity Education Initiative to educate the public and health professionals about obesity as an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease and its relationship to other risk factors, such as high blood pressure and high blood cholesterol.
June 1991 — The NHLBI initiated the National Heart Attack Alert Program.
July 1991 — The NHLBI Systolic Hypertension in the Elderly Program demonstrated that low-dose pharmacologic therapy for isolated systolic hypertension in people aged 60 years or older significantly reduces stroke and myocardial infarction.
August 1991 — The NHLBI Studies of Left Ventricular Dysfunction demonstrated that use of enalapril — an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor — causes significant reduction in mortality and hospitalization for congestive heart failure in patients with symptomatic heart failure.
January 1995 — Results of the NHLBI Multicenter Study of Hydroxyurea demonstrated that hydroxyurea reduced the number of painful episodes by 50% in severely affected adults with SCD. This is the first effective treatment for adult sickle cell patients.
September 1995 — Results of the NHLBI Bypass Angioplasty Revascularization Investigation demonstrated that patients taking diabetes medication who had blockages in two or more coronary arteries and were treated with coronary artery bypass surgery had, at five years, a markedly lower death rate than similar patients treated with angioplasty.
May 1996 — Framingham Heart Study investigators concluded that earlier and more aggressive treatment of hypertension is vital to preventing congestive heart failure.
The Treatment of Mild Hypertension Study demonstrated that lifestyle approaches, such as weight loss, a healthy eating plan, and physical activity, are crucial for reducing blood lipids in those treated for Stage I hypertension.
September 1996 — Findings from the NHLBI Asthma Clinical Research Network indicated that inhalation of a beta-agonist at regularly scheduled times is safe for people with asthma but provides no greater benefit than use of the medication only when asthma symptoms occur.
November 1996 — Two studies, the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) trial and the Trial of Nonpharmacologic Intervention in the Elderly, showed that lifestyle changes, such as modifying one’s diet and losing weight, substantially reduce blood pressure in adults and eliminate the need for antihypertensive medication in some older patients.
January 1997 — Results from the Pathobiological Determinants of Atherosclerosis in Youth program showed that atherosclerosis develops before age 20 and that high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, and cigarette smoking affect the progression of atherosclerosis equally in women and men, regardless of race.
May 1997 — Results from the antiarrhythmic versus implantable defibrillator clinical trial demonstrated that implantable cardiac defibrillators are superior to antiarrhythmic drug therapy for improving overall survival for patients with life-threatening heart arrhythmias.
October 1997 — The NHLBI was given responsibility for the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI), a study that began in 1991 to address chronic diseases in women.
March 1999 — A large clinical trial of mechanical ventilator use for intensive care patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome demonstrated that approximately 25% fewer deaths occurred among patients receiving small, rather than large, breaths of air from a mechanical ventilator.
September 2000 — NHLBI-supported investigators identified a gene for primary pulmonary hypertension.
January 2001 — Results of the DASH Sodium trial showed that dietary sodium reduction substantially lowers blood pressure in people with high blood pressure; the greatest effect was seen when sodium reduction was combined with a diet rich in fruits and vegetables and low in saturated fat previously shown to lower blood pressure (that is, the DASH diet).
April 2001 — The NHLBI released international guidelines for diagnosis, management, and prevention of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
July 2001 — A self-contained artificial heart was implanted in a patient for the first time.
September 2001 — The NHLBI, along with the American Heart Association and other partners, launched a national Act in Time to Heart Attack Signs campaign to increase awareness of the symptoms of heart attack and the need for a fast response.
July 2002 — The NHLBI stopped early the trial of the estrogen plus progestin component of the WHI due to increased breast cancer risk and lack of overall benefits. The multicenter trial also found increases in CHD, stroke, and pulmonary embolism in participants on estrogen plus progestin compared to women taking placebo pills. In 2004, the WHI component evaluating estrogen-alone hormone therapy also was stopped early because the long-term risks of the medications outweighed the long-term benefits.
December 2002 — Results of the NHLBI Atrial Fibrillation Follow-Up Investigation of Rhythm Management trial indicated that a strategy involving rate control rather than rhythm control may be the preferred treatment for patients with atrial fibrillation. The rate control strategy involves the use of less expensive drugs and fewer hospitalizations.
Results from the NHLBI Antihypertensive and Lipid-Lowering Treatment to Prevent Heart Attack trial (ALLHAT), the largest hypertension clinical trial ever conducted, showed that traditional diuretics are at least as effective as newer medicines (calcium channel blockers and angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors) in treating high blood pressure and preventing some forms of heart disease. These findings followed ALLHAT results from 2000, when researchers reported that an alpha-adrenergic blocker was less effective than the diuretic in reducing risk of some forms of cardiovascular disease (CVD).
January 2003 — A study demonstrated that magnetic resonance imaging can detect heart attacks faster and more accurately than traditional methods in patients with chest pain who arrive at an emergency room.
February 2003 — The NHLBI Aspirin for the Prevention of Recurrent Venous Thromboembolism trial was stopped because treatment with low-dose warfarin to prevent the recurrence of deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism, both blood clotting disorders, was found to benefit the patients.
May 2003 — The NHLBI National Emphysema Treatment Trial found that lung volume reduction surgery benefits emphysema patients who have certain clinical characteristics. Later, these findings helped determine the Medicare coverage policy for the surgery.
July 2003 — The NHLBI and Gen-Probe developed a test to screen donated blood for the West Nile virus.
March 2004 — Preliminary results of the NHLBI Sudden Cardiac Death in Heart Failure Trial demonstrated that an implantable cardiac defibrillator can reduce the risk of death from arrhythmia for heart failure patients.
August 2004 — The NHBPEP Working Group on High Blood Pressure in Children and Adolescents released the Fourth Report on the Diagnosis, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure in Children and Adolescents.
An NHLBI-funded study showed that nucleic acid-amplification testing for HIV-1 and hepatitis C virus further safeguards the nation’s blood supply.
October 2004 — Researchers participating in the NHLBI Asthma Clinical Research Network demonstrated that genetic differences affect how adult patients with mild asthma respond over time to daily doses of inhaled albuterol, a drug used to relieve acute asthma symptoms.
November 2004 — Results of the NHLBI Prevention of Events With Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitor Therapy (PEACE) study demonstrated that many CHD patients who were receiving state-of-the-art therapy do not gain extra cardiovascular protection from ACE inhibitors.
December 2004 — The NHLBI Stroke Prevention Trial II (STOP II) showed that children with SCD who receive transfusions to prevent stroke revert to being high risk for stroke when transfusions are stopped. STOP II was initiated after an earlier trial demonstrated that periodic red blood cell transfusions reduce the stroke rate by 90% among high-risk children with SCD.
January 2005 — The NHLBI issued new guidelines for managing asthma during pregnancy.
February 2005 — NHLBI-supported scientists identified two genetic mutations common in individuals of African descent that are associated with a 40% reduction in LDL cholesterol.
February 2006 — Results from the WHI Calcium and Vitamin D Trial showed that calcium and vitamin D supplements in healthy postmenopausal women provide a modest improvement in bone mass preservation and prevent hip fractures in certain groups, including older women, but do not prevent other types of fractures or colorectal cancer.
May 2006 — Results from the Childhood Asthma Research and Education (CARE) Network showed that daily treatment with inhaled corticosteroids can reduce breathing problems in preschool-aged children at high risk for asthma but does not prevent them from developing persistent asthma.
The Prospective Investigation of Pulmonary Embolism Diagnosis II found that the ability to diagnose pulmonary embolism improves when a commonly used imaging test of the chest to detect potentially deadly blood clots in the lung is complemented by an extension of the scan to the legs — where the clots typically originate — or by a standard clinical assessment.
June 2006 — The SHould we emergently revascularize Occluded Coronaries for cardiogenic shocK trial showed that treating heart attack patients who have a life-threatening complication called cardiogenic shock with emergency angioplasty or bypass surgery greatly improves their long-term survival. Improved short-term survival was reported in 1999.
July 2006 — NHLBI scientists found that a hormone called brain natriuretic peptide, which can be detected in a simple blood test, can identify patients with SCD who have developed a life-threatening complication called pulmonary hypertension. The hormone also is a predictor of death in adult sickle cell patients.
Results from two randomized clinical trials demonstrated that inhaled nitric oxide administered within the first few weeks of life helps prevent chronic lung disease in some low birthweight, premature infants. Moreover, when administered within 48 hours after birth, it appears to protect some premature newborns from brain injury.
September 2006 — The NHLBI launched a peripheral arterial disease (PAD) awareness and education campaign called Stay in Circulation: Take Steps to Learn About P.A.D.
January 2007 — The NHLBI launched the Learn More Breathe Better® campaign to increase COPD awareness among primary care physicians and the public.
August 2007 — The NAEPP issued the Expert Panel Report 3: Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Asthma — an update of the latest scientific evidence and recommendations for clinical practice on asthma care.
October 2007 — NHLBI-supported researchers Mario Capecchi and Oliver Smithies were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their creation of a gene-targeting technique that allows scientists to create mice that are genetically modified to develop human diseases.
December 2007 — The NHLBI announced a new strategic plan to guide its next decade of research, training, and education.
January 2008 — Results from the ALLHAT study demonstrated that in people with high blood pressure, as part of metabolic syndrome, diuretics offer greater protection against cardiovascular disease and are at least as effective for lowering blood pressure as newer, more expensive medications.
February 2008 — The NHLBI stopped one treatment arm of the Action to Control Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetes (ACCORD) trial of adults with type 2 diabetes at high risk of heart attack and stroke; a review of available data showed that participants following a medical strategy to lower blood glucose below current recommendations to near-normal levels had an increased risk of death compared with those receiving the standard treatment strategy.
The NHLBI issued the first U.S. guidelines for the diagnosis and management of von Willebrand disease, the most common inherited bleeding disorder.
March 2008 — The WHI Follow-up Study confirmed that the health risks of long-term combination hormone therapy outweigh the benefits for postmenopausal women. Researchers reported that about three years after women stopped taking combination hormone therapy, many of the health effects of hormones such as increased risk of heart disease are diminished. But overall risks of stroke, blood clots, and cancer remain high.
April 2008 — Results from the Stop Atherosclerosis in Native Diabetics Study showed that aggressively lowering cholesterol and blood pressure levels below current targets in adults with type 2 diabetes may help to prevent, and possibly reverse, hardening of the arteries.
August 2008 — The NHLBI launched an educational website, Children and Clinical Studies, which features documentary videos, text, and graphics designed to promote a better understanding of research in children for health care professionals and the public.
December 2008 — The NHLBI expanded its open-access dataset of genetic and clinical data to include information collected from three NHLBI-funded asthma research networks: Child Asthma Management Program, Childhood Asthma Research and Education, and the Asthma Clinical Research Network.
Researchers identified a gene that directly affects the production of a form of hemoglobin, which is instrumental in modifying the severity of SCD and thalassemia.
March 2009 — Results from the Surgical Treatment for Ischemic Heart Failure (STICH) Trial showed that surgery to reshape the scarred left ventricle, the main pumping chamber of the heart, often performed in conjunction with coronary bypass surgery, failed to reduce deaths and hospitalizations in heart failure patients and did not improve quality of life compared to bypass alone.
June 2009 — Results from the BARI 2D study in patients with diabetes and stable coronary artery disease showed that while revascularization can be delayed for many patients receiving optimal medical therapy, patients with extensive coronary artery disease do better with prompt bypass surgery than with medical therapy alone.
The NHLBI joined with UnitedHealth Group’s Chronic Disease Initiative to launch a worldwide network of research and training centers aimed at building the institutional and community capacity needed to prevent and control chronic diseases globally.
August 2009 — Results from the NHLBI Sleep Heart Health Study showed that moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea is associated with an increased risk of death in middle-aged adults, especially men.
October 2009 — The Division of Cardiovascular Sciences was created by combining two previously existing divisions, the Division of Cardiovascular Diseases and the Division of Prevention and Population Sciences, so that the administrative structure better matched the dynamic interaction that exists among basic, clinical, and population sciences.
December 2009 — NHLBI-funded scientists, using a modified adult blood stem cell transplant regimen, reversed SCD in 9 of 10 adults who had been severely affected by the disease.
May 2010 — The NHLBI launched the National Asthma Control Initiative to improve asthma control in patients by bringing asthma care in line with evidence-based recommendations from the Expert Panel Report 3 Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Asthma and its companion document, Guidelines Implementation Panel Report: Partners Putting Guidelines Into Action.
September 2010 — The NHLBI and NICHD launched the nuMoM2b Heart Health Study to learn about health risks for certain pregnancy problems.
October 2010 — Follow-up findings from the NHLBI WHI study of hormone therapy in postmenopausal women showed that, in addition to having a higher incidence of breast cancer, the group treated with estrogen plus progestin had nearly double the rate of mortality from breast cancer than the placebo group five years after the study drug was discontinued.
April 2011 — Results from the NHLBI STICH study showed that adding bypass surgery to medical therapy for selected patients with chronic heart failure reduced the combination of deaths and heart-related hospital stays compared with medical therapy alone.
May 2011 — Results from the NHLBI pediatric hydroxyurea phase III clinical trial (BABY HUG) showed that hydroxyurea appears to be safe for treating SCD in children aged 8-19 months and can reduce their pain episodes and improve key blood measurements.
August 2011 — Results from the NHLBI COPD Clinical Research Network showed that adding a common antibiotic to the usual daily treatment regimen for COPD reduced the occurrence of acute exacerbations and improved patients' quality of life.
October 2011 — Research supported in part by the NHLBI showed that silencing the gene that produces the protein BCL11A can reactivate fetal hemoglobin production in adult mice bred to have SCD. The discovery presented a new target for future therapies for people with SCD.
October 2011 — The NHLBI launched the National Program to Reduce Cardiovascular Risk, a public-private partnership to improve control of CVD risk factors.
October 2011 — A rigorous clinical trial of therapy for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis conducted through the NHLBI Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis Clinical Research Network revealed that a commonly used three-drug regimen — prednisone, azathioprine, and N-acetylcysteine — may be harmful. The evaluation of the combination therapy was halted ahead of schedule in October 2011 when interim results showed that patients who received it had worse outcomes than those given a placebo.
November 2011 — The National Center on Sleep Disorders Research released the 2011 NIH Sleep Disorders Research Plan, which identifies research opportunities to be pursued over the next three to five years to spur new approaches to prevent and treat sleep disorders and sleep deficiency.
December 2011 — The NHLBI released a report called Expert Panel on Integrated Guidelines for Cardiovascular Risk Reduction in Children and Adolescents.
February 2012 — A detailed exploration of the coding and noncoding regions of selected DNA sequences found rare variants of genes that play a role in asthma susceptibility in people of different backgrounds, specifically African Americans and European Americans. The results may ultimately be useful in identifying people at risk for developing asthma.
March 2012 — An NHLBI comparative effectiveness study shows that older patients with stable CHD who undergo bypass surgery have better long-term survival rates than those who undergo a nonsurgical procedure known as percutaneous coronary intervention to improve blood flow to the heart muscle.
April 2012 — Dr. Gary Gibbons was appointed director of the NHLBI. He succeeded Dr. Elizabeth Nabel.
June 2012 — The NHLBI launched the National Blood Disorders Program, a public-private partnership to improve the management of SCD.
July 2012 — Results of the NHLBI Rule Out Myocardial Ischemia/Infarction by Computer Assisted Tomography (ROMICAT-II) trial showed that, in an emergency department setting and among patients with symptoms suggestive of acute coronary syndromes, incorporating computed tomography scans in standard screening procedures allows hospitals to send many patients with chest pain home sooner without compromising their safety.
An early phase study at the NIH Clinical Center showed that eltrombopag, a drug that was designed to stimulate production of platelets from the bone marrow and thereby improve blood clotting, can raise blood cell levels in some people with severe aplastic anemia who have failed to benefit from standard therapies. Eltrombopag was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in August 2016 for patients with severe aplastic anemia who have not responded well to immunosuppressive therapy.
August 2012 — Research based on work from the Framingham Heart Study showed that individuals with elevated levels of galectin 3, a marker of cardiac fibrosis, have an increased risk for heart failure and mortality.
A pilot study showed that heart catheter procedures guided by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are as safe as those guided by X-ray and take no more time. These findings suggest that real-time MRI-guided catheterization could be a radiation-free alternative to certain X-ray-guided procedures.
April 2013 — New NHLBI research helped explain why consumption of red meat leads to increased risk of heart disease by clogging arteries (atherosclerosis). Bacteria in the digestive tract metabolizes the compound carnitine, which is found in red meat and is a popular supplement. This leads to the production of a compound called trimethylamine-N-oxide, which is linked to the development of atherosclerosis.
June 2013 — Using data from the Framingham Heart Study, researchers found that a polymorphism in the MUC5B gene is associated with interstitial lung disease, a broad set of conditions characterized by progressive lung scarring and declining lung function.
July 2013 — NHLBI-funded scientists at Duke University succeeded in producing human heart tissue in vitro. Having the ability to engineer heart muscle brings scientists closer to developing cell-based cardiac therapies and drug screening for patients with heart disease.
July 2013 — NHLBI-funded researchers effectively reversed pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) in a rat model using inhalable gene therapy to deliver a gene for an enzyme called SERCA2a. As a result, SERCA2a levels increased and lung function was restored. This suggests a potential therapy for PAH, a progressive, potentially fatal disorder that affects about 150,000 people in the United States each year.
August 2013 — New NHLBI-funded research found that higher plasma levels of the biomarker suppressor of tumorigenicity 2 are associated with resistance to treatment for graft versus host disease (GVHD) following hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), and a four times greater likelihood of death within six months. The development of diagnostics to predict the emergence of GVHD and resistance to steroid therapy for the disease has the potential to significantly impact the early detection and treatment of GVHD, resulting in an improved outcome to HSCT.
October 2013 — NHLBI-supported researchers analyzed long-term data from two clinical trials in children with SCD. In the first study, researchers looking at data from the BABY HUG trial found that administrating hydroxyurea therapy to infants and toddlers with sickle cell anemia reduced hospitalization and cut medical costs. In the second study, researchers compared deaths due to ischemic stroke (a complication of SCD) in Black children versus White children over a nearly 20-year period between 1988 and 2007. The researchers believe that publication in 1998 of the STOP trial results, which demonstrated the efficacy of long-term blood transfusions for primary stroke prevention, led to an increase in blood transfusion in patients with SCD and reduced the number of Black people suffering from ischemic stroke.
November 2013 — As part of a new collaborative partnership model to develop cardiovascular disease clinical guidelines, the NHLBI provided rigorous, evidentiary reviews to the American Heart Association, American College of Cardiology, and other professional societies. The new partnership model led to the rapid publication of four key guidelines related to lifestyle, risk assessment, cholesterol, and overweight and obesity.
January 2014 — NHLBI established the Center for Translation Research and Implementation Science (CTRIS) to serve as a strategic focal point for “T4” translation research and implementation science for the NHLBI, addressing both domestic and global health inequities in collaboration with other agencies and organizations. T4 research happens after clinical trials determine how individual patients will benefit from particular interventions and/or treatments. The research tackles questions about how and in what contexts these treatments should be used and how to ensure they are used.
February 2015 — NHLBI-supported researchers at the Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center launched the Los Angeles Barbershop Blood Pressure Study, which involved placing pharmacists at African American-owned barbershops so they could monitor the blood pressure of customers with high blood pressure and prescribe medications. The barbers were also trained to take the blood pressure measurements. After six months, 63% of the men who worked with the pharmacists achieved a healthy blood pressure level, while only 12% of the men in the control group did so.
November 2015 — The Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial demonstrated that intensive blood pressure control (less than 120 mm Hg) resulted in lower cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, compared to standard blood pressure control (less than 140 mm Hg).
April 2020 — The NHLBI’s Prevention and Early Treatment of Acute Lung Injury (PETAL) Clinical Trials Network launched the ORCHID study at Vanderbilt University to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of hydroxychloroquine for the treatment of adults hospitalized with COVID-19. By June 2020, preliminary evidence indicated hydroxychloroquine was unlikely to offer any benefit, and the data and safety monitoring board recommended that the trial end early.
Fall 2020 — In collaboration with the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, the NHLBI began leading the Community Engagement Alliance (CEAL) as a part of the nation’s federal response to the COVID-19 pandemic. CEAL funds and supports programs that conduct community-engaged research in various areas of public health where communities and populations experiencing health disparities are disproportionately affected by diseases, disorders, or conditions.
December 2020 — The NAEPP issued the 2020 Focused Updates to the Asthma Management Guidelines: A Report from the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program Coordinating Committee Expert Panel Working Group, an update of the latest scientific evidence and recommendations for clinical practice on asthma care. The full document was published in the December issue of The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.
2021 — The NHLBI and NIH started the Researching COVID to Enhance Recovery (RECOVER) initiative to understand the lasting effects of COVID-19. RECOVER later identified the most common symptoms of COVID-19, the different groups of people who experience them, and a way to score the symptoms. This helps doctors to better treat Long COVID.
2022 — The Chronic Hypertension and Pregnancy trial, a study funded by the NHLBI, discovered that pregnant adults with long-term high blood pressure who took medicine to lower their blood pressure before or during the first 20 weeks of pregnancy, experienced fewer premature births and fewer serious problems during pregnancy compared to those who did not get this treatment.
January 2023 — A randomized, nonblinded, Phase 3 clinical trial known as the Crystalloid Liberal or Vasopressors Early Resuscitation in Sepsis (link is external), conducted by the PETAL network, found no significant difference in 90-day mortality rates, nor safety concerns, after providing patients with one of two common treatment strategies for sepsis. The findings were published in The New England Journal of Medicine (link is external).
July 2023 — A randomized, nonblinded, Phase 3 clinical trial known as Randomized Trial to Prevent Vascular Events in HIV (link is external) found that statins, a class of cholesterol-lowering medications, may offset the high risk of cardiovascular disease in people living with HIV by more than one-third, potentially preventing 1 in 5 major cardiovascular events or premature deaths in this population. The findings were published in The New England Journal of Medicine (link is external).
December 2023 — The FDA approved two gene therapies for the treatment of SCD in patients 12 years and older. The NHLBI and NIH had long invested in basic genetics and genomics research, clinical trials, as well as translational medicine and social science studies, to advance the understanding of this widespread illness and help develop effective therapies.
March 2024 — The NHLBI helped launch the first National Commission on Lymphatic Diseases. It was requested by the lymphatic community and assembled with support from across NIH in response to a congressional directive to establish a national body to advance lymphatics research.
June 2024 — The NHLBI announced an updated strategic plan to guide its next decade of research, training, and education.
NHLBI Legislative Chronology
June 1948 — The National Heart Act (Public Law 80-655) established the National Heart Institute (NHI). The act's purpose was to “improve the health of the people of the United States through the conduct of researches, investigations, experiments, and demonstrations relating to the cause, prevention, and method of diagnosis and treatment of diseases of the heart and circulation; assist and foster such researches and other activities by public and private agencies, and promote the coordination of all such researches and activities and the useful application of their results; provide training in matters relating to heart diseases, including refresher courses for physicians; and develop, and assist States and other agencies in use of the most effective methods of prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of heart diseases.”
December 1963 — House Joint Resolution 848 (P.L. 88-254) authorized and requested the president to issue an annual proclamation designating February as American Heart Month, inviting governors of states and territories to issue similar proclamations.
November 1969 — The NHI was renamed the National Heart and Lung Institute (NHLI), reflecting an expansion of its functions.
May 1972 — The National Sickle Cell Anemia Control Act (P.L. 92-294) established a national program for diagnosis, control, and treatment of and research in sickle cell anemia. The act did not mention the NHLI but had special pertinence because the NHLI was designated to coordinate the National Sickle Cell Disease Program.
September 1972 — The National Heart, Blood Vessel, Lung, and Blood Act of 1972 (P.L. 92-423) enlarged institute authority to advance the national attack on heart, blood vessel, lung, and blood diseases. The act provided for expanded, intensified, and coordinated institute activities in accordance with a comprehensive, specified National Heart, Blood Vessel, Lung, and Blood Disease Program to be planned by the NHLI director and Advisory Council.
It also called for establishment of prevention and control programs; development of 15 new centers for basic and clinical research, training, demonstration, and prevention programs for heart, blood vessel, and blood diseases; and development of 15 such centers for chronic lung diseases.
June 1976 — Title I of the Health Research and Health Services Amendments of 1976 (P.L. 94-278) redesignated the NHLI as the NHLBI to advance the national effort to prevent and treat heart, blood vessel, lung, and blood diseases, and to conduct research on the use of blood and blood products and the management of blood resources. The NHLBI director and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Advisory Council continue to plan the national program under the basic P.L. 92-423 provisions with some refinements.
August 1977 — The Biomedical Research Extension Act of 1977 (P.L. 95-83) reauthorized the NHLBI, with continued emphasis on both the national program and related prevention and dissemination activities.
December 1980 — The Health Programs Extension Act of 1980 (P.L. 96-538) reauthorized the NHLBI, with continued emphasis on both the national program and related prevention programs.
January 1983 — The Orphan Drug Act (P.L. 97-414) amended the Public Health Service Act to mandate development and support of not fewer than 10 comprehensive centers for sickle cell disease.
November 1985 — The Health Research Extension Act (P.L. 99-158) reauthorized the NHLBI, provided for the establishment of information dissemination and education programs, and provided for an associate director for prevention.
September‒November 1988 — The National Bone Marrow Donor Registry (P.L. 100-436, P.L. 100-607) was established. With the enactment of these authorization and appropriation measures, the NHLBI was tasked with developing an implementation plan for the voluntary bone marrow registry. Responsibility for the registry later was transferred to the Health Resources and Services Administration.
June 1993 — The NIH Revitalization Act of 1993 (P.L. 103-43) established a National Center on Sleep Disorders Research within the NHLBI.
October 1998 — Section 104 of the Women’s Health Research and Prevention Amendments (P.L.105-340) instructed the NHLBI director to expand and intensify research and other institute activities related to CVDs in women, including heart attack and stroke, and to collaborate with other NIH institutes.
October 2000 — The Children's Health Act (P.L. 106-310) mandated that the director of the NHLBI, through the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program Coordinating Committee, develop a federal plan for responding to asthma and to recommend ways to strengthen coordination of federal asthma-related activities.
March 2010 — The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (P.L. 111-148), authorized the director of the NHLBI to expand and coordinate research regarding congenital heart disease epidemiology.
December 2011 — The Omnibus Appropriations Act of Fiscal Year 2012 (P.L. 112-74) requested that the NHLBI develop a federal action plan for responding to the growing burden of COPD in coordination with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
December 2016 — The 21st Century Cures Act (P.L. 114-255) was enacted, authorizing funding for a host of measures aimed at accelerating the discovery of cures for diseases. As part of the authorizations, the NHLBI was tasked with administering the Regenerative Medicine Innovation Project, an initiative to support clinical research using adult stem cells. It also authorized the director of the NHLBI to support precision medicine activities that address disease prevention, diagnosis, and treatment.
December 2020 — The Consolidated Appropriations Act of Fiscal Year 2021 (P.L. 116-260) authorized funding for research and clinical trials related to long-term studies of COVID-19 through the Office of the Director of the NIH. The NHLBI was designated to cochair the RECOVER program with the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
March 2022 — The Omnibus Appropriations Act of Fiscal Year 2022 (P.L. 117-103) directed the NHLBI to establish a National Commission on Lymphatic Diseases and engage with relevant NIH institutes, centers, and external partner organizations in establishing the commission.
December 2022 — The Cardiovascular Advances in Research and Legacy Act (P.L. 117-244) authorized the director of the NHLBI to expand and coordinate research regarding valvular heart disease.
Biographical Sketch of NHLBI Director Gary H. Gibbons, M.D.
Gary H. Gibbons, M.D., is director of the NHLBI at NIH, where he oversees an annual budget of approximately $3 billion and a staff of nearly 2,100 federal employees, contractors, and volunteers. The NHLBI provides global leadership for research, training, and education to promote the prevention and treatment of heart, lung, blood, and sleep disorders, with the goal of enhancing the health of all individuals so they can live longer and more fulfilling lives.
Dr. Gibbons provides leadership to advance several NIH initiatives, including the NIH CEAL and RECOVER programs. Additionally, Dr. Gibbons provides strategic guidance and leadership to the Implementing a Maternal health and PRegnancy Outcomes Vision for Everyone Initiative and the new NIH Climate Change and Health Initiative. The latter is an urgent, crosscutting NIH effort to reduce health threats from climate change across the lifespan and build health resilience in individuals, communities, and nations around the world, especially among those at highest risk.
Dr. Gibbons has made many scientific contributions in the fields of vascular biology, genomic medicine, and the pathogenesis of vascular diseases. His research focuses on investigating the relationships between clinical phenotypes, behavior, molecular interactions, and social determinants on gene expression and their contribution to cardiovascular disease. Dr. Gibbons has received several patents for innovations derived from his research in the fields of vascular biology and the pathogenesis of vascular diseases.
Dr. Gibbons earned his undergraduate degree from Princeton University in Princeton, New Jersey, and graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts. He completed his residency and cardiology fellowship at the Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. Dr. Gibbons was a member of the faculty at Stanford University in Stanford, California, from 1990 to 1996, and at Harvard Medical School from 1996 to 1999. In 1999 he joined the Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia, where he served as founding director of the Cardiovascular Research Institute, chairperson of the department of physiology, and professor of physiology and medicine. While at Morehouse, Dr. Gibbons served as a member of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Advisory Council from 2009 to 2012.
Throughout his career, Dr. Gibbons has received numerous honors, including election to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies of Sciences, selection as a Robert Woods Johnson Foundation Minority Faculty Development Awardee, selection as a Pew Foundation Biomedical Scholar, recognition as an Established Investigator of the American Heart Association, and receipt of a 2021 Service to America Medal for his leadership of the NIH CEAL Against COVID-19 Disparities.
NHLBI Directors
| Name | In Office From | To |
|---|---|---|
| Cassius James Van Slyke | Aug. 1, 1948 | Nov. 30, 1952 |
| James Watt | Dec. 1, 1952 | Sept. 10, 1961 |
| Ralph E. Knutti | Sept. 11, 1961 | July 31, 1965 |
| William H. Stewart | Aug. 1, 1965 | Sept. 24, 1965 |
| Robert P. Grant | March 8, 1966 | Aug. 15, 1966 |
| Donald S. Fredrickson | Nov. 6, 1966 | March 1968 |
| Theodore Cooper | March 15, 1968 | April 19, 1974 |
| Robert I. Levy | Sept. 16, 1975 | June 1981 |
| Claude Lenfant | July 1, 1982 | Sept. 2, 2003 |
| Barbara Alving (Acting) | Sept. 3, 2003 | Jan. 31, 2005 |
| Elizabeth G. Nabel | Feb. 1, 2005 | Nov. 30, 2009 |
| Susan B. Shurin (Acting) | Dec. 1, 2009 | Aug. 10, 2012 |
| Gary H. Gibbons | Aug. 13, 2012 | Present |
NHLBI Programs
The NHLBI is organized into the Office of the Director, the Extramural Research Program, and the Intramural Research Program.
The Office of the Director
The Office of the Director (OD) of the NHLBI provides overall planning, direction, coordination, and evaluation of the institute’s programs. It provides leadership in assessing and disseminating information for the scientific community and the public and establishes internal institute policy for program and administrative operations, maintaining surveillance over their implementation.
The OD is the focal point of relationships with the director of the NIH as well as with other components of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), other federal agencies, Congress, professional societies, voluntary health organizations, and other public groups. The OD advises and guides NHLBI’s key leaders on the principles, practices, laws, regulations, and policies of federal equal employment, affirmative action, civil rights, and workforce diversity.
The OD collects, develops, and disseminates information on heart, lung, blood, and sleep disorders, with an emphasis on disease prevention. It also conducts and fosters educational programs for scientists and clinicians. It provides leadership on the transfer and assessment of information for the scientific community and the lay public and establishes internal institute policy for program and administrative operations, maintaining surveillance over their implementation. The two major offices within the OD are the Office of Management and the Office of Science Policy, Engagement, Education, and Communications.
The Immediate Office of the Director is home to the executive officer and the assistant director (AD) of Scientific Strategy and Innovation. The executive officer’s team provides oversight of fiscal and administrative activities, business process optimization, and oversight of issues and project management activities. The AD’s team assists with the launch, oversight, and integration of strategic scientific initiatives; liaises with internal and expert partners; superintends strategic communications; and operationally supports the NHLBI director.
Office of Management
The Office of Management (OM) provides strategic leadership, direction, oversight, and consultation on the business and management operations in support of the institute’s scientific mission. OM directs institute operations, such as workforce management, financial management, acquisitions and purchasing, IT, ethics, and FOIA; develops, administers, and directs policies and risk management programs; oversees the development and management of policies and procedures necessary for administrative and program management activities; oversees human capital management and workforce planning; and provides data analytics and reporting on the institute’s activities. OM also provides acquisition and FOIA services and IT tools to other NIH institutes and centers.
Administrative Management Branch
The Administrative Management Branch (AMB) manages, coordinates, and conducts day-to-day operations in support of staff and activities that advance the NHLBI’s mission and extramural research activities within the institute. AMB’s customers are leading scientific staff (for example, medical officers, research scientists, and health scientist administrators) and administrative staff (for example, grants and contracts specialists, program and budget analysts, and information technology specialists). AMB’s services and areas of expertise include recruitment of personnel (workforce or talent), operational budget management, centralized services management, small purchasing, property management, and travel management.
Ethics Office
The Ethics Office plans, directs, and implements a comprehensive ethics program in accordance with the requirements established by the Office of Government Ethics, HHS, and NIH. Specifically, the Ethics Office provides guidance on the standards of ethical conduct and conflict-of-interest issues for prospective and current employees and the advisory committees that serve the NHLBI; administers the filing and certification of public and confidential disclosure of employee financial interests; manages the filing and approval process for outside activities, conflicts review of sponsored travel, awards from outside organizations, honorary degrees, and widely attended gatherings; and manages ethics clearance for NIH staff participation in clinical protocols. The Ethics Office also responds to inquiries related to conflicts of interest, acceptable gifts, and post-employment restrictions and serves as liaison to the NIH Ethics Office and the HHS Office of General Counsel Ethics Division.
Financial Management Branch
The Financial Management Branch (FMB) coordinates multiyear budget planning and execution of the NHLBI’s annual appropriation and ensures stewardship of all NHLBI financial resources. FMB is the primary advisor to the NHLBI director and executive officer and ensures that funding aligns with the institute’s strategic priorities. In this role, FMB provides financial data and guidance to support decision-making across the institute’s portfolio. The branch develops, executes, and reports on the institute’s financial budget. It also collaborates with other OM offices to provide long-range financial planning information, as well as monitor and track financial resources. FMB also processes and manages gift funds (that is, donations to the institute’s scientific research), advises on appropriate use of funds, and serves as the NHLBI’s liaison to the NIH Office of Budget and Office of Financial Management.
Freedom of Information and Privacy Act Branch
The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and Privacy Act (PA) Branch provides high-level FOIA/PA privacy compliance services to promote and facilitate transparency in government while balancing the needs of customers. While operating a FOIA fee-for-service program for other NIH institutes and centers, this branch also oversees the NHLBI’s records management program and coordinates clearance with the Office of Management and Budget (for example, Public Burden Table and Federal Register Notice).
Information Technology and Applications Center
The Information Technology and Applications Center (ITAC) directs and implements a broad range of business, research, and clinical informatics programs in support of the biomedical research mission of the NHLBI. It articulates the NHLBI information technology (IT) strategic plan, forecasts future needs, and sets and implements NHLBI IT policies and procedures. ITAC plans, monitors, and enforces information and systems security, and oversees the day-to-day operation of NHLBI information technology and data infrastructures. ITAC also guides and supports the NHLBI administrative and scientific staff in the development and effective use of IT applications and services; collaborates with other NHLBI divisions, offices, and centers to identify IT needs and evaluate and implement IT solutions to meet those needs; and maintains a service desk and a walk-in software support and training center. ITAC provides application support to other NIH institutes and centers and serves as a liaison to NIH’s Center for Information Technology.
Office of Acquisitions
The Office of Acquisitions (OA) assists in planning, awarding, monitoring, and closing Research & Development (R&D) contracts, non-R&D contracts, and simplified acquisitions, thereby achieving the NIH mission by providing expert advice to the biomedical research communities that are inside and outside the government. OA also is a Consolidated Operations Acquisition Center and provides these services to other NIH institutes and centers.
Office of Intramural Management
The Office of Intramural Management (OIM) plans, directs, coordinates, and provides comprehensive administrative and management support services for the Division of Intramural Research. In addition, OIM provides technical and advisory services in financial management, data systems, human resources, acquisitions, facility management, travel services, and property management to ensure the efficient and effective implementation and operation of programs. OIM also develops policies, guidelines, and procedures on matters related to administrative management and disseminates these products to staff. OIM also provides acquisition support (orders more than $3,501) and facility management to the NHLBI extramural programs and the Office of the Director.
Office of Planning, Analytics, and Evaluation
The Office of Planning, Analytics, and Evaluation (OPAE) provides collaborative analytical support and business solutions to support NHLBI data-driven decision-making. OPAE is comprised of two branches. The Planning and Forecasting Branch serves as the focal point for budget analysis and modeling for the institute’s portfolio and performs workforce analysis in support of strategic workforce planning, including facilitation of the NHLBI’s personnel review processes. The Portfolio Analysis and Evaluation Branch provides robust data and portfolio analytical capabilities for data-driven decision-making, conducting evaluations of program performance to guide the development of future institute programs and initiatives.
Project Management Office
The Project Management Office serves as a strategic partner to the NHLBI by providing expertise in essential tools needed to optimize business processes and project management. Its mission is to support and advise stakeholders through strategic partnerships in ways that align with the institute’s mission and priorities, and encourage efficiencies, collaboration, standardization, and overall improvement at the NHLBI.
The Office of Science Policy, Engagement, Education, and Communications
The Office of Science Policy, Engagement, Education, and Communications (OSPEEC) provides comprehensive, integrated, and technology-driven communications leadership and support for all matters relating to outreach-oriented programs and activities aimed at realizing the institute’s vision and mission.
OSPEEC serves as the institute’s focal point for establishing and implementing information and education programs; develops short- and long-term communication policies and strategies in support of the NHLBI’s mission and priorities; addresses emerging and evolving communications and science planning and policy issues in consultation with internal and external stakeholders; manages a comprehensive and integrated information dissemination and education process that ensures rapid, accurate, and consistent communications to the constituencies served by the NHLBI; sets and provides oversight of policies and processes governing public-facing information channels including, but not limited to, the NHLBI’s digital platforms; promotes the evolving NHLBI identity; and coordinates the NHLBI’s legislative, interagency, and science policy activities.
Engagement and Media Relations Branch
The Engagement and Media Relations (EMR) Branch implements and maintains communications between the NHLBI and the public and internal and external audiences to ensure broad dissemination of NHLBI messages. The branch engages and fosters relationships with key audiences in general and journalists in particular; maintains content on key media platforms such as the NHLBI Newsroom and enterprise social media; acts as special initiative strategists; oversees media relations; and advances the public face of the NHLBI.
Health Education and Digital Information Dissemination Branch
The Health Education and Digital Information Dissemination (HEDID) Branch uses the latest health and consumer communications, behavioral, and social marketing research in planning health education and outreach strategies and programming. It also develops consumer messages and content for heart, lung, blood, and sleep disorders; provides consulting services for digital outreach, printing, graphic design, and publication layout; provides oversight of digital platforms, including governance and management of the NHLBI public website, applications, and social media; provides support for NHLBI exhibits, product marketing, and printed media; and provides clearance support for the NHLBI’s print and web-based content, ensuring the institute’s disseminations meet NIH and HHS clearance requirements. The branch also engages and fosters relationships with public health organizations and groups representing audiences who stand to benefit from the NHLBI’s information.
Science Policy, Outreach, and Reporting Branch
The Science Policy, Outreach, and Reporting (SPOR) Branch works to ensure that the NHLBI’s scientific research is accurately and clearly communicated to partners and policymakers, so that scientific advances are used to inform policy decisions. The branch also acts as a liaison to Congress, which helps the institute remain accountable and responsive to the public. The branch engages with government agencies and nongovernmental organizations that share the NHLBI’s mission to improve heart, lung, blood, and sleep health — working collaboratively to help set national policies toward common goals. As part of its accountability and collaboration functions, the branch works closely with the NHLBI’s scientific divisions to conduct scientific program analyses, evaluate progress toward program goals, develop technical reports on institute activities, and respond to scientifically complex inquiries and data calls.
Extramural Research Program
NHLBI extramural research programs are executed through four scientific units — the Division of Cardiovascular Sciences, the Division of Lung Diseases, the Division of Blood Diseases and Resources, and the Center for Translation Research and Implementation Science — plus the Division of Extramural Research Activities. Research grants, program project grants, specialized center grants, cooperative agreements, research contracts, research career development awards, and institutional and individual national research service awards are used to support research, research training, and career development.
Division of Cardiovascular Sciences
Heart disease remains the leading cause of death for men and women globally. The Division of Cardiovascular Sciences (DCVS) supports research to advance understanding of and interventions for promoting heart and vascular health across the lifespan. It also supports research aimed at preventing and treating pediatric and adult cardiovascular diseases, including heart attack, heart failure, stroke, and congenital heart disease.
In addition, DCVS supports the development of innovative technologies to diagnose, prevent, and treat cardiovascular disease. It also offers research training and career development for current and aspiring investigators in the cardiovascular sciences as a way to foster the next generation of research discoveries.
DCVS has a rich history of supporting robust and ambitious extramural research across the United States and around the world. Research priorities are divided into the following branches:
Adult and Pediatric Cardiac Research Program
The Adult and Pediatric Cardiac Research Program focuses on heart function from birth through adulthood. Specific focus areas include coronary artery disease and atherothrombosis, cardiac development, pediatric and congenital heart disease, heart failure, arrhythmias, myocardial protection from ischemia, and resuscitation science. Branches within this program include the Atherothrombosis and Coronary Artery Disease Branch, Heart Development and Structural Diseases Branch, and Heart Failure and Arrhythmias Branch.
Basic and Early Translational Research Program
The Basic and Early Translational Research Program emphasizes the development of imaging and diagnostics, therapeutics, and devices for cardiac support and repair. The program supports evidence-based surgical and clinical research that advances promising new techniques, bioinformatics, and computational and systems biology, as well as promoting foundational research related to the vascular system, lymphatics, and blood pressure regulation. Branches within this program include the Advanced Technologies and Surgery Branch and Vascular Biology and Hypertension Branch.
Prevention and Population Sciences Program
The Prevention and Population Sciences Program focuses on a wide range of research in epidemiology and prevention. Major activities supported include population-based cohort studies; studies of genetic, behavioral, and environmental influences on disease risk and outcomes; and clinical trials focused on prevention and improvements to clinical care and public health. Branches within this program include the Clinical Applications and Prevention Branch and Epidemiology Branch.
Office of Clinical Research
The Office of Clinical Research (OCR) is responsible for coordinating clinical research oversight and regulatory activities among NHLBI extramural divisions. This includes developing and maintaining standard operating procedures, guiding policy, and practice, developing database and informatics tools to facilitate clinical research oversight, providing staff support to NHLBI-funded trials, and managing the NHLBI’s data and safety monitoring boards and other clinical research oversight boards. OCR staff conduct training and advise NHLBI staff and extramural investigators about clinical research conduct and requirements.
Office of Research Training and Career Development
The Office of Research Training and Career Development supports training and career development programs in cardiovascular research, offering opportunities to individuals at all educational levels, from high school students to academic faculty, and includes programs for individuals from diverse populations. The office supports institutional and individual research training programs for training promising cardiovascular scientists at the predoctoral, postdoctoral, junior faculty, and established investigator levels.
Office of the Director
The Office of the Director provides leadership and supports basic, clinical, population, and health services research on the causes, prevention, and treatment of cardiovascular diseases.
The office also houses the Extramural Data Science team, providing leadership and support for NHLBI data science and data sharing. Team staff support the development of NHLBI data science initiatives and infrastructure, including the BioData Catalyst. Team members also contribute leadership to NHLBI-wide data science working groups, NHLBI data sharing policy development, and the dbGaP Data Access Committee.
Division of Lung Diseases
The Division of Lung Diseases (DLD) supports research on the causes, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of lung diseases and sleep disorders. The division focuses on promoting lung health across the lifespan, including exploring how sex differences influence the development, progression, and treatment of chronic lung diseases. This focus also extends to promoting women’s health, recognizing the unique challenges women face in lung health. DLD is responsible for monitoring the latest research developments in the extramural scientific community, identifying research gaps and needs, obtaining advice from experts in the field, and implementing programs to address new opportunities.
Research is funded through investigator-initiated and institute-initiated grant programs and through contract programs in areas including asthma, bronchopulmonary dysplasia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cystic fibrosis, respiratory neurobiology, sleep-disordered breathing, critical care and acute lung injury, developmental biology, pediatric pulmonary diseases, immunologic and fibrotic pulmonary disease, rare lung disorders, pulmonary vascular disease, pulmonary manifestations of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and other respiratory pathogens. DLD houses the following branches, centers, and offices:
Acute and Infectious Lung Diseases Branch
The Acute and Infectious Lung Diseases Branch supports research and research training in acute lung injury, acute respiratory distress syndrome, critical care, pneumonia, sepsis, mechanical ventilation, lung transplantation, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and other infectious diseases, as well as digital health.
Lung Development and Pediatric Diseases Branch
The Lung Development and Pediatric Diseases Branch supports research and research training in lung development, stem cells and other lung cell lineages; surfactant dysfunction; host responses to early-life infections; neonatal and pediatric conditions such as bronchopulmonary dysplasia, cystic fibrosis, and primary ciliary dyskinesia; and related cell and genome-editing technologies.
Obstructive Lung Diseases Branch
The Obstructive Lung Diseases Branch supports research and research training in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, bronchiolitis, TH1/2 immunity, e-cigarette or vaping use-associated lung injury, lung imaging, and related population studies.
Restrictive and Vascular Lung Diseases Branch
The Restrictive and Vascular Lung Diseases Branch supports research and research training in pulmonary fibrosis and other interstitial or rare lung diseases in adults, sarcoidosis, pulmonary vascular disease including pulmonary hypertension and right heart failure, pulmonary embolism, lung aging, data science, and genomics.
National Center on Sleep Disorders Research
The National Center on Sleep Disorders Research supports research and research training related to sleep-disordered breathing and the fundamental functions of sleep and circadian rhythms. The center also stewards several forums that facilitate the coordination of sleep research across NIH, other federal agencies, and external organizations, including the Sleep Disorders Research Advisory Board and an NIH-wide Sleep Research Coordinating Committee. The center also participates in the translation of new sleep research findings for dissemination to health care professionals and the public.
Office of the Director
The Office of the Director oversees scientific, budgetary, and administrative efforts across the division’s branches. Strategic leadership and coordination are provided for the development and implementation of lung and sleep research funding mechanisms and initiatives; direction and management of translational, clinical, and implementation research programs; grant and contract administration; scientific workforce development; and intra- and interagency collaborations.
Division of Blood Diseases and Resources
The Division of Blood Diseases and Resources (DBDR) is a leader in research on the causes, prevention, and treatment of non-neoplastic blood diseases and disorders. The division also assumes a major responsibility in ensuring the adequacy and safety of the nation’s blood supply.
Blood diseases affect millions of people each year in the United States and globally. These inherited and acquired diseases, including SCD and other anemias, bone marrow failure, venous thromboembolism and thrombophilia, and hemophilia, and other bleeding disorders, impact the normal biology of red and white blood cells, platelets, bone marrow, vascular endothelium, and plasma proteins. They negatively impact health and well-being across the lifespan, generating the need for preventive, therapeutic, and curative approaches to restoring health.
DBDR is divided into three branches that are structured to facilitate team science in priority areas of blood science. These branches, together with the DBDR Office of the Director, coordinate blood research activities, foster training of the next generation of blood scientists, and promote communication across the division, the NHLBI, NIH, and partner federal agencies.
Blood Epidemiology and Clinical Therapeutics Branch
The Blood Epidemiology and Clinical Therapeutics Branch provides oversight, support, and stimulation of epidemiologic, clinical, and implementation research throughout the spectrum of blood science.
The branch supports observational studies and clinical trials of behavioral interventions, medications, transfusion products and strategies, hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, and gene therapies, as well as research strategies to increase the implementation of evidence-based clinical findings. The branch also supports global research programs in blood diseases, including SCD, transfusion medicine, and HIV.
Molecular Cellular and Systems Blood Science Branch
The Molecular Cellular and Systems Blood Science Branch seeks to advance discovery science focused on explaining the physiology and pathophysiology of blood, bone marrow, and blood vessels. This branch promotes a systems biology approach to understanding the critical role of blood, bone marrow, and vascular endothelium in animal and human organs and organisms. It supports the application of fundamental genetic, proteomic, metabolomic and data science tools to better understand hematologic physiology and pathophysiology. The branch also supports scientific advances in stem cell biology and gene- and cell-based therapies to repair and regenerate human tissues and organs.
Translational Blood Science and Resources Branch
The Translational Blood Science and Resources Branch supports the application of fundamental blood science discoveries to the development of blood-focused therapeutics and diagnostics, the facilitation and promotion of discovery science from bench to first-in-human studies, and the coordination of workforce development and opportunities for small business programs. This emphasis includes the oversight, support, and stimulation of post-discovery science, preclinical research, early phase clinical studies and trials, and commercialization initiatives (the Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer programs) in blood sciences. This branch also administers and serves as liaison for NHLBI resources related to translational research.
Office of the Director
The Office of the Director oversees all divisional activities. This includes planning and coordinating the activities of all branches responsible for supporting and managing discovery, translational, and clinical research programs across the blood sciences; continuously assessing the institute’s national and international health programs related to all blood science disciplines and resources; fostering and coordinating interdivisional, NHLBI-wide, NIH-wide, and interagency collaborative and cooperative research arrangements; developing and maintaining the necessary scientific management capability in the division to foster and guide effective programs in blood sciences and resources management; planning, coordinating, and directing special activities that transcend program lines, including minority, small business, and education research programs; providing program analysis and administrative support services for the division; and overseeing divisional programs to support the workforce in nonmalignant hematology.
Division of Extramural Research Activities
The NHLBI Division of Extramural Research Activities (DERA) provides leadership and advice to the NHLBI director on developing, implementing, and coordinating extramural research contract, grant, and training program policies. The division also develops, implements, and coordinates crosscutting, multidisciplinary activities in the mission areas of the NHLBI. The activities of DERA affect all scientists who receive NHLBI research or training support, nationally and internationally.
DERA is comprised of the Offices of Committee Management, Extramural Operations and Referral, Grants Management, Scientific Review, Innovation and Commercialization, and the Office of the Director. Together, these offices provide many essential activities for the institute and extramural programs. These activities include initial scientific merit review of research grants and contracts for the institute, awarding of grants, assignment of grants to the institute’s program divisions, coordination of the institute’s small business program, coordination and management of the institute’s public advisory committees, and conference services in support of the institute. DERA coordinates the nomination and conduct of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Advisory Council (NHLBAC), which considers applications for research, research training, and cooperative agreements and recommends funding for those applications that show promise in making valuable contributions to human knowledge. The NHLBAC may also make recommendations to the NHLBI director, regarding research conducted at the institute. The division also develops and provides extramural staff training and communicates standardized policies and procedures across the institute. DERA represents the institute on NIH-wide extramural and collaborative program policy committees and coordinates the implementation of such policies within the institute. DERA also supplies services to other institutes and centers, fulfilling the requirement of service center agreements.
Office of Committee Management
The Office of Committee Management (OCM) provides leadership, guidance, and resources to current and prospective committee members, the public, and those managing federal advisory committees at the NHLBI, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, National Institute of Nursing Research, and the Warren Grant Magnuson Clinical Center. The NHLBI OCM operates as a service center for the operational and administrative management, including ethics activities, of all participating NHLBI and partner institute federal advisory committees. It also is responsible for the administration of the NHLBI and client institute Scientific Review and Evaluation Activities program, which provides the mechanism by which the members of the grant, cooperative agreement, and contract initial review committees are reimbursed. Lastly, the OCM Conference Management team consults, plans, assists, and executes various types of meetings, symposia, workshops, and conferences.
Office of Extramural Operations and Referral
The Office of Extramural Operations and Referral (OEOR) promotes and supports effective and accountable leadership and stewardship of the institute’s extramural research portfolio through the initiative development process; generation of sound policies, procedures, and guidance; opportunities for training and enrichment of extramural staff; and the development and continuous evaluation of the NHLBI’s extramural programs.
The NHLBI Referral Office (RO) — housed within OEOR — develops, implements, and manages procedures for assigning new applications to the NHLBI; reassigns applications to and from other NIH institutes and centers; changes the locus of peer review of applications; and assigns nonstandard application receipt dates. The RO handles about 12,000 applications annually and is the NHLBI's primary point of contact with the Division of Receipt and Referral in the Center for Scientific Review. In addition, the RO is responsible for publishing funding opportunity announcements for the institute, once initiatives have been approved by the NHLBAC.
Office of Grants Management
The Office of Grants Management (OGM) manages all business-related activities associated with the negotiation, award, and administration of grants and cooperative agreements within the NHLBI. OGM works directly with the grantee business official; principal investigator; and NHLBI review, financial management, and program staff to manage the institute's research portfolio and provide timely and accurate awards. OGM ensures that both federal staff and grantees fulfill applicable statutory, regulatory, and administrative policy requirements. The chief grants management officer serves as the principal grants official for the NHLBI and provides leadership to the extramural community on grants policy; regulations; and guidelines for the submission, funding, and oversight of research grants.
Office of Scientific Review
The NHLBI Office of Scientific Review is the focal point for institute-conducted initial scientific merit review of applications to support program projects, multicenter clinical trials, training and career development programs, research centers, and large NIH-wide programs such as the Regenerative Medicine Innovation Project. The office also provides technical merit review of research and development contract proposals.
Innovation and Commercialization Office
The NHLBI Innovation and Commercialization Office (I&C) helps a diverse pool of extramural academic and small business innovators accelerate the transition of their new and promising discoveries into biomedical products that prevent, diagnose, and treat heart, lung, blood, and sleep diseases and disorders.
I&C coordinates and serves as a central point of contact for the NHLBI Small Business Program, which includes both Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer activities. I&C also facilitates alliances with federal and private sector partners and offers resources and advisory services to support biomedical innovators. In addition, I&C contributes to collaborative projects and initiatives within the NHLBI and across NIH that support innovators.
Office of the Director
DERA’s Office of the Director directs and coordinates all activities of the division and serves as the point of contact with other NHLBI components, NIH institutes, and external organizations in DERA-related areas.
Center for Translation Research and Implementation Science
The Center for Translation Research and Implementation Science (CTRIS) plans, fosters, and supports late-stage research that identifies promising approaches to integrate evidence-based interventions at clinical and public health settings. These include health centers, worksites, schools, and other community venues throughout the United States and abroad. These approaches build on the successes in fundamental discovery science and early-stage translational research to ensure the findings lead to maximal benefit for people and their communities. The CTRIS also will help tackle new challenges in late-stage T4 translation research — the phase in the translational research pathway that leads to general knowledge about implementing evidence and evidence-based interventions — that helps turn discoveries into improved health.
The CTRIS is the strategic focal point within the NHLBI that catalyzes research to advance the creation, evaluation, reporting, dissemination, sustained adoption, spread, and scale-up of evidence-based interventions that prevent and treat heart, lung, blood, and sleep disorders. To accomplish its mission, the CTRIS integrates the domain expertise found in all NHLBI organizational units and leverages the NIH-wide investments in dissemination and implementation research. The CTRIS houses the following branches:
Health Inequities and Global Health Branch
The Health Inequities and Global Health (HIGH) Branch is the NHLBI’s main source for guidance in advancing the science of health disparities and minority health research, especially pertaining to domestic and global health inequities. The branch serves as the NHLBI's focal point for advice and guidance on implementation strategies for proven-effective interventions to address health disparities and promote health equities around the world. The branch develops strategic approaches to tackle social determinants of health nationwide and provides leadership and coordination for bilateral programs in support of global health initiatives. The branch also represents the NHLBI on health inequities and global health issues related to heart, lung, blood, and sleep disorders, as well as translation research and implementation science, when communicating with other NIH institutes and centers, federal agencies and departments, international organizations, and other stakeholders. The branch supports community-engaged research aimed at reducing the domestic and global burden of heart, lung, blood, and sleep disorders. It does this through coordination, collaboration, and communication with a diverse range of stakeholders.
Implementation Science Branch
The Implementation Science Branch (ISB) seeks to ensure that advances in heart, lung, blood, and sleep disorders are effectively implemented through proven methods and can be sustained in real-world settings. The branch supports dissemination and implementation research that explores the contributing factors and promising strategies that can lead to the adoption, integration, sustainment, scale-up, and spread of evidence and evidence-based interventions in clinical and public health settings, such as clinics, worksites, and other community venues. This program supports research training and career development, research mentoring, and research capacity-building and infrastructure development geared toward developing a multidisciplinary heart, lung, blood, and sleep research workforce.
Translation Research Branch
The Translation Research Branch (TRB) supports late-stage T4 translation research with a focus on community and population-based analyses of proven-effective interventions. The branch advances research that focuses on implementation research outcomes such as adaptation, adoption, affordability, fidelity, and sustainability. The branch encourages crosscutting analyses that combine patient-centered, community-based data with population-level data for more robust results. Additionally, the branch identifies methodology innovations, such as mixed methods study designs and relatively inexpensive pragmatic trials to inform and improve the translation of discovery science into health impact.
Office of the Director
The Office of the Director at the CTRIS provides overall planning, direction, coordination, and evaluation of the center’s programs, as well as strategic coordination of all late-stage T4 research and dissemination and implementation science across the NHLBI. The office oversees development and management of a robust portfolio of research; scientific workshops and educational programs for trainees and investigators; CTRIS staff professional development; and collaborations and partnerships across the NHLBI, NIH, other federal health agencies, academia, and global institutions. It also facilitates efforts to assess and disseminate health information to the scientific community and the public. Finally, the office serves as the hub for all NHLBI Strategic Vision milestones in late-stage T4 translation research, dissemination and implementation science, health inequities research, and global health research.
Division of Intramural Research
The mission of the NHLBI Division of Intramural Research (DIR) is to perform robust scientific and clinical research that leads to a better understanding of biology and clinical pathology. To attain this goal, the division has built a strong basic science foundation and coupled it closely with innovative technology development and outstanding clinical research, both at the NIH Clinical Center and in partnership with local hospitals. The purview of DIR research is broad, encompassing investigations into the basic principles of molecular, cellular, and organ-level biology and their relationship to disease. DIR consists of the following branches and centers:
Biochemistry and Biophysics Center
The Biochemistry and Biophysics Center develops chemical and physical approaches to tackle biological problems across a broad spectrum of scales. Its principal investigators study diverse topics, such as X-ray and cellular imaging, biomolecular structure, conformational dynamics, and membrane biophysics. To gain mechanistic understanding, the investigators develop instruments and techniques to resolve, quantify, model, manipulate, and simulate these diverse processes at molecular and cellular levels. Leveraging both experimental and theoretical approaches, models of biomolecular structure and dynamics are obtained, revealing intricacies of biological processes. Through this interdisciplinary approach, the center strives to advance fundamental understanding and innovation in biophysical sciences.
Cardiovascular Branch
The Cardiovascular Branch conducts research on diseases that affect the heart and blood vessels. Specific projects aim to answer clinically relevant questions using methods ranging from molecular level studies to clinical projects in diagnostics, therapeutics, and interventions. The branch places a strong emphasis on creating an environment where scientists and physician-scientists can work together on disease-specific issues using the most appropriate approaches available from the laboratory bench to the hospital bedside.
Cell and Developmental Biology Center
The Cell and Developmental Biology Center aims to understand the molecules and the molecular interactions inside cells that build the organelle systems that support basic and specialized functions controlling cell fate and behavior. The center studies how cell behavior guides normal development, including the creation and maintenance of tissues and organs. Researchers combine biochemical, molecular, cellular, genetic, and quantitative approaches to investigate fundamental biological processes across a range of organisms, including fish, flies, mammals, microbes, and viruses. The center also seeks to apply its basic cell and developmental biological research to the understanding and treatment of human diseases.
Cellular and Molecular Therapeutics Branch
The Cellular and Molecular Therapeutics Branch, one of the newest branches of the NHLBI, helps to accelerate the translation of basic discovery to therapeutic application. Branch investigators are leading experts on transplantation immunology, regenerative therapies for inherited blood disorders, and early sickle cell mortality prevention. All these investigators claim international stature and recognition for advancing the field of hematology.
Critical Care Medicine and Pulmonary Branch
The Critical Care Medicine and Pulmonary Branch manages the NIH Clinical Center’s intensive care unit and pulmonary medicine services. The branch has training programs in critical care medicine that often include combined training in pulmonary medicine, cardiology, and infectious diseases. The branch conducts research on diseases and disorders that cause life- threatening illnesses, as well as a wide range of pulmonary diseases. Research spans from molecular and cell-based investigations to bedside and population-based studies.
Epidemiology and Community Health Branch
The mission of the Epidemiology and Community Health Branch is to deploy innovative multimodality ascertainment and analytical approaches with a unifying focus on the phenotypic expressions of heart, lung, blood, and sleep diseases, and their occurrence and outcomes in populations.
Hematology Branch
Investigators in the Hematology Branch study normal and abnormal hematopoiesis — the development and differentiation of stem cells into multiple types of blood cells — in the clinic and in the research laboratory. The branch has large clinics in the NIH Clinical Center for patients with bone marrow failure syndromes and chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Patients can enroll in natural history studies and interventional protocols that aim to improve treatment. In the laboratory, basic cellular and molecular biology, immunologic, and genomic techniques are used to study patient samples, cells, cell lines, and animal models. These studies generate insights that often serve as the starting point for the development of better therapies. The branch has been an international leader in developing understanding of the pathophysiology of hematologic diseases and improving outcomes for patients.
Immunology Center
The Immunology Center conducts research into the molecular basis of immune processes that are applicable to a broad range of diseases, including inherited immunodeficiencies, cancer, autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, and allergic diseases. Center investigators explore normal immune function, signaling processes, gene regulation, and epigenetics related to the activation and function of immune cells. They also study the role of the complement system in the regulation of health and disease. The goal of the center is to understand fundamental mechanisms of biology and to promote the translation of these findings into the development of new diagnostic and therapeutic approaches in humans. Work over the years has led to the discovery of the genetic basis of multiple forms of human-inherited immunodeficiency, led to better prenatal and postnatal diagnosis of X-linked severe combined immunodeficiency (X-SCID) and other forms of SCID, and paved the way to successful gene therapy for X-SCID. Moreover, studies demonstrated a key role for thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) in allergic inflammation, contributing to the scientific basis for the development by the pharmaceutical industry of anti-TSLP as an FDA-approved therapy for asthma. Furthermore, collaborative studies correctly predicted that JAK3 inhibitors would be immunosuppressive, with the FDA-approval of tofacitinib (developed by Pfizer) in 2012. JAK inhibitors now represent a major class of human therapeutics.
Population Sciences Branch
The Population Sciences Branch formulates a global view of both the natural history and future trends related to heart, lung, blood, and sleep disorders, taking advantage of the thousands of participants in the Framingham Heart Study, as well as other population cohorts. The branch takes a comprehensive approach toward understanding these disorders, combining classical epidemiology and longitudinal studies with state-of-the-art genetic and “omics” technologies (“omics” refers to the measurable differences or changes in biological molecules, such as genes, metabolites, and proteins). Through this combined approach, the branch seeks to identify molecular signatures of disease phenotypes in the population setting.
Sickle Cell Branch
The Sickle Cell Branch conducts research to better understand mechanisms of the disease process to address two major unmet needs: prediction of disease severity and development of more and better drugs for treatment of the disease. Specific projects aim to better predict long-term outcomes and to develop therapies through genetics and genomics. Researchers in this branch also study how genes influence disease symptoms such as pain and organ complications, as well as new approaches using AI and machine learning to better predict survival and outcome in bone marrow transplant therapy. The branch is a leader in the HHS sickle cell program, which fosters government-wide collaboration to rapidly move basic discoveries to treatments for patients.
Systems Biology Center
The aim of the Systems Biology Center is to create integrated models of complex biological processes and test them across the entire cellular and physiological network of interactions. Using high throughput screening tools from the genomic, proteomic, and imaging arenas, coupled with powerful computing and modeling tools to integrate acquired data, investigators at the center can examine gene and protein expression, enzyme activity, or other biological processes in a spatial and temporal context. Researchers at the center are interested in diverse systems, such as cardiac disease, oxidative stress, cellular differentiation and memory, cell energetics and metabolism, sleep, immune system, mitochondria, and kidney function.
Translational Stem Cell Biology Branch
The Translational Stem Cell Biology Branch focuses on understanding the basic biology and the clinical applications of stem cells, focusing on hematopoietic stem cells responsible for producing all blood cells, and on induced pluripotent stem cells able to form a wide variety of tissues and organs. The branch’s mission is to gain a better understanding of the processes that control self-renewal, differentiation, and normal and abnormal functioning of hematopoietic and pluripotent stem cells in vivo, focusing on models with direct relevance to human biology and disease. The branch develops safe and effective gene, cell, and small molecule therapies for a wide variety of serious human diseases, focusing on disorders of hematopoiesis and the cardiovascular system.
Translational Vascular Medicine Branch
The Translational Vascular Medicine Branch (TVMB) engages in research focused on the understanding of vascular diseases in humans and model organisms. The overarching goal of the TVMB is to study vascular disease mechanisms that could lead to novel treatment strategies that better serve patients with vascular diseases. TVMB investigators employ clinical, genomic, biochemical, and molecular high throughput approaches to understand diseases processes, particularly in atherosclerosis, autoimmune conditions, thrombosis, inflammation, and vascular calcification/occlusion and connective tissue changes in common and rare inherited diseases. TVMB is a leader in vascular precision medicine, translating discovery into treatment for patients with vascular diseases.
Office of the Clinical Director
The Office of the Clinical Director (OCD) supports the mission of the NHLBI Intramural Research Program by conducting outstanding investigator-initiated research, discovering mechanisms of disease, and developing novel devices, diagnostics, and therapies to benefit patients. OCD is responsible for the oversight of the clinical research portfolio of the DIR. As part of this oversight, the OCD develops and implements policies related to the conduct of human subject research, ensuring that the clinical research programs of the division are consistent with the overall mission of the NHLBI and NIH, and that they are in compliance with NIH and HHS policies guiding the conduct of clinical research. OCD also oversees inpatient and outpatient clinical programs and ensures the scientific integrity and quality of the clinical research and clinical care conducted by NHLBI staff. OCD works directly with and supports the Scientific Review Board, the Institutional Review Board, and the Data Safety and Monitoring Board to ensure that the highest standards of clinical research are met.
This page last reviewed on January 15, 2025