National Institutes of Health, U.S.

The U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), located in Bethesda, Maryland, is the primary federal agency responsible for conducting and supporting health-related research. The work of NIH scientists has helped prevent disease, improved health outcomes, and saved lives in the United States and across the globe. In 2008, it had a budget of $29 billion and employed 18,000 workers, 6,000 of them scientists. The extensive public information, outreach, and education efforts that are an integral part of NIH activities make sure that news about NIH research is widely publicized.

Improving health care is, indeed, NIH's history. In the 1880s, according to historical records compiled by NIH, Congress had mandated the screening of immigrants arriving in ships from Europe to ports in the United States for cholera ...