Frequently Asked Questions
Q: If I have a constituent who needs information about a disease or disorder,
where should I go?
A: The Health Information
Index lists most health and disease categories studied at NIH-supported institutions. Each entry
includes the lead institute or center with responsibility for funding that disease or
health area of research. It also lists other institutes with additional related
research programs. An example of how to use this resource follows:
In searching "Alzheimer's disease" you will find the following
entry: Alzheimer's disease - NIA 301-496-1752, NIMH 301-443-3513,
NINDS 301-496-5751, NIDCD 301-496-7243. Using the index,
you will find that there are four institutes that have information
on various aspects of Alzheimer's disease. There is a direct
link to the institute and the phone number for the communication
office of that institute. Some entries include only one
primary institute, for example: amblyopiaNEI 301-496-5248.
The consumer database at the National
Library of Medicine is another resource. Both of these
sites are searchable.
Q: How can one of my constituents find out about participating in clinical trials?
A: Here is a comprehensive site for all federally funded clinical trials with contact information.
Q: How can a constituent become involved at the National Institutes of Health?
A: NIH has an Office of Communication and
Public Liaison, and each institute has a public liaison officer who will be able to
tell you more about becoming directly involved in the work of an institute.
Q: How much money does NIH spend on a particular disease
such as diabetes, Parkinson's disease, and Alzheimer's disease?
A: All funding figures are done by the Office of the
Director, Office of Budget. You can obtain most figures from
the disease table on its
web site.
Q: I want to send a letter to NIH, to whom should it be addressed?
A: Correspondence to NIH should be addressed to
National Institutes of Health
Director, Executive Secretariat
1 Center Drive, MSC 0122
Bethesda, MD 20892-0122
Q: What are the names of the Institute Directors?
A: Here is a list of the
current NIH Institute Directors. From there you can link
to the individual ICs and OD offices.
Q: How much money does NIH award to my State?
A: A listing of funding
by congressional districts is maintained by the Office
of Extramural Research.
Q: Where on the NIH site can issued contracts and their abstracts be reviewed
(similar to the CRISP system)?
A: The Computer Retrieval of Information on Scientific Projects (CRISP) is a
searchable database of federally funded biomedical research projects conducted
at universities, hospitals, and other research institutions. The database, maintained
by the Office of Extramural Research at NIH, is the only system that contains
abstracts and project summary information on research contracts that users,
including the public, can use to search for scientific concepts, emerging trends and
techniques, or to identify specific projects and/or investigators.
Access CRISP here. It is noted, however, that the Office of
Acquisitions Management and Policy's Contract Data Management Program
provides NIH contract management data reporting and analyses to the NIH
acquisition community, DHHS, and the general public. It also provides a
monthly listing of all NIH acquisitions
(contracts and purchase orders) that are awarded in
excess of $25,000. This listing does not contain the "abstracts"; however, it does
include a brief "project title" for each action.
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