The
National Institutes of Health (NIH) is part of the
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which is responsible for
health care research. There are 27 centers and two major parts of the NIH, funding for research inside NIH campuses and funding for biomedical research outside of the NIH. The goals of the agency include fostering creative discoveries, expand the medical knowledge base, promote scientific integrity, and fund resources to treat and prevent disease.
[http://www.nih.gov/about/index.html ]. In 2003, the NIH was responsible for about $28 billion in medical research funding.