The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the primary federal agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. As part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the NIH's mission is to seek fundamental knowledge about the nature and behavior of living systems and apply that knowledge to enhance health, lengthen life, and reduce illness and disability. It accomplishes this through funding research projects across the country and around the world, conducting research in its own laboratories, and providing information about health and disease to the public. The NIH comprises 27 Institutes and Centers, each with a specific research agenda, making it one of the world's largest and most influential biomedical research organizations.
