National Institute on Aging explained

National Institute on Aging (NIA)
Jurisdiction:	Federal government of the United States
Chief1 Name:	Dr. Richard J. Hodes
Chief1 Position:	Director
Parent Department:	Department of Health and Human Services
Parent Agency:	National Institutes of Health

The National Institute on Aging (NIA) is a division of the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), located in Bethesda, Maryland. The NIA itself is headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland.

The NIA leads a broad scientific effort to understand the nature of aging and to extend the healthy, active years of life.^[1] In 1974, under Public Law 93-296, Congress granted authority to form NIA to provide leadership in aging research, training, health information dissemination, and other programs relevant to aging and older people.^[2] In January 2011, President Obama signed into law the National Alzheimer’s Project Act, designating the NIA as the primary federal agency on Alzheimer's disease research.^[3]

NIA is led by Director, Richard J. Hodes, M.D, and Acting Deputy Director Melinda Kelley, M.D.

Past directors

Past directors from 1975–present

Portrait	Director	Took office	Left office
	Norman Kretchmer (acting)	October 1974	July 1975
	Richard C. Greulich (acting)	July 1975	April 1976
	Robert N. Butler	May 1, 1976	July 1982
	Robert L. Ringler	July 16, 1982	June 30, 1983
	T. Franklin Williams	July 1, 1983	July 31, 1991
	Gene D. Cohen (acting)	August 1, 1991	May 31, 1993
	Richard J. Hodes	June 1, 1993	Present

Mission

NIA's mission is to improve the health and well-being of older Americans through research, and specifically to:

• Support and conduct high-quality research on:
  • Aging processes
  • Age-related diseases
  • Special problems and needs of the aged
• Train and develop highly skilled research scientists from all population groups.
• Develop and maintain state-of-the-art resources to accelerate research progress.
• Disseminate information and communicate with the public and interested groups on health and research advances and on new directions for research.

Programs

NIA sponsors research on aging through extramural^[4] and intramural^[5] programs. The extramural program funds research and training at universities, hospitals, medical centers, and other public and private organizations nationwide.

One such example is the Alzheimer’s Disease Research Centers (ADRCs). As of 2022, the NIA funds over 30 centers at medical institutions throughout the United States.^{[6] [7]}

The intramural program conducts basic and clinical research in Baltimore, Maryland, and on the NIH campus in Bethesda, Maryland.

See also

• American Federation for Aging Research
• Geroscience
• Life extension

External links

• NIA homepage
• NIA account on USAspending.gov
• The University of Southern California Davis School of Gerontology

Notes and References

1. Web site: About NIA . National Institute on Aging . 11 April 2021 . 17 April 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210417162241/https://www.nia.nih.gov/about . live .
2. Web site: Public Law 93-296 . www.congress.gov.
3. Web site: National Alzheimer's Project Act .
4. Web site: Grants & Funding. National Institute on Aging. 11 April 2021. 18 March 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210318000429/https://www.nia.nih.gov/research/grants-funding. live.
5. Web site: Labs at NIA. National Institute on Aging. 11 April 2021. 17 April 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210417153645/https://www.nia.nih.gov/research/labs. live.
6. Web site: Alzheimer's Disease Research Centers: National Research Centers, Local Resources Alzheimers.gov . 2023-03-21 . www.nia.nih.gov . en.
7. Web site: National Institute on Aging Awards $15.4 Million to Continue Support for Cleveland Alzheimer's Disease Research Center – Cleveland Alzheimer's Disease Research Center . September 2021 . 2023-03-21 . en-US.