Dictionary

National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) The NHGRI led the role of NIH in the Human Genome Project.

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) The NHLBI leads a national research program that deals with diseases of the heart, blood vessels, lungs, and blood. It also supports basic clinical, population-based, and healtheducation research in the area of transfusion medicine.

National Eye Institute (NEI) The NEI conducts and supports research, training, and other programs related to eye diseases, visual disorders, mechanisms of visual function, preservation of sight, blindness, and the health problems and special needs of the visually impaired.

National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NCMHD) The mission of NCMHD is to promote minority health and to lead, coordinate, support, and assess the NIH effort to reduce and ultimately eliminate health disparities.

National Center for Research Resources (NCRR) NCRR provides laboratory scientists and clinical researchers with the environments and tools they need to understand, detect, treat, and prevent a wide range of diseases.

National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) NCCAM is dedicated to exploring complementary and alternative medical (CAM) practices in the context of rigorous science.

National Cancer Institute (NCI) The NCI’s mission is to lead a national effort against cancer. The NCI conducts basic and clinical biomedical research, trains practitioners, and conducts and supports programs to prevent, detect, diagnose, treat, and control cancer. It also provides practitioners, patients, and the public with information about cancer detection and treatment.

Fogarty International Center (FIC) The FIC serves as NIH’s coordinating body for international medical research and coop- ration. It supports research partnerships between US biomedical scientists and their counterparts around the world to reduce disparities in global health.

Center for Scientific Review (CSR) The CSR provides staff and procedural support to the director of the NIH for running the grant approval process. It handles scientific review of most NIH grant applications, proposals, fellowships, and projects. Formerly known as the Division of Research Grants.

Center for Information Technology (CIT) As the NIH’s computing technology arm, the CIT seeks to develop, promote, and spread the use of high-tech tools in biomedical science.

National Institutes of Health The NHGRI also develops and implements technology for understanding, diagnosing, and treating genetic diseases.

national board exam In medicine, the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE), an exam sponsored by the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) of the US and the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME). It has replaced the examinations previously used to fulfill examination requirements for medical licensure. The national board exam provides a common…