The National Institute on Aging (NIA) is a division of the U.S.

National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health, commonly referred to as NIH (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in the late ...

(NIH), located in

Bethesda, Maryland Bethesda () is an unincorporated, census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland. It is located just northwest of Washington, D.C. It takes its name from a local church, the Bethesda Meeting House (1820, rebuilt 1849), which in ...

. The NIA itself is headquartered in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

. The NIA leads a broad scientific effort to understand the nature of

aging Ageing ( BE) or aging ( AE) is the process of becoming older. The term refers mainly to humans, many other animals, and fungi, whereas for example, bacteria, perennial plants and some simple animals are potentially biologically immortal. In ...

and to extend the healthy, active years of life. 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. 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 Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...

research. NIA is led by Director,

Richard J. Hodes Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'stron ...

, M.D, and Acting Deputy Director Melinda Kelley, M.D.

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 and intramural programs. The extramural program funds research and training at universities, hospitals, medical centers, and other public and private organizations nationwide. The intramural program conducts basic and clinical research in Baltimore, Maryland, and on the NIH campus in Bethesda, Maryland.

Notes and references

External links

NIA homepage

NIA
account on

USAspending.gov ttp://www.usaspending.gov USASpending.govis a database of spending by the United States federal government. History Around the time of the Act's passage, OMB Watch, a government watchdog group, was developing a site that would do essentially eve ...

The University of Southern California Davis School of Gerontology
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Aging Ageing ( BE) or aging ( AE) is the process of becoming older. The term refers mainly to humans, many other animals, and fungi, whereas for example, bacteria, perennial plants and some simple animals are potentially biologically immortal. In ...

Organizations established in 1974 Gerontology organizations Medical research institutes in Maryland

Mission

Programs

See also

Notes and references

External links