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| Institute overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | December 29, 1955; 69 years ago (1955-12-29) |
| Preceding Institute |
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| Jurisdiction | United States Government |
| Headquarters | North Bethesda, Maryland, US (Rockville, Maryland, mailing address) |
| Institute executive |
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| Parent department | Health and Human Services |
| Parent Institute | National Institutes of Health |
| Website | niaid.nih.gov |
TheNational Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID,/ˈnaɪ.æd/) is one of the 27 institutes and centers that make up theNational Institutes of Health (NIH), an agency of theUnited States Department of Health and Human Services. NIAID's mission is to conductbasic andapplied research to better understand, treat, and preventinfectious,immunologic, andallergic diseases.[1]
NIAID has on-campuslaboratories inMaryland andHamilton, Montana, and funds research conducted by scientists at institutions in the United States and throughout the world. NIAID also works closely with partners in academia, industry, government, and non-governmental organizations in multifaceted and multidisciplinary efforts to address emerging health challenges such as theH1N1/09 pandemic and theCOVID-19 pandemic.
NIAID traces its origins to a small laboratory established in 1887 at the Marine Hospital onStaten Island,New York[2] (nowBayley Seton Hospital).[3] Officials of the Marine Hospital Service in New York decided to open a research laboratory to study the link between microscopic organisms and infectious diseases.Joseph J. Kinyoun, a medical officer with the Marine Hospital Service, was selected to create this laboratory, which he called a "laboratory ofhygiene".[4]
Kinyoun's lab was renamed theHygienic Laboratory in 1891 and moved to Washington, D.C., whereCongress authorized it to investigate "infectious and contagious diseases and matters pertaining to thepublic health."[5][page needed] With the passage of theRansdell Act in 1930, the Hygienic Laboratory became the National Institute of Health. In 1937, the Rocky Mountain Laboratory, then part of theUnited States Public Health Service, was transferred to Division of Infectious Diseases, part of the NIH.[citation needed]
In mid-1948, the National Institute of Health became the National Institutes of Health (NIH) with the creation of four new institutes.[6] On October 8, 1948, the Rocky Mountain Laboratory and the Biologics Control Laboratory were joined with the NIH Division of Infectious Diseases and Division of Tropical Diseases to form the National Microbiological Institute. In 1955, Congress changed the name of the National Microbiological Institute to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to reflect the inclusion of allergy and immunology research. That change became effective on December 29, 1955.[7]
On April 30, 2025, Secretary of Health and Human ServicesRobert F. Kennedy Jr. ordered all research stopped at the lab amidst similar cuts to health programs in the United States.[8]
The following have been directors of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases:[9]
| No. | Portrait | Director | Took office | Left office | Refs. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Victor H. Haas | November 1, 1948 | April 1957 | [10] |
| 2 |  | Justin M. Andrews | April 1957 | October 1, 1964 | [11] |
| 3 |  | Dorland J. Davis | October 1, 1964 | August 1, 1975 | [12][13][14] |
| acting | John R. Seal | August 2, 1975 | October 1975 | ||
| 4 | _(32957680970).jpg) | Richard M. Krause | October 1975 | July 6, 1984 | [15][16][17] |
| acting | Bernard Talbot | July 7, 1984 | November 1, 1984 | ||
| 5 |  | Anthony Fauci | November 2, 1984 | December 31, 2022 | [18][19][20] |
| acting |  | Hugh Auchincloss | January 1, 2023 | September 24, 2023 | [21] |
| 6 |  | Jeanne Marrazzo | September 24, 2023 | April 24, 2025 | [22][23][24] |
| acting | .jpg) | Jeffery Taubenberger | April 24, 2025 | present | [25] |
NIAID is composed of the Office of the Director (OD), four extramural divisions:[citation needed]
and three intramural divisions:[citation needed]
The Dale and Betty Bumpers Vaccine Research Center[27] is composed of four laboratories and two programs:
NIAID's research priorities are focused on:[citation needed]
NIAID's mission areas are:[citation needed]
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NIAID has established a reputation for being on the cutting edge of scientific progress both through its intramural labs and through the research it funds at academic institutions.[29] For example, NIAID collaborations with various partners led to the development of FDA-approved vaccines forinfluenza (FluMist),hepatitis A (Havrix), androtavirus (RotaShield). NIAID also was instrumental in the development and licensure of acellularpertussis vaccines, conjugate vaccines forStreptococcus pneumoniae andHaemophilus influenzae type b or Hib, and a preventive therapy forrespiratory syncytial virus or RSV (Synagis). Additionally, NIAID partnerships with industry and academia have led to the advancement of diagnostic tests for several important infectious diseases, includingmalaria (ParaSight F),tuberculosis (GeneXpert MTB/RIF), andnorovirus (Ridascreen Norovirus 3rd Generation EIA).
NIAID has done research on mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of HIV. In 1994, a study co-sponsored by NIAID demonstrated that the drugAZT, given to HIV-infected women who had little or no prior antiretroviral therapy (ART), reduced the risk of MTCT by two-thirds.[30]
In 1999, an NIAID-funded study inUganda found that two oral doses of the inexpensive drugnevirapine—one given to HIV-infected mothers at the onset of labor and another to their infants soon after birth—reduced MTCT by half when compared with a similar course of AZT. Subsequent clinical trials, including some funded by NIAID, showed that AIDS drugs also can reduce the risk of MTCT through breast milk. These and other studies have led toWorld Health Organization recommendations that can help prevent MTCT while allowing women in resource-limited settings to breastfeed their infants safely.
More recently,[when?] NIAID-funded scientists found that testing at-risk infants for HIV and then giving ART immediately to those who test positive dramatically reduces rates of illness and death. HIV-infected infants were four times less likely to die if given ART immediately after they were diagnosed with HIV, when compared with the standard of care (beginning ART in infants when they showed signs of HIV illness or a weakened immune system).
This finding helped influence the World Health Organization (WHO) to change its guidelines for treating HIV-infected infants. The guidelines now strongly recommend starting ART in all children under age 2 immediately after they have been diagnosed with HIV, regardless of their health status.[31][32]
In 2020, the NIAID Office of Communications & Government Relations' News & Science Writing Branch published anHIV Language Guide, "designed to help NIAID staff communicate with empowering rather than stigmatizing language" and it was quickly recognized that it has value beyond NIAID.[33] A draft of the2024 update was widely circulated, to incorporate feedback from community groups[33] and was published in April 2024[33] usingperson-first language,[34] but was removed from the NIAID website shortly after the second inauguration ofDonald Trump in January 2025,[35] with some commentators suggesting this is as a result of language in the guide aroundtransgender andgender nonconforming people being in contravention of President Trump'sexecutive order "Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government".[36][37]
In 2023, NIAID Office of Data Science and Emerging Technologies (ODSET) created the NIAID Data Discovery Portal to enhance the reuse of data and enable faster development of diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccines.[38] The NIAID Data Discovery Portal focuses on the findability of data, aggregating resources across numerous sources, including NIAID-supported repositories and general biomedical repositories.[39]
NIAID offers three-year fellowships for medical trainees in allergy/immunology and infectious diseases. TheseAccreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)-accredited fellowships provide intensive clinical training and research mentorship in clinical and basic science laboratories.[40]
The Allergy and Immunology Clinical Fellowship Program is open to physicians who are on track to complete an approved internal medicine or pediatric medicine residency program.[41]
The Infectious Diseases Fellowship Program is open to physicians who have completed three years of an internal medicine residency program in the United States or Canada.[42]
The appointment of Dr. Dorland J. Davis as Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases was announced last Friday by Surgeon General Luther L. Terry of the Public Health Service. Dr. Davis succeeds Dr. Justin M. Andrews, who retired after 22 years of Federal service, including seven years as Director of NIAID.
Dr. Dorland J. Davis, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases for the past 11 years, will retire on Friday, Aug. 1.
Dr. Krause will be the fourth Director of NIAID since the Institute's establishment in 1955. He succeeds Dr. Dorland J. Davis, who retired on Aug. 1. Dr. John R. Seal, NIAID scientific director, has served as Acting Director in the interim.
Dr. Richard M. Krause has resigned as Director of the National Institute of Allergy and infectious Diseases (NIAID) to become Dean of the Emory University School of Medicine, in Atlanta, Ga., effective July 6... Dr. Bernard Talbot has been named NIAID Acting Director.
Dr. Auchincloss served as NIAID Principal Deputy Director from 2006 to 2024. He stepped into additional leadership roles, assuming the responsibilities of NIAID Division of Intramural Research Acting Director from 2014 to 2015 and NIAID Acting Director from 2022 to 2023.
Dr. Marrazzo began her tenure as the sixth NIAID Director in the fall of 2023.
