NIH Director Favors Merger of Institutes

Dec 3, 2010

U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director Francis Collins released a statement last week saying that the creation of a new institute focusing on addictions, as recommended by NIH’s Scientific Management Review Board, “makes scientific sense and would enhance NIH's efforts to address the substance abuse and addiction problems.”  This would include incorporating most current programs of the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, as well as relevant programs from other Institutes and Centers, such as those at the National Cancer Institute and the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.  Collins announced the creation of a task force to explore how forming the new institute could best be conducted. The task force plans to issue recommendations by next summer. 

http://www.nih.gov/news/health/nov2010/od-18.htm