NIH Grants Total $5 Billion
The National Institutes of Health has awarded more than 12,000 grants for $5 billion in stimulus package funds toward research in HIV, cancer, heart disease, and autism. Announced at a press conference by President Obama, the grants come from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act passed and signed last spring. “This represents the single largest boost to biomedical research in history,” the president said. Some of the funds will be used to apply findings from the Human Genome Project to treatment and prevention of the target diseases. Other stimulus package funding was designated by the Department of Health and Human Services for chronic disease prevention and wellness programs as well as for information technology at large federally funded health centers. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will administer $373 million for the chronic disease programs and community-based approaches that increase physical activity, improve nutrition, and decrease obesity. Eighteen grants totaling more than $22 million will fund information technology in medicine, the department said.