U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 
NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH NIH News 
NIH Office of the Director (OD) <http://www.nih.gov/icd/od/>
For Immediate Release: Friday, November 16, 2012

CONTACT: NIH Office of Communications, 301-496-5787, <e-mail: 
xxxxxx@mail.nih.gov>

STATEMENT BY NIH DIRECTOR DR. FRANCIS COLLINS ON THE FUTURE OF SUBSTANCE USE, 
ABUSE, AND ADDICTION-RELATED RESEARCH AT NIH

Two years ago, the National Institutes of Health's Scientific Management Review 
Board (SMRB) issued a report recommending that NIH move to establish a new 
institute focused on substance use, abuse, and addiction-related research to 
optimize NIH research in these areas. Another option strongly considered by the 
SMRB was the functional integration of existing research resources, rather than 
creation of a new institute.

After rigorous review and extensive consultation with stakeholders, I have 
concluded that it is more appropriate for NIH to pursue functional integration, 
rather than major structural reorganization, to advance substance use, abuse, 
and addiction-related research.  To that end, the National Institute on Drug 
Abuse (NIDA) and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) 
will retain their institutional identities, while strengthening their ongoing 
efforts to work more closely with each other and with related research programs 
at other institutes and centers.

NIH has made significant progress in the last two years, coordinating research 
on substance use, abuse, and addiction across its various institutes and 
centers. This progress has bolstered my confidence that NIH can achieve the SMRB 
recommendations without structural reorganization. Moreover, given budget 
uncertainties, NIH must focus on advancing the entire biomedical research 
enterprise. The time, energy, and resources required for a major structural 
reorganization are not warranted, especially given that functional integration 
promises to achieve equivalent scientific and public health objectives. NIH will 
begin implementing this functional approach immediately, and develop metrics to 
ensure that we reach our goals to more effectively conduct and support research 
in these areas so vital to our nation's health. 

The Office of the Director, the central office at NIH, is responsible for 
setting policy for NIH, which includes 27 Institutes and Centers. This involves 
planning, managing, and coordinating the programs and activities of all NIH 
components. The Office of the Director also includes program offices which are 
responsible for stimulating specific areas of research throughout NIH. 
Additional information is available at <http://www.nih.gov/icd/od/>.

About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation's medical 
research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the 
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency 
conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, 
and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare 
diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit 
<http://www.nih.gov>.

NIH...Turning Discovery into Health -- Registered, U.S. Patent and Trademark 
Office

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This NIH Director's Statement is available online at:
<http://www.nih.gov/about/director/11162012_statement_suaa.htm>.

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