Renaming of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development in Honor of Mrs Eunice Kennedy Shriver

Abstract

“ I am delighted to approve the legislation authorizing the creation of a National Institute of Child Health and Human Development … . The future health of our Nation rests on the care of our children and the development of our knowledge of the medical and biological sciences … . Research in recent years has established beyond question that adult behavior, intelligence, and motivation are established by the experience and patterns of response developed in the formative years of life …”President John F. Kennedy, signing HR 11099, Public Law 87-838 (76 Stat. 1072), on October 17, 1962 With those prophetic words, President John F. Kennedy signed into law the creation of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), dedicated to conducting and supporting research on the health, development and well-being of women, infants, and children.1 Forty-five years later, in December 2007, the US Congress enacted legislation renaming the NICHD as the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.2 On March 3, 2008, the NIH honored Mrs Shriver, 86, in a ceremony, formally changing the name of the institute and inducting her into the NICHD Hall of Honor (Fig 1). In the same ceremony the NICHD released its new logo, prominently … Address correspondence to Tonse N. K. Raju, MD, 6100 Executive Blvd, Room 4B03, Bethesda, MD 20892. E-mail: rajut{at}mail.nih.gov