The Academy of Radiology Research and the Growth of NIH Support for Imaging Research, 1995–2001

Abstract

In previous articles we have focused almost solely on the campaign to establish the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the current efforts to organize the new institute. At the time this is being written in early October, however, two of the most important processes related to organizing NIBIB—the search for a permanent director and the appropriation of funds for fiscal year 2002—are both incomplete. A search committee has been appointed to identify candidates for director, and the NIH is currently advertising for and accepting applications. In the legislative arena, the appropriation for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services (including the NIH), and Education has been slowed by uncertainties regarding the cost of the education bill passed by the Congress earlier this year. The Congress is expected to pass an appropriation for the NIH later in the fall. Despite these incomplete processes, there is some news concerning NIBIB to report. Acting NIBIB Director Donna J. Dean, PhD, and the current staff of the new institute have moved into permanent offices in Building 31 on the NIH campus. In addition, the NIBIB Web site is now operational. Information about NIBIB can be accessed at http://www.nibib.nih.gov. We will report further on the organization of NIBIB in future articles. While the effort to create the NIBIB has been the primary focus of the Academy of Radiology Research since its inception in 1995, the Academy has also worked more broadly to increase federal support for imaging research from the pre-NIBIB institutes at the NIH and to improve the capability of the discipline of radiology to take full advantage of such support. Just as the campaign to establish NIBIB has succeeded, the Academy has also achieved its broader goal. The stature and profile of medical imaging research in the federal government, particularly at the NIH, are appreciably higher in 2001 than in 1995.