Healthy competition

What you need to know to win funding from the US National Institutes of Health

The National Institutes of Health in the United States has an annual budget of almost $40 billion (€35bn), most of it doled out as grants to researchers, including those working outside the US.

Part of the Department of Health and Human Services, the NIH is not a monolith. It comprises 27 institutes and centres such as the National Cancer Institute. Each has its own congressionally mandated budget, leadership, funding priorities and strategies. Understanding how they differ is essential to increasing your chances of success.