The National Institute on Aging (NIA), one of the 25 institutes and centers of the National Institutes of Health, leads a broad scientific effort to understand the nature of aging and to extend the healthy, active years of life. In 1974, Congress granted authority to form the National Institute on Aging to provide leadership in aging research, training, health information dissemination, and other programs relevant to aging and older people. Subsequent amendments to this legislation designated the NIA as the primary federal agency on Alzheimer's disease research.

Mission

The NIA's mission is to improve the health and well-being of older Americans through research, and specifically to:

Support and conduct high quality research on:
-aging processes
-age-related diseases
-special problems and needs of the aged

Train and develop highly skilled research scientists from all population groups

Develop and maintain state-of-the-art resources to accelerate research progress

Disseminate information and communicate with the public and interested groups on health and research advances and on new directions for research.

Programs

NIA sponsors research on aging through extramural and intramural programs. The extramural program funds research and training at universities, hospitals, medical centers, and other public and private organizations nationwide. The intramural program conducts basic and clinical research in Baltimore, MD, and on the NIH campus in Bethesda, MD.

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