View source for National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences

{{Organization 
|OrganizationName= National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
|OrganizationType= Research and Development Agencies (Sub-organization)
|Mission= NIEHS conducts and funds research to discover how the environment influences human health and disease, with a focus on reducing the burden of environmentally related diseases through understanding, prevention, and intervention.
|OrganizationExecutive= Director
|Employees= 1000
|Budget= $866 million (Fiscal Year 2023)
|Website= https://www.niehs.nih.gov
|Services= Environmental Health Research; Toxicology; Exposure Science; Climate and Health; Training and Education
|ParentOrganization= National Institutes of Health
|CreationLegislation= 
|Regulations= 
|HeadquartersLocation= 35.926233, -78.891495
|HeadquartersAddress= 111 T.W. Alexander Drive, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709
}}
{{Infobox government agency
| name            = National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)
| seal            =
| logo            = National_Institute_of_Environmental_Health_Sciences_logo.svg
| formed          = 1966
| jurisdiction    = [[Federal Government of the United States]]
| employees       =
| budget          =
| chief1_name     = Dr. [[Richard Woychik]]
| chief1_position = Director
| chief2_name     = Dr. Trevor K. Archer
| chief2_position = Deputy Director
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| parent_department = [[Department of Health and Human Services]]
| parent_agency   = [[National Institutes of Health]]
| website         = {{URL|https://www.niehs.nih.gov/}}
}}
The '''National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences''' ('''NIEHS''') conducts research into the effects of the environment on human disease, as one of the 27 institutes and centers of the [[National Institutes of Health]] (NIH).  It is located in the [[Research Triangle Park]] in [[North Carolina]], and is the only primary division of the NIH located outside of the [[Washington metropolitan area]].

As an institute of the National Institutes of Health, the NIEHS supports environmental health research with the mission of reducing [[environmental disease]], advancing basic, [[environmental health]] and clinical science, and increasing the availability of researcher and worker training.

==Constitution==
The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences is a part of the National Institutes of Health, which is in turn a part of the [[United States Department of Health and Human Services]] (HHS).<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=March 12, 2024 |title=HHS Agencies & Offices |url=https://www.hhs.gov/about/agencies/hhs-agencies-and-offices/index.html |access-date=May 2, 2024 |website=U.S. Department of Health and Human Services}}</ref>

The [[mission statement|mission]] of the NIEHS is to "reduce the burden of human [[illness]] and [[disability]] by understanding how the [[Natural environment|environment]] influences the development and progression of [[human]] [[disease]]". NIEHS focuses on peer-reviewed<ref>{{Cite web |last=Levinson |first=Daniel R. |author-link=Daniel R. Levinson |date=August 29, 2017 |title=As Funding for BPA Research Increased, NIEHS Followed Its Peer Review Process While Also Exercising Its Discretion |url=https://oig.hhs.gov/reports-and-publications/all-reports-and-publications/as-funding-for-bpa-research-increased-niehs-followed-its-peer-review-process-while-also-exercising-its-discretion/ |website=U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General}}</ref> [[basic science]], disease-oriented research, global environmental health, clinical research, and multidisciplinary training for researchers.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Birnbaum |first=Linda S. |date=September 2018 |title=Moving NIEHS Forward for the Next Five Years |journal=Environmental Health Perspectives |language=en |volume=126 |issue=9 |doi=10.1289/EHP4356 |issn=0091-6765 |pmc=6375384 |pmid=30203991}}</ref>

NIEHS researchers and grantees have shown links between [[lung cancer]] and [[asbestos]] exposure, the developmental impairment of children exposed to [[lead]] and the health effects of [[urban area|urban]] [[pollution]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |date=October 2022 |title=The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences |url=https://www.niehs.nih.gov/sites/default/files/health/materials/niehs_overview_508.pdf |access-date=May 2, 2024 |website=National Institutes of Health}}</ref> The 1994 co-recipient of the [[Nobel Prize]] in medicine, Dr. [[Martin Rodbell]], served as Scientific Director of the NIEHS from 1985 to 1989.<ref>{{Cite journal |date=January 1999 |title=Martin rodbell obituary |journal=Environmental Health Perspectives |language=en |volume=107 |issue=1 |pages=A9 |doi=10.1289/ehp.107-1566302 |issn=0091-6765 |pmc=1566302 |pmid=9872722}}</ref> Later on in 1994, NIEHS scientists assisted in identifying the first [[breast cancer]] [[gene]], [[BRCA1]], and, in 1995, identified a gene that suppresses [[prostate cancer]].<ref name=":1" /> Work by NIEHS researchers and grantees has resulted in the development of [[Genetically modified mouse|genetically altered mice]] to improve and shorten the screening of potential [[toxins]] and to help develop aspirin-like anti-inflammatory drugs with fewer side effects.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Arnette |first=Robin |date=January 2022 |title=2021 Papers of the year |url=https://factor.niehs.nih.gov/2022/1/papers/papers-of-the-year |website=Environmental Factor}}</ref>

The Institute funds centers for environmental health studies at universities across the United States.

== History ==
[[File:NIEHS facility at RTP.png|thumb|NIEHS facility at Research Triangle Park]]
In 1966, U.S. Surgeon General [[William H. Stewart]] helped to create a Division of Environmental Health Sciences within the NIH.<ref>{{Cite web |title=William H. Stewart (1965-1969) |url=https://www.surgeongeneral.gov/about/previous/biostewart.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/3929/20171201191744/https://www.surgeongeneral.gov/about/previous/biostewart.html |archive-date=2017-12-01 |access-date=2017-12-01 |website=SurgeonGeneral.gov}}</ref> Three years later, the division became its own institute, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hawkins |first=Thomas R. |date=1987 |title=A History of Progress: NIEHS, The First 20 Years (1966 to 1986) |journal=Environmental Health Perspectives |volume=75 |pages=7–10 |doi=10.2307/3430569 |issn=0091-6765|doi-access=free |jstor=3430569 |pmid=3319568 |pmc=1474451 }}</ref> Past directors include Paul Kotin, [[David Rall]], [[Kenneth Olden]], David A. Schwartz, and Linda Birnbaum.<ref name="WhatWeDo" />

== Directors ==
{| class=wikitable style="text-align:center"
|-
!Portrait
!Directors
!Took office
!Left office
|-
|[[File:Paul Kotin.jpg|100px]]
|[[Paul Kotin]]<ref name="WhatWeDo">{{cite web|title=NIEHS Directors|url=https://www.nih.gov/about-nih/what-we-do/nih-almanac/national-institute-environmental-health-sciences-niehs|website=www.nih.gov|date=9 July 2015 }}</ref>
|November 1, 1966
|February 28, 1971
|-
|[[File:David Rall.jpg|100px]]
|[[David Rall]]<ref name="WhatWeDo" />
|March 1, 1971
|October 1, 1990
|-
|[[File:Noimage.svg|100px]]
|David G. Hoel (acting)<ref name="WhatWeDo" />
|October 1990
|June 1991
|-
|[[File:Kenneth Olden.jpg|100px]]
|[[Kenneth Olden]]<ref name="WhatWeDo" />
|1991
|2005
|-
|[[File:David A. Schwartz.jpg|100px]]
|[[David A. Schwartz]]<ref name="WhatWeDo" />
|May 22, 2005
|August 19, 2007
|-
|[[File:Acting NIEHS Director Samuel H. Wilson.jpg|100px]]
|Samuel H. Wilson (acting)<ref name="WhatWeDo" />
|August 20, 2007
|December 2008
|-
|[[File:Birnbaum (NIEHS).jpg|100px]]
|[[Linda Birnbaum]]<ref name="WhatWeDo" />
|January 16, 2009
|October 3, 2019
|-
|[[File:Rick Woychik.jpg|100px]]
|[[Richard Woychik]]<ref>{{cite web|title=NIH names Rick Woychik Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences|url=https://www.newswise.com/articles/nih-names-rick-woychik-director-of-the-national-institute-of-environmental-health-sciences|website=newswise.com}}</ref>
|June 7, 2020
|present
|-
|}

== Organization ==
The NIEHS is one of 27 institutes and centers of the [[National Institutes of Health]] (NIH), which is a component of the [[Department of Health and Human Services]] (HHS).<ref name=":0" /> NIEHS is located on {{convert|375|acre|km2}} in [[Research Triangle Park]] (RTP), North Carolina.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021 |title=NIEHS Sustainability Report 2021 |url=https://www.niehs.nih.gov/sites/default/files/about/assets/files/niehs_sustainability_report_2021_508.pdf |access-date=May 2, 2024 |website=National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences}}</ref> Its current director is Dr. Richard Woychik, who is also concurrently the director of the [[National Toxicology Program]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Liptak |first=Eve |date=March 27, 2024 |title=Federal environmental health director lays out road map for environmental health sciences |url=https://ysph.yale.edu/news-article/federal-environmental-health-director-lays-out-road-map-for-environmental-health-sciences/ |website=Yale School of Public Health}}</ref> The deputy director is Dr. Trevor Archer. The director of the NIEHS reports to the director of the NIH, of which the NIEHS is a member agency.<ref>{{Cite web |title=NIH Organizational Chart |url=https://oma.od.nih.gov/IC_Organization_Chart/NIH%20Organizational%20Chart.pdf |access-date=May 2, 2024 |website=National Institutes of Health}}</ref>

NIEHS is composed of:
* Division of Intramural Research (DIR), which is research done at NIEHS
* Division of Extramural Research and Training, which funds research conducted elsewhere
* Division of the [[National Toxicology Program]], which is an interagency program headquartered at NIEHS

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* [http://www.niehs.nih.gov/ National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences] official website

{{National Institutes of Health}}
{{United States government agencies involved in environmental science}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:National Institutes of Health|Environmental Health Sciences]]
[[Category:Environmental health organizations]]
[[Category:Medical and health organizations based in North Carolina]]
[[Category:Research institutes in North Carolina]]
[[Category:Medical research institutes in the United States]]