The National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities

The National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) has as a mission the promotion of minority health and to lead, coordinate and support the efforts of the National Institutes on Health (NIH) to eventually help in the elimination of health disparities. The goals and purposes of NIMHD, according to their website, include: (1) “to assist in the development of an integrated national health research agenda,” (2) “to promote and facilitate the creation of a robust minority health research environment with sustained funding for a wide breath of studies,” and (3) “to promote, assist, and support research capacity building activities in the minority and medically underserved communities.” (Quotes are from the NIMHD mission statement.)

NIMHD was established in 1990 by the NIH Director as The Office of Research on Minority Health (ORMH). Two years later, in 1992, the centerpiece of the ORMH agenda (The Minority Health Initiative) was launched and funded initially at $45 million. By 1997, the Advisory Committee on Research on Minority Health was established. This Committee would provide advice to the Director of ORMH and the Director of NIH in relation to research and research training regarding minority health issues. In 2000 The National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NCMHD) was established with the passing of the Minority Health and Health Disparities Research and Education Act of 2000. The following year Dr. John Ruffin was sworn in as the first Director of NCMHD and programs mandated by Congress were implemented. By 2005, NCMHD had become responsible for the Minority International Research Training Program (MIRT). And on March 13th, 2010, NCMHD became The National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities.

Some of the programs that NIMHD supports includes the Centers of Excellence, the Research Endowment Program, the Loan Repayment Program, the Community Based Participatory Research, Minority Health and Health Disparities International Research Training, Research Infrastructure in Minority Institutions, and the Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Technology Transfer Program.

To learn more, including their highlights and funding opportunities, please visit NIMHD online. For current events, news, and conferences, please visit the NIMHD’s News & Events.