Director of the National Institutes of Health facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Director of the National Institutes of Health
Incumbent Monica Bertagnolli since November 9, 2023
Appointer	The President
Formation	August 1887
First holder	Joseph J. Kinyoun
Website	Official website: https://www.nih.gov/about-nih/who-we-are/nih-director

In the United States, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the primary agency responsible for medical research. The director of the National Institutes of Health plays an active role in shaping the agency's activities and outlook. The director is responsible for providing leadership to the institutes and for constantly identifying needs and opportunities, especially for efforts that involve multiple institutes. The NIH director is responsible for advising the U.S. president on their annual budget request to Congress on the basis of extensive discussions with the institute directors.

History

The position of the NIH Director became presidentially appointed with the passage of the National Cancer Act of 1971 and Senate confirmed with the National Cancer Act Amendments of 1974.  Prior to 1971, all NIH Directors were appointed by the Surgeon General, with the exception of Robert Q. Marston, who was appointed by the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare. Acting Directors are selected by the Secretary of Health and Human Services and hold the position until the President nominates a new director who is confirmed by the Senate.

List of directors

Unnumbered, colored rows indicate acting directors.

No.	Portrait	Name	Term in office	Appointed by
1		Joseph J. Kinyoun	August 1887 - April 30, 1899	John B. Hamilton
2		Milton J. Rosenau	May 1, 1899 - September 30, 1909	Walter Wyman
3		John F. Anderson	October 1, 1909 - November 19, 1915	Walter Wyman
4		George W. McCoy	November 20, 1915 - January 31, 1937	Rupert Blue
5		Lewis Ryers Thompson	February 1, 1937 - January 31, 1942	Thomas Parran
6		Rolla Dyer	February 1, 1942 - September 30, 1950	Thomas Parran
7		William H. Sebrell Jr.	October 1, 1950 - July 31, 1955	Leonard A. Scheele
8		James A. Shannon	August 1, 1955 - August 31, 1968	Leonard A. Scheele
9		Robert Q. Marston	September 1, 1968 - January 21, 1973	Wilbur J. Cohen
–		John F. Sherman	January 21, 1973 - May 28, 1973	Elliot L. Richardson
10		Robert Stone	May 29, 1973 - January 31, 1975	Richard Nixon
–		Ronald W. Lamont-Havers	February 1, 1975 - June 30, 1975	Caspar Weinberger
11		Donald S. Fredrickson	July 1, 1975 - June 30, 1981	Jimmy Carter
–		Thomas E. Malone	July 1, 1981 - April 28, 1982	Richard S. Schweiker
12		James Wyngaarden	April 29, 1982 - July 31, 1989	Ronald Reagan
–		William F. Raub	August 1, 1989 - April 8, 1991	Louis Wade Sullivan
13		Bernadine Healy	April 8, 1991 - June 30, 1993	George H.W. Bush
–		Ruth L. Kirschstein	July 1, 1993 - November 22, 1993	Donna Shalala
14		Harold E. Varmus	November 23, 1993 - December 31, 1999	Bill Clinton
–		Ruth L. Kirschstein	January 1, 2000 - May 2, 2002	Donna Shalala
15		Elias Zerhouni	May 3, 2002 - October 31, 2008	George W. Bush
–		Raynard S. Kington	November 1, 2008 - August 16, 2009	Michael O. Leavitt
16		Francis Collins	August 17, 2009 - December 19, 2021	Barack Obama
–		Lawrence A. Tabak	December 20, 2021 - November 8, 2023	Xavier Becerra
17		Monica Bertagnolli	November 9, 2023 – Present	Joe Biden