National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD)

• Mission
• Important Events
• Legislative Chronology
• Director
• Programs

Mission

The National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) leads scientific research to improve minority health and eliminate health disparities. To achieve its mission, the NIMHD:

• Plans, coordinates, reviews, and evaluates all minority health and health disparities research and activities of the NIH;
• Conducts and supports research in minority health and health disparities;
• Promotes and supports the training of a diverse research workforce;
• Translates and disseminates research information; and
• Fosters innovative collaborations and partnerships.

Vision

The NIMHD envisions an America in which all populations will have an equal opportunity to live long, healthy and productive lives. To accomplish this, NIMHD raises national awareness about the prevalence and impact of health disparities and disseminates effective individual-, community-, and population-level interventions to reduce and encourage elimination of health disparities.

Important Events in NIMHD History

1990 — The Office of Minority Programs (OMP) was established in the NIH Office of the Director, at the request of then Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Dr. Louis Sullivan. Dr. John Ruffin was appointed Associate Director of Minority Programs to direct the OMP.

1991 — The OMP convened an advisory Fact-Finding Team (FFT) to conduct three regional conferences with grassroots constituencies. The FFT issued a report with 13 recommendations from the community that guided the initial efforts of the OMP.

1992 — The Minority Health Initiative (MHI), the centerpiece of the OMP agenda, was launched in response to the FFT’s recommendations, and initially funded at $45 million. This multi-year biomedical and behavioral research and research training program is a partnership with the NIH Institutes and Centers. The OMP co-funded various projects including: 1) interventions to improve prenatal health and reduce infant mortality; 2) studies of childhood and adolescent lead poisoning; 3) HIV infection and AIDS; 4) alcohol and drug use studies; 5) research in adult populations focused on cancer, diabetes, obesity, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, mental disorders, asthma, visual impairments, and alcohol abuse; and 6) training for faculty and for students at all stages of the educational pipeline — from precollege and undergraduate through graduate and postdoctoral levels.

1992 — The OMP initiated a study with the National Academy of Sciences designed to present an overview of NIH extramural research training programs for minority students and to assess the feasibility of conducting a trans-NIH assessment of these programs.

1993 — Public Law 103-43, the Health Revitalization Act of 1993, established the Office of Research on Minority Health (ORMH) in the Office of the Director, NIH. Dr. John Ruffin was appointed as the Associate Director for Research on Minority Health.

1994 — The National Conference on Minority Health Research and Research Training was held in Chicago.

1996 — Conferences were held in Honolulu, Hawaii; Miami, Florida; and Puerto Rico to inform ORMH constituencies of the progress made, to solicit feedback on those achievements, and to obtain information on the needs of minority populations.

1997 — The Advisory Committee on Research on Minority Health was established to provide advice to the Director, ORMH, and to the Director, NIH, regarding research and research training with respect to minority health issues.

1998 — The first meeting of the Advisory Committee on Minority Health was held.

2000 — The ORMH celebrated its 10th anniversary with a conference entitled Closing the Minority Health Gap: 10 Years of Progress and Challenge in Eliminating Health Disparities.

2000 — The National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NCMHD) was established by the passage of the Minority Health and Health Disparities Research and Education Act of 2000, Public Law 106-525, which was signed by the President of the United States, William Jefferson Clinton, on November 22, 2000. The bill was introduced into the Congress by Senator Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts.

2001 — Dr. John Ruffin was sworn in as the first director of the National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities.

2001 — Programs mandated by Congress were implemented to expand the infrastructure of Institutions committed to health disparities research and to encourage the recruitment and retention of highly qualified minority and other scientists in the fields of biomedical, clinical, behavioral, and health services research: 1) the Endowment Program, 2) the Loan Repayment Program for Health Disparities Research, and 3) the Extramural Clinical Research Loan Repayment Program for Individuals from Disadvantaged Backgrounds.

2002 — The Congressionally mandated program, Centers of Excellence program was launched, referred to as Project EXPORT — Partnerships for Community Outreach, Research on Health Disparities and Training.

2002 — The first meeting of the National Advisory Council on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NACMHD) was convened.

2002 — The NCMHD assumed responsibility for the Research Infrastructure in Minority Institutions Program (RIMI), which was established by its predecessor ORMH, in partnership with the National Center for Research Resources.

2003 — The first NIH Strategic Research Plan and Budget to Reduce and Ultimately Eliminate Health Disparities was issued.

2005 — The NCMHD assumed responsibility for the Minority International Research Training Program (MIRT) which was established by its predecessor ORMH in partnership with Fogarty International Center (FIC). The program was renamed to be more consistent with the mission of the NCMHD to the Minority Health and Health Disparities International Research Training (MHIRT) program.

2005 — The NCMHD Community Based Participatory Research (CBPR) program was established. This program supports community-based participatory research intervention studies to reduce health disparities caused by diseases or conditions affecting minority and other health disparity communities.

2005 — The National Research Council of the National Academies released the report Assessment of NIH Minority Research and Training Programs: Phase 3. The report was the culmination of a series of assessments and analyses of the NIH minority research and training programs initiated by the ORMH, the predecessor to the NCMHD. This report examined the effectiveness of the programs and provided recommendations for improvement.

2006 — The Institute of Medicine of the National Academies issued the report Examining the Health Disparities Research Plan of the National Institutes of Health: Unfinished Business. The NCMHD requested this report to assess the adequacy of the NIH Health Disparities Strategic Plan in achieving the goals and objectives, to evaluate the adequacy of coordination among the NIH Institutes and Centers in developing the strategic plan, and to obtain recommendations to help NIH achieve the objectives of the strategic plan.

2007 — The NCMHD Centers of Excellence in Partnerships for Community Outreach, Research on Health Disparities and Training (Project EXPORT), was re-competed for the first time. The program was also renamed the NCMHD Centers of Excellence program.

2008 — NCMHD hosted the first NIH Science of Eliminating Health Disparities Summit on December 16-18, 2008. The summit attracted more than 4,000 participants including scientists, health care practitioners, policy makers, community leaders, and students who work or have an interest in eliminating health disparities. Acclaimed poet Maya Angelou spoke at the opening ceremony.

2008 — NIH Director Dr. Elias Zerhouni approved an Intramural Research Program (IRP) for the NCMHD. Acting NIH Director Dr. Raynard Kington announced the creation of the NCMHD IRP at the NIH Science of Eliminating Health Disparities Summit.

2009 — NCMHD launched its Health Disparities Research on Minority and Underserved Populations program. This Research Project Grant (R01) funds original and innovative research addressing elements that support the advancement of research to eliminate health disparities.

2009 — NCMHD launched the NIH Health Disparities Seminar Series in July 2009. The monthly lecture series brings national and international health disparities experts including NIH and federal agency partners to the NIH to share information about advances, gaps, and current issues related to health disparities research.

2009 — The NCMHD Disparities Research and Education Advancing our Mission (DREAM) program was launched as a component of the NCMHD Intramural Research Program.

2009 — The Research Infrastructure in Minority Institutions (RIMI) program was renamed the Building Research Infrastructure and Capacity (BRIC) program to be more consistent with the mission of NCMHD.

2009 — NCMHD partnered with the NIH Office of Intramural Research to sponsor the 2009 NIH J. Edward Rall Cultural Lecture as part of the NIH Wednesday Afternoon Lecture Series, featuring Dr. Maya Angelou.

2009 — NCMHD, in partnership with the HHS Office of Minority Health and the U.S. Department of Education formalized the Federal Collaboration on Health Disparities Research (FCHDR) comprised of 14 federal executive departments. FCHDR promotes enhanced coordination of efforts to improve the health of health disparity populations. NCMHD co-leads FCHDR.

2010 — NCMHD was re-designated to the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) with the passing of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. In addition, the Research Endowment program was expanded to include NIMHD Centers of Excellence as eligible institutions.

2010 — NIMHD launched a two-week intensive Translational Health Disparities Course: Integrating Principles of Science, Practice, and Policy in Health Disparities Research.

2010 — NIMHD launched a Faith-based Initiative on Health Disparities and a Social Determinants of Health Initiative.

2011 — NIMHD established the Scientific Education Initiative, which supports educational, mentoring, and career development programs for individuals from health disparity populations that are underrepresented in the research sciences.

2011 — NIMHD launched the Resource-Related Minority Health and Health Disparities Research Initiative to support minority health and health disparities research activities using a cooperative agreement which requires substantial federal scientific or programmatic involvement.

2011 — NIMHD appointed William G. Coleman, Jr., Ph.D., as the NIMHD's first permanent scientific director and the first African American scientific director in the history of the NIH Intramural Research Program.

2011 — NIMHD assumed responsibility for the Research Centers in Minority Institutions (RCMI) program formerly administered by the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR).

2012 — NIMHD organized the first-ever “NIH Minority Health Promotion Day” on April 19, 2012 in honor of National Minority Health Month working with the other NIH ICs and other federal agencies.

2012 — NIMHD established its Transdisciplinary Collaborative Centers for Health Disparities Research Program to support transdisciplinary coalitions of academic institutions, community organizations, service providers and systems, government agencies, and other stakeholders focused on select topics related to health disparities.

2012 — NIMHD hosted the 2012 Science of Eliminating Health Disparities Summit from December 17-19, 2012, a partnership with the NIH Institutes and Centers, the HHS agencies, and 14 of the 15 federal executive departments. Rescheduled due to Hurricane Sandy in October 2012, the summit attracted thousands of participants. Major highlights included a portrait unveiling for former Congressman Louis Stokes and dedication of the Summit to the late Senator Arlen Specter.

2013 — NIMHD held the third Translational Health Disparities Course: Integrating Principles of Science, Practice, and Policy in Health Disparities Research. NIMHD selected 90 scholars from 450 applications — the largest class and number of applications to date.

2013 — NIMHD launched The Health Disparities Pulse, a newsletter for the health disparities community covering a wide array of topics, issues, and information pertaining to minority health and health disparities research and activities.

March 31, 2014 — John Ruffin, Ph.D., retired as the first Director of NIMHD. Yvonne T. Maddox, Ph.D., became Acting Director of NIMHD.

2014 — NIMHD held the fourth Translational Health Disparities Course: Integrating Principles of Science, Practice, and Policy in Health Disparities Research. NIMHD selected 92 scholars from 325 applications.

2014 — NIMHD launched the System-Level Health Services and Policy Research on Health Disparities program to support original and innovative system-level health services or policy research directed toward eliminating health disparities.

2014 — NIMHD signed onto the parent trans-NIH RO1 research project grant program to expand opportunities for investigator-initiated research in health disparities.

2014 — NIMHD cosponsors the NIH Medical Research Scholars Program, a comprehensive, year-long residential research enrichment program for medical, dental, and veterinary students located on the NIH campus in Bethesda, Maryland.

2014 — NIMHD held an American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) research forum that featured presentations from several prominent NIH-funded AI/AN researchers and a panel discussion on the challenges in conducting biomedical research and developing a research career. 

2015 — NIMHD commemorates its fifth anniversary.

2015 — NIMHD partnered with the National Hispanic Medical Association to host a Consensus Summit on Building Diversity in Medicine and Research where participants shared lessons learned, discussed best practices, and established innovative strategies and recommendations for next steps toward enhancing workforce diversity in medicine and biomedical and behavioral research.

2015 — In recognition of National Minority Health Month in April, NIMHD hosted several events under the theme, “30 Years of Advancing Health Equity; The Heckler Report: A Force for Ending Health Disparities in America,” to mark the 30th anniversary of the Report of the Secretary’s Task Force on Black and Minority Health. NIH director Dr. Francis Collins hosted Valerie Jarrett, senior advisor to President Barack Obama and assistant to the President for intergovernmental affairs and public engagement, for a conversation in Masur Auditorium. The first NIMHD Health Disparities Science Café: Effectively Communicating and Disseminating Science to Inform Public Health Policy—was held in the Clinical Center atrium as part of NIH Minority Health Promotion Day. There were also exhibitors from NIH institutes and centers, the HHS Office of Minority Health Resource Center, and three local NIMHD grantees.

2015 — NIMHD and the American College of Surgeons hosted a Symposium on Disparities in Surgical Care and Outcomes to assess the current state of the science and develop a research agenda for addressing the disparities in surgical care, outcomes and treatment.

2015 — NIMHD partners with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and other Federal agencies to promote physical activity and nutrition among Latino youth through Fuel Up to Play 60 en Español, a program coordinated by the GENYOUth through a collaboration between the National Football League, the National Dairy Council and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

2015 — NIMHD and the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., launched an educational outreach initiative titled Brother, You’re On My Mind (BYOMM): Changing the National Dialogue Regarding Mental Health Among African-American Men. The focus is to raise awareness about the mental health challenges associated with stress and depression that affect African-American men and their families.

September 1, 2015 — Eliseo J. Pérez-Stable, M.D., became second director of NIMHD.

2016 — NIMHD held the institute’s first Health Disparities Research Institute (HDRI), designed to create a path towards the independent-investigator career track.  HDRI replaces the institute’s original course, established in 2010, and aims to help participants understand the intersections between science, policy and practice and to learn about methods and cutting edge issues in the science of minority health and health disparities.  NIMHD selected 51 scholars from over 500 applications.  Scholars from 22 states and one U.S. territory, ranging in discipline from M.D. and Ph.D. to R.N. and Pharm. D., made up the cohort.

2016 — NIMHD Director Eliseo J. Pérez-Stable, M.D., announced the formal designation of sexual and gender minorities (SGMs) as a health disparity population for NIH research with support from Andrew Bindman, M.D., director of Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. The term SGM encompasses lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender populations, as well as those whose sexual orientation, gender identity and expressions, or reproductive development varies from traditional, societal, cultural, or physiological norms.

2016 — NIMHD released a new funding opportunity announcement (FOA) for its flagship program Research Centers in Minority Institutions (RCMI).  The new FOA capitalizes on the program’s capacity to generate new scientific discoveries in minority health and health disparities research and to stimulate the next generation of researchers from underrepresented populations in institutions that are committed to this mission.

2017 — Every April, NIMHD joins the HHS Office of Minority Health and other sister agencies to recognize National Minority Health Month. NIMHD held its inaugural Minority Health 5K Walk/Run at NIH on April 12 in celebration of National Minority Health Month. https://nihrecord.nih.gov/newsletters/2017/05_19_2017/seen.htm

2017 — NIMHD hosted a Fireside Chat with NIH Director Dr. Francis S. Collins and the family of former U.S. Congressman Louis Stokes about his life and legacy, in recognition of his autobiography, The Gentleman from Ohio.  In 1990, Stokes was instrumental in launching NIH’s Office of Minority Programs, later named the Office of Research on Minority Health, and finally NIMHD. https://videocast.nih.gov/Summary.asp?Live=26485&bhcp=1

2017 — NIMHD launched the William G. Coleman Jr., Ph.D., Minority Health and Health Disparities Research Innovation Award, announcing three postdoctoral fellows within the NIH Intramural Research Program  The competitive award seeks to support innovative research ideas and concepts – proposing potential for high impact in areas of minority health and health disparities research. https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/nimhd-announces-recipients-inaugural-william-g-coleman-jr-phd-minority-health-health-disparities-research-innovation-award

2017 — NIMHD has organized minority health and health disparities research around three research interest areas: Clinical and Health Services Research, Integrative Biological and Behavioral Sciences, and Community Health and Population Sciences. Each research area focuses on impacting the health determinants that contribute to poor health outcomes and to health disparity conditions. https://www.nimhd.nih.gov/programs/extramural/research-areas/

2017 — NIMHD announced the appointment of Dr. Anna María Nápoles, Ph.D., M.P.H., as scientific director of its Division of Intramural Research (DIR), making her the first Latina named to the position at the National Institutes of Health. She replaced Dr. William Coleman, Jr.  https://www.nimhd.nih.gov/news-events/features/inside-nimhd/nimhd-mourns-coleman.html

2017 — NIMHD hosted the workshop Addressing Health Disparities through the Utilization of Health Information Technology, on May 11 and 12 to facilitate discussion around how technology can be better leveraged in a way that is beneficial to all populations.  NIMHD also hosted the workshop Structural Racism/Discrimination: Impact on Minority Health and Health Disparities, on May 22 and 23. The goal of this workshop was to identify and understand how to systematically incorporate the construct of structural racism/discrimination into minority health and health disparities.

2018 — The NIMHD Scientific Advancement Plan was established to improve health equity by advancing the science of minority health and health disparities. The Scientific Advancement Plan outlines NIMHD's approach to champion the fields of minority health and health disparities research to both contribute to and benefit from these advances in the interest of health disparity populations and to foster the next generation of researchers to lead discoveries that will promote health equity. https://www.nimhd.nih.gov/about/overview/scientific-advancement.html

2018 — NIMHD establishes three research areas within the Intramural Research Program: Population and Community Sciences, Social and Behavioral Sciences and Genomic Sciences. The IRP research agenda addresses a wide array of health problems that disproportionately affect health disparity populations. Current efforts focus on three disease areas that have significant health disparities: cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and cancer. https://www.nimhd.nih.gov/programs/intramural/

2018 — NIMHD re-launched their Director’s Seminar Series to stimulate dialogue on scientific issues affecting minority health and health disparities science. The forum highlights novel research discoveries by prominent researchers who are advancing the science of minority health and health disparities. https://www.nimhd.nih.gov/news-events/conferences-events/directors-seminar-series/

2018 — In collaboration with the Association of American Medical Colleges, leaders of NIMHD gathered to address barriers contributing to the lack of diversity in the biomedical workforce. A 3-phase approach brought together officials from NIH, academia and leading medical associations. The third and final phase of the 3-phase approach will place an emphasis on forming an innovative process to produce deliverables and establishing realistic target dates for their completion. https://nihrecord.nih.gov/2019/03/22/workshop-addresses-lack-diversity-workforc

2019 — NIMHD published 30 research strategies in the AJPH supplement, New Perspectives to Advance Minority Health and Health Disparities Research, as part of a science visioning process to transform minority health and health disparities research. The strategies fall under three pillars used to guide science visioning and provide a new paradigm to stimulate research in the fields: methods and measurement, etiology and interventions. https://www.nimhd.nih.gov/about/overview/science-visioning/

2019 — The U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams and CAPT Felecia Collins (promoted to RADM in 2020), director, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Minority Health kicked off NIMHD’s National Minority Health Month 5K to recognize the importance of building awareness about the disproportionate burden of premature death and illness in minority populations and to encourage action through health education, early detection, and control of disease complications. https://nihrecord.nih.gov/2019/06/14/guest-speakers-engage-crowd-minority-health-5k 

2019 — NIMHD co-hosted a historic visit by researchers from the University of Guam that included randomized clinical trial protocol training for nursing students at the NIH Clinical Center; presentations from the NIMHD intramural research program investigators; and networking and discussion on building capacity for population health research in the U.S. Affiliated Pacific Islands, Pacific Islands Cohort on Cardiometabolic Health.

2020 — NIMHD hosted the 10th Anniversary Scientific Symposium: Innovations to Promote Health Equity, a day-long scientific symposium featuring innovative discoveries, prominent researchers, and strategic discussions on minority health and health disparities, on March 3, 2020. https://www.nimhd.nih.gov/news-events/features/inside-nimhd/10yr-anniversary.html.

2020 — NIMHD launched the PhenX Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) Assessments Collection, within the PhenX Toolkit, which expands upon the previous SDOH collection to help measure upstream factors that shape behaviors and health outcomes. This collection provides a common currency for studying social determinants of health across public health research studies. https://www.nimhd.nih.gov/programs/collab/phenx/index.html.

2020 — NIMHD announced the appointment of Dr. Monica Webb Hooper as Deputy Director of NIMHD. She works closely with the Director, Dr. Pérez-Stable, and the leadership, to manage all aspects of the Institute and to support the implementation of the science visioning recommendations to improve minority health, reduce health disparities, and promote health equity.  https://www.nimhd.nih.gov/about/overview/staff-directory/hooper.html

2020 — NIMHD co-leads the Community Engagement Alliance (CEAL) Against COVID-19 Disparities with the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute to effectively address misinformation, promote trust in science, and overcome barriers that impede inclusion in research efforts to prevent and treat COVID-19 among communities disproportionately impacted by the pandemic. The Alliance is supported by the NIH Tribal Health Research Office, the All of Us Research Program, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences.

2021 — NIMHD Director, Dr. Eliseo J. Pérez-Stable, and Dr. Gary H. Gibbons, director, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) were awarded the Samuel J. Heyman Service to America (the Sammies) COVID-19 Response Medal. The award honored their work spearheading two outreach programs—RADx-UP and the Community Engagement Alliance (CEAL) Against Covid-19 Disparities. These programs coordinate community-based research and leadership to reduce the disparate levels of COVID-19 associated morbidity and mortality experienced by underserved and vulnerable communities.  The COVID-19 Response medal was added to the Sammies to recognize the extraordinary efforts led by federal workers in response to the pandemic. https://www.nimhd.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/2021/pr-2021-10-28-drs-perez-stable-and-gibbons-receive-service-to-america-medal.html

2022 — An NIMHD-funded study offered the first comprehensive, county-level estimates of life expectancy in the US and highlighted important differences among racial and ethnic groups. The study was carried out by the Global Burden of Disease U.S. Health Disparities Collaborators at NIH (a team of researchers from NIMHD, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; National Cancer Institute; National Institute on Aging; National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases; Office of Disease Prevention; and Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research) and a partnership with the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/life-expectancy-us-increased-between-2000-2019-widespread-gaps-among-racial-ethnic-groups-exist

2023 — Findings from an NIMHD-funded study showed that racial and ethnic health disparities cost the U.S. economy $451 billion in 2018, a 41% increase from the previous estimate of $320 billion in 2014. The study is the first to estimate the total economic burden of health disparities for five racial and ethnic minority groups nationally and for all 50 states and the District of Columbia.  It is also the first to estimate the economic burden of health disparities by educational levels as a marker of socioeconomic status, which totaled $978 billion for persons with less than a college degree in 2018. The study was conducted by NIMHD researchers along with Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Uniformed Services University, TALV Corp, and the National Urban League. https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/nih-funded-study-highlights-financial-toll-health-disparities-united-states

2023 — NIMHD Deputy Director, Dr. Monica Webb Hooper received two prestigious public honors. She was recognized as one of the Most Influential People of African Descent (MIPAD) for her contributions in health and wellness toward the advancement of people of African descent. She was also acknowledged by Academic Influence (AI), who recognized her as one of the 25 most influential Black psychologists and among the 50 influential Black anthropologists for the past 30 years. https://www.nimhd.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/2023/pr-2023-05-24-monica-webb-hooper-honored.html

2023 — NIMHD awarded grants to six institutions through the John Lewis NIMHD Research Endowment Program, which was established through the John Lewis NIMHD Research Endowment Revitalization Act of 2021 (Public Lae 117-104) . The program will help support minority health and health disparities research capacity and infrastructure at the institutions. https://www.nimhd.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/2023/nimhd-endowments-awarded-to-build-research-capacity.html

NIMHD Legislative History

1993 — P.L. 103-43, the Health Revitalization Act of 1993, established the Office of Research on Minority Health in the Office of the Director of the National Institutes of Health.

2000 — P.L. 106-525, Minority Health and Health Disparities Research and Education Act of 2000, established the National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities. It also called for the development of a NIH comprehensive strategic research plan and budget for health disparities research. It authorizes the NCMHD Director and the Director of the Agency for Health care Research and Quality (AHRQ) to define health disparity populations. The law also requires the NCMHD to maintain communications with all Public Health Service agencies and other Departments of the Federal government to disseminate health disparities research information.

2010 — On March 23, 2010, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (P.L. 111-148) passed and re-designated the NCMHD to an Institute, the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD). The law gave the NIMHD authority to plan, review, coordinate, and evaluate the minority health and health disparities research and activities conducted and supported by the NIH Institutes and Centers. In addition, it transferred all of the responsibilities of the NCMHD to the NIMHD and expanded the eligibility criteria for the Research Endowment program to include institutions with an active NIMHD Center of Excellence grant.

Biographical Sketch of NIMHD Director Eliseo J. Pérez-Stable, M.D. 

Eliseo J. Pérez-Stable, M.D., is Director of the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). He oversees the Institute’s $281 million budget to conduct and support research, training, research capacity and infrastructure development, public education, and information dissemination programs to improve minority health and reduce health disparities. NIMHD is the lead organization at NIH for planning, reviewing, coordinating, and evaluating minority health and health disparities research activities conducted by NIH Institutes and Centers.

Dr. Pérez-Stable’s expertise spans a broad range of health disparities disciplines. His research interests have centered on improving the health of racial and ethnic minorities and underserved populations, advancing patient-centered care, improving cross-cultural communication skills among health care professionals, and promoting diversity in the biomedical research workforce.

Recognized as a leader in Latino health care and disparities research, Dr. Pérez-Stable has spent more than 30 years leading research on smoking cessation and tobacco control policy in Latino populations in the United States and Latin America. His collaborations with researchers and public health advocates in Argentina have helped to put tobacco use on the country’s public health agenda, raising awareness of tobacco use as a critical public health problem, building capacity for tobacco control policy, and creating opportunities for prevention and treatment measures through physician education and smoking cessation programs.

Prior to becoming NIMHD Director, Dr. Pérez-Stable built a career at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), where he was a professor of medicine, chief of the Division of General Internal Medicine, and director of the Center for Aging in Diverse Communities (CADC), which is funded by NIH’s National Institute on Aging (NIA). Through the CADC, he continued his commitment to developing a diverse workforce in clinical and population science research by mentoring and collaborating with many minority fellows and junior faculty from a variety of disciplines. Dr. Pérez-Stable was also Director of the UCSF Medical Effectiveness Research Center for Diverse Populations, which addresses issues for African Americans, Asians, and Latinos in the areas of cancer, cardiovascular disease, aging, and reproductive health.

As a co-principal investigator of the Redes En Acción National Latino Cancer Control Research and Education Network funded by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), Dr. Pérez-Stable spearheaded the development of a research agenda on tobacco control for minority populations in the United States. In addition, he was an NCI-funded Staff Investigator and Assistant Director for Health Care Disparities at the UCSF Comprehensive Cancer Center as well as a member of the NCI and Legacy Foundation’s Tobacco Disparities Research Network (TReND).

Dr. Pérez-Stable has been a leader in the field of research on aging among minorities and served as a member of the National Institute on Aging’s Advisory Council from 2011 to 2014 and as the chair of the Council’s Minority Task Force on Aging from 2012 to 2014. He has authored numerous scientific papers, reviewed articles for a variety of professional publications, and delivered keynote lectures and presentations at many domestic and international conferences.

Dr. Pérez-Stable has received many honors and awards throughout his career, including UCSF’s Kaiser Award for Excellence in Teaching, the Society of General Internal Medicine’s John M. Eisenberg National Award for Career Achievement in Research, and election to the National Academy of Medicine (formerly Institute of Medicine) of the National Academy of Sciences. He was honored with the UCSF Lifetime Achievement in Mentoring Award in July 2015. Dr. Pérez-Stable was born in Cuba and grew up in Miami, Florida. He earned his B.A. in chemistry from the University of Miami and his M.D. from the University of Miami School of Medicine. He completed his primary care internal medicine residency and research fellowship at UCSF.

NIMHD Directors

Name	In Office from	To
John Ruffin, Ph.D.	August 1990	March 2014
Yvonne T. Maddox, Ph.D. (Acting)	April 2014	April 2015
Lawrence A. Tabak, D.D.S., Ph.D. (Acting)	May 2015	August 2015
Eliseo J. Pérez-Stable, M.D.	September 2015	Present

Programs

Four official organizational components comprise NIMHD:

The Office of the Director (OD)

The Office of the Director (OD) determines and provides leadership to the Institute’s programs, plans, and policies. It provides leadership for the NIH minority health and health disparities research and activities including the implementation of the Minority Health and Health Disparities Research and Education Act (P.L. 106-525) and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (P.L. 111-148) and other relevant public laws as they relate to the NIMHD mission. The NIMHD OD directs an integrated system of coordination for the NIH health disparities research program and the Institute’s development and coordination of minority health and health disparities research programs, activities, and strategic partnerships with the NIH Institutes and Centers; NIH Office of the Director; Federal agencies; state, local, tribal, and regional public health agencies; and private entities. The NIMHD OD’s four organizational components include the Office of Administrative Management, the Office of Communications and Public Liaison, the Office of Extramural Research Administration, and the Office of Strategic Planning, Legislation, and Scientific Policy. The NIMHD OD provides leadership for the NIH health disparities strategic plan and budget and leads the management, communications, legislation, strategic planning, science policy, and ethics activities for the Institute. It also provides leadership for developing and revising the national definition for health disparity population in consultation with the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

Division of Scientific Programs (DSP)

The Division of Scientific Programs (DSP) serves as the focal point for planning, directing, implementing, and managing the Institute’s extramural research programs, including its legislatively mandated extramural research programs and other research, research training, research capacity building, career development, and community-based participatory research initiatives. The organizational components of this division include the Office of Research Training and Capacity Building and the Office of Research Innovation and Program Coordination. DSP manages a diverse portfolio of special projects with respect to minority health conditions and other populations with health disparities, determines program priorities, and recommends funding strategies to achieve program goals.

Division of Data Management and Scientific Reporting (DDMSR)

The Division of Data Management and Scientific Reporting (DDMSR) provides leadership for knowledge management and scientific reporting. It maintains a Health Disparities Information (HDI) database to facilitate the collection, interpretation, and analysis of data, education, dissemination, and communication of information to various audiences in collaboration with other organizational components of the Institute. This division collaborates with the Office of Strategic Planning, Legislation, and Scientific Policy to analyze and synthesize data on minority health and health disparities research conducted and supported by the Institutes and Centers. It also coordinates reporting requests on the Institute and NIH activities on minority health and health disparities research; provides epidemiological and statistical expertise for the Institute on planning, designing, and implementing research studies and to support research programs; coordinates data collection activities and reporting on minority health and health disparities including the Institute’s implementation of relevant policies, regulations, and laws; and provides advice to the Institute senior management and program officials on data collection standards and guidelines. The DDMSR coordinates Institute activities under the Privacy Act and administers the Institute's Freedom of Information Act activities.

Division of Intramural Research (DIR)

This Division of Intramural Research (DIR) provides leadership for the Institute’s intramural research program to prevent, diagnose, treat, and understand disease and conditions that disproportionately affect health disparity populations. It plans, develops, and conducts innovative trans-disciplinary research focusing on the linkage between biological and non-biological determinants of health in health disparity populations to include basic, behavioral, social sciences, and clinical research. This division develops, coordinates, and implements training and career development programs in minority health and health disparities research. It collaborates with and coordinates intramural research on minority health and health disparities conducted by the Institutes and Centers, integrates new research into the Institute’s program structure, and provides advice to the Institute Director and staff on matters of scientific interest to the Institute.

NIMHD Leading Programs:

Investigator-Initiated Research Project Grants on Health Disparities, a NIH Research Project Grant (R01) program, supports original and innovative research addressing elements that eliminate health disparities. The program consists of two initiatives focused on a) basic and applied research; and b) social, behavioral, health services, and policy research. It also supports the study of diseases/conditions that contribute to poor health outcomes or disproportionately impact racial and ethnic minority populations, rural and urban poor, and other health disparity populations.

The System-Level Health Services and Policy Research on Health Disparities Program (RO1) supports innovative system-level health services or policy research directed toward the complex and multi-factorial web of interconnected factors of health disparities.

The Community-Based Participatory Research Program (CBPR) is designed to promote collaborative research between scientific researchers and members of the community through the joint design and implementation of intervention research projects targeting health disparities in underserved populations including racial and ethnic minorities, rural populations, and individuals of low socio-economic status.

The ultimate goal is to foster sustainable efforts at the community level that will accelerate the translation of research advances to health disparity populations and eliminate health disparities. The CBPR initiative has three phases. It starts with a three-year planning grant, followed by a competitive five-year intervention grant and concludes with a competitive three year information dissemination grant. This is a long term commitment by the NIMHD with potential funding for up to 11 years in individual CBPR projects.

The Academic Research Enhancement Award (AREA): Enhancing Health Disparities Research at Undergraduate Institutions supports small-scale research projects at institutions of higher education to expose students to meritorious research and to strengthen the research environment at the institution.

The NIH Medical Research Scholars Program (MRSP)
NIMHD cosponsors this competitive, rigorous, comprehensive, year-long residential research enrichment program for medical, dental, and veterinary students. Located on the NIH Intramural research campus in Bethesda, Maryland, the program engages scholars in a mentored basic, translational, or clinical research project in an area that matches their personal interests and career/research goals.

The Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Technology Transfer Program (SBIR/STTR) is a highly competitive federal program mandated by the Congress as a part of the Small Business Development Act. Each year designated federal departments and agencies award a reserved portion of their research and development funds to small businesses and to partnerships between small businesses and nonprofit research institutions to bring innovative technologies to market. The NIMHD SBIR/STTR programs give high priority to research activities designed to empower health disparity communities to achieve health equity through health education, disease prevention, and community-based, problem driven research.

The Centers of Excellence Program (COE) is congressionally mandated by Public Law 106-525. The program was established to develop novel programs in the U.S. that would make significant advances and contributions to easing the health burden in underserved populations and in reducing and ultimately eliminating health disparities in several priority diseases and conditions. The program creates centers within colleges and universities to address health disparities through research, research training and education, and community engagement. These centers typically become local hubs for health disparities research, addressing the biological, environmental, behavioral, and social factors that contribute to health disparities. The NIMHD Centers of Excellence Program includes the following types of centers:

The Exploratory and Comprehensive Centers of Excellence Programs aim to reduce health disparities in several priority diseases and conditions. These include but are not limited to cardiovascular disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes, HIV/AIDS, infant mortality, mental health, and obesity. The program also supports research on lung and liver diseases, psoriasis, scleroderma, kidney injury, and other conditions that disproportionately affect health disparity populations. Translational research is strongly encouraged as well.

The Transdisciplinary Collaborative Centers for Health Disparities Research Program establishes specialized centers that support transdisciplinary regional coalitions focused on priority areas in minority health and health disparities research, such as health policy, the social determinants of health, and men’s health. Coalitions bring together academic institutions, community organizations, service providers and systems, government agencies, and other stakeholders. The program supports targeted research, implementation, and dissemination activities that transcend customary approaches and “silo” organizational structures to address critical questions at multiple levels.

The Research Centers in Minority Institutions Program (RCMI) enhances the research capacity and infrastructure at minority institutions that offer doctorates in the health professions or health sciences by expanding human and physical resources for conducting basic, clinical, and translational research.

The Centers of Excellence on Environmental Health Disparities Research support interdisciplinary research to better understand how the complex interactions between social, natural, biological, and built environments influence the health of individuals and populations. Outcomes of this research are expected to promote innovative approaches to mitigate environmentally driven health disparities and improve access to healthy environments for vulnerable populations.

The Resource-Related Minority Health and Health Disparities Research Initiative supports minority health and health disparities research activities using a cooperative agreement which requires substantial federal scientific or programmatic involvement. The initiative focuses on bioethics research, global health, data infrastructure, information dissemination, and research on healthcare for rural populations.

The Research Endowment Program is congressionally mandated by Public Law 106-525. The program was established to provide endowments to eligible academic institutions to support minority health and health disparities research. The educational institutions must use interest from the grants to a) build the capacity for research or research training which may include renovating facilities, improving technology, or updating equipment; b) recruit and develop a diverse faculty, as well as create courses concerning health disparities research methodology; and c) advance recruitment and training of students from underrepresented and socio-economically disadvantaged populations who plan to pursue scientific careers.

The Loan Repayment Program (LRP)
NIMHD offers two types of loan repayment programs. The Health Disparities Research Loan Repayment Program is mandated by the Congress to increase the pool of extramural researchers who conduct health disparities research. The Extramural Clinical Research Loan Repayment Program extends to health professionals from disadvantaged backgrounds who engage in clinical research. Eligible candidates are health professionals with postdoctoral degrees who are not federally employed and interested in conducting basic, clinical, behavioral, social sciences, or health services research addressing health disparities.

The Minority Health and Health Disparities International Research Training Program (MHIRT) supports young scientists conducting scientific research abroad. It offers short-term international training opportunities in health disparities research for undergraduate and graduate students in the health professions who are from health disparity populations. Grantees work with international health investigators in countries around the world including Mexico, Uganda, Ghana, Australia, Peru, Spain, and South Africa.

The Science Education Initiative supports educational, mentoring, and career development programs for individuals from health disparity populations that are underrepresented in the research sciences. The program is geared toward ensuring that minority and health disparity populations are continuously exposed to and encouraged to explore careers in biomedical, behavioral, clinical, and social sciences ranging from kindergarten through early-stage investigators.

The Scientific Conferences Program supports scientific conferences, meetings, workshops, and similar forums designed to share, exchange, or disseminate information on a defined subject relevant to improving minority health and eliminating health disparities.