The National Institutes of Health, the crown jewel of biomedical research in the U.S., could face big changes under the new Trump administration, some fueled by pandemic-era criticisms of the agency.
During the early days of the pandemic, former NIH Director Dr. Francis Collins became a familiar voice steering the country through an unprecedented public health crisis.
Now, he is going through his own health crisis, an aggressive form of prostate cancer. By talking about it publicly he hopes to draw attention to routine screening.
For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.
The National Institutes of Health is sunsetting its influential COVID-19 treatment guidelines, used by millions of doctors to guide care during the pandemic.
The National Institutes of Health initiative that aims to make human genome research more inclusive reports its first results. Some 275 million new genetic variations have been identified.
The National Institutes of Health has been reluctant to use its leverage as a biomedical research funder to influence drug pricing. Sen. Bernie Sanders is pressing NIH's new director to take action.
The Vermont senator held up the nomination process for Dr. Monica Bertagnolli to lead the health agency in order to make a point about drug prices. Now, he says he'll vote against her.
Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo, a professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, will lead NIH's infectious diseases institute. Colleagues say she has a wide breadth of knowledge and a joyful demeanor.
The NIH will track the diets and lifestyles of 10,000 people to see how genetics, biology and the microbiome impact people's health. The study will use AI to tailor individual diet advice.
The ruling is the latest twist in a long-running dispute over where dozens of federally-supported former research chimps should live out the remainder of their days.
Everything from your vocal cord vibrations to breathing patterns when you speak offers potential information about your health. Researchers are collecting voice data to one day use in an app.
All chimps managed by the National Institutes of Health that are currently eligible to go to a sanctuary have been moved there, but animal welfare advocates say more should be allowed to go.
The way data on racial groups is typically collected in the U.S. has sidelined smaller Asian populations like Hmong, Lao and Filipino Americans for decades. Now, there are growing calls for change.
As he prepares to leave his post of 12 years, Francis Collins reflects on the agency's biomedical advances, the dangers of polarizing medicine and the huge health gaps that still exist in the U.S.
Francis Collins has served longer than any other director of the National Institutes of Health since 1971. He tells NPR he did not anticipate the culture wars taking over scientific fact.
