Current
The NIH supports clinical research through grant-funding
mechanisms, reviewed either by its Center for Scientific Review
or by specific institute panels.
A key NIH program is the General Clinical Research Centers
(GCRC) program managed by the National Center for Research
Resources (NCRR). The program supports 79 clinical research
centers at university-based hospitals throughout the country.
The GCRCs are important because they offer centralized and
highly specialized resources for patient-centered research
aimed at understanding disease processes and discovering better
therapies and cures for a host of conditions. They are a focal
point for research in an expanding number of major diseases,
including Alzheimer’s, cancer, sickle cell disease, cystic
fibrosis, hemophilia, aging, diabetes, cardiovascular disease,
and AIDS.
As with many NCRR programs, the GCRCs’ funding has declined
in relation to NIH as a whole. Yet increasingly, NIH-funded
clinical research initiatives have grown to depend on the
resources available through the GCRC program, straining the
capacity of GCRCs.
AAMC also supports vital clinical research programs in the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Agency for
Health Care Research and Quality (AHCPR), the Department of
Veterans Affairs, and other federal agencies.
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