Acting Director Jeffery Taubenberger, M.D., Ph.D.

Credit: NIAID

Acting Director: Jeffery Taubenberger, M.D., Ph.D.

The Office of the Director (OD) determines Institute programs, plans, and policies and provides management, program analysis, and scientific program reporting services to the Institute, as well as scientific leadership, policy guidance, and overall operational and administrative coordination.

The OD serves as the chief liaison with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) director, other components of of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), other federal agencies, Congress, professional societies, voluntary health organizations, and other public health groups. It also coordinates the activities of NIAID extramural and intramural divisions.

The Division of Extramural Activities (DEA) serves the NIAID extramural research community and the Institute, through policy oversight, peer review, and the management of grants and contracts, including research training, small business, and international awards.

DEA staff interact with grantees, institutional officials, contractors, peer reviewers, committee members, applicants, and NIAID and National Institutes of Health (NIH) staff. In addition, DEA works closely with the NIH Office of Extramural Research and other NIH Office of the Director components to coordinate, implement, and develop new extramural policies for research grants and contracts.

Through the DEA Scientific Review Program, the division conducts initial peer review of contract proposals and grant applications with Institute-specific requirements: program projects, cooperative agreements, training and career development grants, and research and development contracts, as well as responses to requests for applications and requests for proposals.

DEA also oversees the National Advisory Allergy and Infectious Diseases Council and other chartered committees; disseminates information to the extramural community through the Grants & Contracts section of the NIAID website and the newsletter NIAID Funding News; and purchases equipment and supplies for NIAID intramural laboratories

The Division of Clinical Research (DCR) plays an integral role in facilitating the efficient and effective performance of NIAID research programs on both the domestic and the international level. This is accomplished through a multi-faceted approach to the provision and support of services vital to the research infrastructure that include oversight and management of intramural clinical research, program planning and management, regulatory monitoring and compliance, statistical consultation and research methodology, and clinical research capacity building.

DCR vision is to facilitate high quality, state-of-the-art NIAID clinical research in the areas of allergic, immunologic, and infectious diseases. DCR provides multi-disciplinary trans-NIAID services for facilitating clinical research and managing special projects as directed by NIAID leadership.

The Division of Allergy, Immunology, and Transplantation (DAIT) explores how the immune system maintains health and, under abnormal conditions, also contributes to disorders. DAIT supports basic and clinical research to improve our understanding of the causes of immunologic diseases and to develop better diagnostic, treatment, and prevention strategies.

Research Focus

DAIT supports basic and clinical research to increase our understanding of the causes and mechanisms that lead to the development of allergic and immunologic diseases and to expand knowledge that can be applied to improving techniques of diagnosis, treatment, and prevention.

See Allergy, Immunology, and Transplantation Research.

The Dale and Betty Bumpers Vaccine Research Center (VRC) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) was established to facilitate research in vaccine development. The VRC is dedicated to improving global human health through the rigorous pursuit of effective vaccines for human diseases. Established by former President Bill Clinton as part of an initiative to develop an AIDS vaccine, the VRC is a unique venture within the NIH intramural research program. Initially spearheaded by NIAID, the National Cancer Institute, and the NIH Office of AIDS Research, the VRC is now part of the NIAID organization.

The VRC’s mission is to discover and develop novel vaccines and biologics targeting infectious diseases of global public health importance. The primary areas of research include vaccines and biologics research for HIV/AIDS, coronaviruses, influenza, malaria, and pandemic preparedness.

• View full list of the VRC’s key disease areas and research activities
• View our accomplishments on our Scientific Advances at the VRC page
• Visit the VRC’s Building 40 on the NIH Virtual Tour
• View all research conducted at the VRC

The Division of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (DMID) supports extramural research to control and prevent diseases caused by virtually all human infectious agents except HIV. DMID provides funding opportunities and a comprehensive set of resources for researchers that support basic research, preclinical development, and clinical evaluation.

Research Focus

DMID conducts and supports research on nearly 300 infectious agents and investigates the biological properties of these pathogens and the immune system’s responses to them. Findings from this research are vital to NIAID efforts to create vaccines, drugs, and diagnostic tools to better diagnose, prevent, and treat infectious diseases.

Read more about the specific diseases and pathogens.

Product Development Support

DMID supports product development research in a variety of ways, including NIAID funding opportunities and solicitations, and services for each stage of the product development pathway. 

Read more about more about support for infectious disease product developers.

The Division of AIDS (DAIDS) was formed in 1986 to develop and implement the national research agenda to address the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Toward that end, the division supports a global research portfolio to advance biological knowledge of HIV/AIDS, its related co-infections, and co-morbidities. With the ultimate goal of creating an “AIDS-Free Generation,” the division develops and supports the infrastructure and biomedical research needed to:

1. halt the spread of HIV through the development of an effective vaccine and biomedical prevention strategies that are safe and desirable;
2. develop novel approaches for the treatment and cure of HIV infection;
3. treat and/or prevent HIV co-infections and co-morbidities of greatest significance; and
4. partner with scientific and community stakeholders to efficiently implement effective interventions.

Areas of Research

NIAID-supported investigators are conducting an abundance of research on all areas of HIV infection, including developing and testing preventive HIV vaccines, prevention strategies, and new treatments for HIV infection and AIDS-associated opportunistic infections.

Learn more about NIAID's research on HIV/AIDS.