Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development

The impetus for NICHD came from the Task Force on the Health and Well-Being of Children, convened in 1961 and led by Dr. Robert E. Cooke, a senior medical advisor to President John F. Kennedy. Eunice Kennedy Shriver also served on the task force, which reported that more research was needed on the physical, emotional, and intellectual growth of children.

The U.S. Congress established NICHD in 1962 as the first NIH institute to focus on the entire life process rather than on a specific disease or body system. NICHD became a funding source for research on birth defects and intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDDs), created a new pediatrics specialty, and established IDDs as a field of research. The institute also focused on the idea that adult health has its origins in early development and that behavior and social science were important aspects of human development.[2]

On December 21, 2007, by act of Congress (Public Law 110–54), NICHD was renamed the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development in honor of Mrs. Shriver's vision, dedication, and contributions to the founding of the institute.[3]

NICHD’s mission is to lead research and training to understand human development, improve reproductive health, enhance the lives of children and adolescents, and optimize abilities for all.[4]

As of November 2016, the director of NICHD is Diana W. Bianchi.[5]

NICHD's budget in 2015 was an estimated $1.3 billion, which supported research at institutions, universities, and organizations throughout the world, as well as research conducted by NICHD scientists on the NIH campus in Bethesda, MD, and at other facilities.

NICHD’s research accomplishments have touched nearly every facet of everyday life. Its contributions to society include developing vaccines for bacterial childhood diseases, expanding newborn screening for genetic and metabolic disorders, creating the first home pregnancy test, and nearly eliminating mother-to-child transmission of HIV in the United States. NICHD also pioneered the emergence and elevation of scientific disciplines. For example, by funding research on birth defects and intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDDs), NICHD established IDDs as a recognized field of research and created a new developmental pediatrics specialty. NICHD continues to focus on overlooked but vital topics, including maternal health, contraception, the inclusion of pregnant and lactating individuals in research, rare diseases, gynecological health, and medical rehabilitation.[7]

• National Institutes of Health
• United States Department of Health and Human Services

• NICHD website
• National Institutes of Health website
• U.S. Department of Health and Human Services website
• National Children's Study

• Landrigan, Philip J.; Baker, Dean B. (16 April 2015). "The National Children's Study — End or New Beginning?". New England Journal of Medicine. 372 (16): 1486–1487. doi:10.1056/NEJMp1500276. PMID 25875255. S2CID 205111251.