The Benefits of Having a National Institute of Child Health and Human Development

Acting on the request of President John Kennedy, Congress, in October 1962, passed legislation establishing a new Institute at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). This legislation implemented the visionary proposal first put forward by Robert E. Cooke, MD, Chair of Pediatrics at Johns Hopkins, to fill a void in the NIH research spectrum by focusing on developmental processes and how they were affected by genes, disease, or environment, with a focus on the health impact on mothers and children. This action provided the opportunity to use the unparalleled resources of the federal government, provided by the American people, to advance a great cause: Improving the health and lives of mothers and children, in this country and worldwide, through research. I would like to share with you some of what has come from a part of this investment.

AAP, American Academy of Pediatrics, Hib, Haemophilus influenzae type b, NICHD, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, NICUs, Neonatal intensive care units, NIH, National Institutes of Health, PSDP, Pediatric Scientist Development Program, SIDS, Sudden infant death syndrome