Evaluating the Burden of Disease and Spending the Research Dollars of the National Institutes of Health

Abstract

The appropriations process has been kind to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) during the past few years, for several reasons. The public and its representatives in government applaud our goal of making discoveries that ameliorate or eliminate diseases; our record of accomplishment is strong; and everyone's hopes are high. Thus, it is not surprising that fiscal growth at the NIH (especially the 15 percent increase received last year, bringing the annual budget to $15.6 billion) has been accompanied by an intensified interest in the distribution of NIH funds — in particular, in the amounts devoted to each of the . . .