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The NIH Clinical Center and the future of clinical research

Nature Medicine volume 17, pages 1221–1223 (2011)Cite this article

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At its opening on July 2, 1953, the Clinical Center was the largest hospital ever built specifically for clinical research, and it remains so today. It was truly a hospital within a community of laboratories. The criteria for patient admission were “how their presence will aid scientists and clinicians in basic laboratory investigations and clinical studies of the problems of cancer, mental health, heart disease and other longer term illnesses”2.

For nearly six decades, the Clinical Center has admitted patients with untreatable or undiagnosed conditions, rare diseases or complex manifestations of more common ailments. Major discoveries from studies conducted at the center have had profound impacts on medicine and have provided hope for many patients. An extraordinary team of dedicated people—administrators, scientists, nurses, patient partners and myriad public servants—has made this work possible. As such, the Clinical Center's mission has involved three core elements: patient partnership, clinical research and investigator training.

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Acknowledgements

I thank M. Gormley and E. Gallin for helpful discussions and F. Ognibene, M. Gottesman and F. Collins for critical review of the manuscript.

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  1. John I. Gallin is Director of the Clinical Center, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.,

    John I Gallin

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  1. John I Gallin
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Correspondence to John I Gallin.

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Gallin, J. The NIH Clinical Center and the future of clinical research. Nat Med 17, 1221–1223 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/nm.2466

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