Publications

Biographies

Charles Armstrong, M.D.: A Biography

Written by Edward A. Beeman, M.D., (2007) this manuscript (327 pages) is a biography of Dr. Armstrong and describes his pioneering work in infectious disease research. (PDF - 3.6 MB)

Robert J. Huebner, M.D.: A Virologists Odyssey

Written by Edward A. Beeman, M.D., (2005) this manuscript (670 pages) is a biography of Dr. Huebner and explains his pathbreaking work in virology and the Virus Cancer Program at NIH. (PDF - 4.5 MB)

Always There: The Remarkable Life of Ruth Lillian Kirschstein, M.D. 

There are very few people who have such a profound impact on their professions that the telling of their life story is also a recounting of the history of their time and place. Ruth L. Kirschstein, M.D., (1926-2009) who provided direction and leadership to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) through much of the second half of the 20th century, was one such person. This e-book by Alison F. Davis provides insight into Dr. Kirschstein's work at the NIH. 
(PDF - 9 MB)

How My Light is Spent: The Memoirs of DeWitt Stetten, Jr.

DeWitt Stetten, Jr., (1913 - 1990) was a physician-scientist-administrator who served in many capacities at NIH including Deputy Director of Science. He founded the Stetten Museum in 1986. (PDF - 2 MB)

Institutional Histories

70 Acres of Science: The NIH Moves to Bethesda

Written by Office of NIH History curator Michele Lyons (2006) this ebook describes the history of the NIH in the 1930s, covering the story of research, scientists, and landscape architecture of the agency. (PDF - 11 .5 MB)

An Administrative History of the National Cancer Institute's Viruses and Cancer Programs, 1950-1972

Written by Carl G. Baker, M.D., (2004) this manuscript (379 pages) tells the story of the background, philosophy, implementation, and outputs of these programs and concludes with the planning for the New Cancer Act. (PDF - 1.66 MB)

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Written by Richard Mandel, Ph.D. (1993) this publication provides an overview of the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, America's research hospital.

Early Years of NIH Research Grants

Written by Ernest M. Allen, Sc.D., in 1980, this essay tells the story of the growth and development of the NIH research grant program in the late 1940s. (PDF - 140 KB)

History of the Eye Institute: 1968-2000

Chronicles of the first 30 years of the NEI at the National Institutes of Health and its programs (2009). These first years were critical for the development and growth of the intramural research program; the strong commitment to investigator-initiated research; the creation of extramural program areas; and the inception of clinical trials for vision and eye disease. 
(PDF - 6.86 MB)

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Written by Victoria A. Harden, Ph.D. this book details biomedical research in the United States, covering the growth of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the federal government's chief medical research agency.

The Legacy of the 'Yellow Berets': The Vietnam War, the Doctor Draft, and the NIH Associate Training Program

This unpublished manuscript (1998) by Melissa K. Klein traces the history of the NIH Associate Training Program, exploring the impact of the Doctor Draft on medical research in the 1960s and 1970s. (PDF - 0.2MB). A more recent article is: Khot, Sandeep, Park, Buhm Soon; Longstreth, W.T., Jr. The Vietnam War and Medical Research: Untold Legacy of the U.S. Doctor Draft and the NIH 'Yellow Berets,' Academic Medicine 86 (2011): 502-8.

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Edited by Ingrid G. Farreras, Caroline Hannaway and Victoria A. Harden.
A history of the intramural research conducted during the 1950s at the National Institute of Mental Health and the National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Blindness (today the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke). (PDF - 14.4 MB)

NIAID Intramural Contributions, 1887-1987

A commemorative book documenting important contributions during the first 100 years of NIAID's intramural research program. (PDF - 8 MB)

NINR: Bringing Science to Life

The National Institute of Nursing Research celebrates the publication of the first history book in commemoration of the Institute's 25 years at NIH. Written by Philip L. Cantelon, the book explores the origins of NINR, the launching of nursing science at NIH, NINR’s advancement from a Center to an Institute, and how nursing science has progressed in the past quarter century. Bethesda, MD, National Institute of Nursing Research [NIH Publication No. 10-7502], 2010. (PDF - 7 MB)

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The story of a committee that gave a (small) research grant to a young boy in 1957 and launched a career, as well as a rocket. (PDF - 644 KB)

NIH Publications

Intramural Science at the NIH

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) periodically prepares a formal account of the intramural program on its Bethesda campus.  This document, prepared in the early 1980s, is one example that documents the history and rationale of intramural research at the NIH.
(PDF - 1 MB)

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