NARRATOR: THE HUMAN BODY--
INTRICATE, REMARKABLE, AND INFINITELY COMPLEX,
POWERED BY A HEART THAT BEATS A BILLION TIMES
BY THE AGE OF 30,
DIRECTED BY A BRAIN WITH ALMOST 100 BILLION NEURONS,
CAPABLE OF FEATS OF ENDURANCE, OF CREATING BEAUTY,
AND OF EXPERIENCING JOY.
HERE AT THE NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH,
WE EXPLORE THE BODY'S CELLS, DECODE ITS GENES,
INVESTIGATE ITS MICROBES,
TEST ITS POTENTIAL TO FIGHT DISEASE,
TREAT IT WHEN THINGS GO WRONG, ALL WITH ONE GOAL--
HELPING AMERICANS LIVE LONGER, HEALTHIER, HAPPIER LIVES.
THANKS IN LARGE PART TO NIH RESEARCH,
THE CURE RATE FOR THE MOST COMMON CHILDHOOD LEUKEMIA
IS 90%.
HIV/AIDS, ONCE A FATAL DISEASE,
IS NOW A TREATABLE DISORDER,
AND BLOOD-THINNING DRUGS, SUCH AS TPA,
ARE USED REGULARLY TO PREVENT STROKES AND SAVE LIVES.
NIH RESEARCH HAS CONTRIBUTED TO THE NEARLY 70% DROP
IN HEART DISEASE AND THE 27% REDUCTION
IN CANCER DEATHS FROM A COUPLE OF DECADES AGO,
BUT THESE GAINS REPRESENT ONLY A FRACTION
OF THE WORK THAT NIH DOES.
OUR LIFESAVING RESEARCH IS PIONEERED BY OUR PEOPLE,
PEOPLE WORKING ON THE FRONTIERS
OF MEDICINE AND SCIENCE,
PEOPLE WITH A PASSION FOR HELPING OTHERS,
THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE, BOTH AT NIH
AND AT RESEARCH CENTERS ACROSS THE COUNTRY,
WHO DEDICATE EVERY DAY TO MAKING DISCOVERIES
ABOUT HOW LIFE WORKS
AND FINDING NEW TREATMENTS AND CURES.
OUR EVERYDAY HEROES ARE RESEARCHERS, CLINICIANS,
PATIENTS, VOLUNTEERS, AND THE THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE
WHO PROUDLY KEEP THE AGENCY RUNNING AT ITS BEST,
ALL WITH A DRIVE TO CONTRIBUTE TO NIH's MISSION
OF TURNING DISCOVERY INTO HEALTH.
SUE SCOTT: I WAS DIAGNOSED WITH ADVANCED
METASTATIC CERVICAL CANCER.
IT WAS BODYWIDE AT THAT POINT.
PARTICIPATING IN THE TRIAL OBVIOUSLY WASN'T LIKELY
TO WORK FOR ME, BUT I THOUGHT THAT IT WOULD BE SOMETHING GOOD
I COULD DO FOR THE PERSON 10 YEARS DOWN THE ROAD.
THEY CLEARED OUT MY IMMUNE SYSTEM
WITH VERY HEAVY-DUTY CHEMO TO MAKE SPACE
FOR THE NEW IMMUNE SYSTEM THAT THEY BUILT ME,
AND I CAME BACK A MONTH LATER.
HE PUT MY SCANS UP FROM FEBRUARY OF THAT YEAR.
"THESE DARK SPOTS ARE ALL TUMORS,
AND THEN--DO YOU SEE?-- THIS ONE'S FROM YESTERDAY."
HE SAID, "THOSE SPOTS ARE ALL GONE."
IN THAT CLINICAL TRIAL, OUT OF 16,
I WAS ONE OF TWO THAT IT WORKED FOR.
THEY HAVE NOW DESIGNED ANOTHER TREATMENT
BASED ON WHAT THEY FOUND FROM MY RESPONSE.
HAVING ME BE A LITTLE LINK IN THE CHAIN
OF CANCER DISCOVERY WAS WHAT I HAD HOPED FOR.
I JUST DIDN'T THINK I'D BE HERE TO SEE IT.
WHERE THERE'S NOT A TREATMENT ANYWHERE ELSE, THERE'S NIH.
THEY'RE PRODUCING THOSE MIRACLES, THOSE CANCER CURES.
DR. KAPIL BHARTI: WE'RE LOOKING AT DISEASES
THAT CAUSE BLINDNESS AND WHAT WE CAN DO
TO BOTH PREVENT THAT BLINDNESS TO OCCUR
AND ACTUALLY TO TREAT IT.
I ALWAYS TOLD EVERYBODY THAT I WANT TO BE A DOCTOR
THAT DISCOVERS NEW THINGS, AND NOW I'M LIVING MY DREAM.
WE CAN COMBINE OUR PASSION OF BEING A SCIENTIST,
OF BEING CURIOUS BASIC SCIENTISTS
AND CLINICAL SCIENTISTS.
WE HAD STEM CELL BIOLOGISTS. WE HAD SURGEONS.
WE HAD ANIMAL PHYSIOLOGISTS.
EVERYBODY WAS WORKING ON IT WITH ONE MISSION--
TO BRING SOMETHING BACK TO PATIENTS.
WHERE WE CAN ACTUALLY COMBINE BASIC SCIENCE,
TECHNOLOGY, AND CLINICS, YOU CAN'T DO THAT
ANYPLACE ELSE, AND THAT'S THE BEAUTY OF NIH.
DR. ALEXANDRA FREEMAN: I'M A CLINICAL RESEARCH DOCTOR
HERE AT NIH.
ONE OF THE MAIN DISEASES I TAKE CARE OF
IS KNOWN AS JOBS SYNDROME.
NIH IS REALLY EXCELLENT FOR STUDYING RARE DISEASES
BECAUSE THERE IS REALLY THIS INTERSECTION
BETWEEN ACADEMIC MEDICINE HERE WITH THE BASIC LAB COMPONENT
AS WELL AS THE CLINICAL CARE.
WE RECRUIT PATIENTS FROM ALL OVER THE COUNTRY.
THEY'RE OFTEN SEEN BY PEOPLE THAT HAVE NEVER
HEARD OF THE DISEASE, AND HERE THEY ARE,
COMING SOMEWHERE WHERE NOT ONLY DO WE KNOW
ABOUT THE DISEASE, BUT WE SEE PEOPLE, YOU KNOW,
JUST LIKE THEM WITH SIMILAR ISSUES,
SO THE PATIENTS WILL OFTEN COME AND WILL STAY
AND ACTUALLY HAVE A BONE MARROW TRANSPLANT
AND BE CURED OF THE DISEASE.
OUR HOPE IS TO REALLY UNDERSTAND THINGS
THAT COULD AFFECT THE GREATER POPULATION.
YOU REALLY FEEL LIKE YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE HERE.
DR. ALFRED JOHNSON: I SERVE AS THE DEPUTY DIRECTOR
FOR MANAGEMENT.
I'M NOW OVERSEEING THIS HUGE OPERATION
TO SUPPORT ALL THE RESEARCH THAT'S GOING ON.
THE RESEARCHERS IN THE LABS, THE PHYSICIANS IN THE CLINICS
ARE DOING THEIR BEST TO GET SOMETHING BETTER FOR PATIENTS,
AND WE WANT TO SUPPORT THEM IN EVERY WAY THAT WE CAN.
IN ORDER FOR THEM TO DO THEIR JOB, WE HAVE TO DO OUR JOB.
YOU CAN THINK THAT YOU ARE QUITE FAR AWAY
FROM BEING IN THE CLINIC OR BEING IN A RESEARCH LABORATORY,
BUT WHEN YOU CAN TIE WHAT YOU ARE DOING TO SOMETHING
THAT'S GOING TO HELP SOMEBODY,
YOU JUST WANT TO GET THE JOB DONE.
THE NIH IS A PLACE OF HOPE FOR EVERYBODY,
NO MATTER WHERE YOU ARE IN THE WORLD.
NARRATOR: THESE PEOPLE AND SO MANY MORE
MAKE YOUR NIH WHAT IT IS TODAY--
A LEADING SOURCE OF SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE,
AND WHILE NIH CONDUCTS ITS OWN RESEARCH,
MOST OF THE NIH BUDGET SUPPORTS RESEARCH
AT ACADEMIC AND MEDICAL INSTITUTIONS
ACROSS THE UNITED STATES AND AROUND THE WORLD.
THE NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH ARE A SOURCE OF HOPE
FOR ALL WHO CARE ABOUT THEIR HEALTH
AND THE HEALTH OF FUTURE GENERATIONS.
WELCOME TO THE NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH.
I'M FRANCIS COLLINS, AND IT'S MY PRIVILEGE
TO LEAD NIH.
TODAY NIH IS THE LARGEST FUNDER
OF BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH IN THE WORLD,
BUT WE'RE ALSO A FAMILY.
WE CARE FOR EACH OTHER.
WE'RE PROUD TO SAY THAT EVERY YEAR,
OUR FUNDING LEADS TO BREAKTHROUGHS
IN UNDERSTANDING OF BIOMEDICINE
AND GENERATES DOZENS OF NEW INVENTIONS.
THOSE DISCOVERIES IN TURN PROVIDE NEW WAYS
TO CURE DISEASE AND PREVENT ILLNESS
AS WELL AS STIMULATING THE ECONOMY.
WE'RE FORTUNATE TO WORK HERE
AT A REMARKABLE TIME OF DISCOVERY.
THE OPPORTUNITIES IN SCIENCE AND MEDICINE
HAVE NEVER BEEN MORE EXCITING OR MORE URGENT.
THAT'S WHY WE THINK OF NIH
AS NOT ONLY THE NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH,
BUT ALSO THE NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HOPE,
SO THANKS FOR VISITING TODAY TO LEARN MORE
ABOUT NIH AND THIS IMPORTANT WORK.