Despite the graying of the American population, the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), the nationu2019s self-acclaimed u201cmedical research agency,u201d appropriates a mere 11% of its funding to aging research.
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With a total budget of $31 billion, the US National Institutes of Health appropriates a mere 11% to fund aging research. With a moderate growth in spending at all 27 NIH research centers, the growth is slower at the National Institute on Aging (NIA). In n2009, 17.5% of NIA grants were approved, compared with 20% percent approved for NIH overall, and in 2010 the NIA grant approval rate is projected to dive to 13%. In fact, less than one-third of the $3.46 billion in aging research reported this fiscal year is channeled through the NIA. While President Obama has proposed adding $1 billion, or 3.2%, to the NIH budget in the 2011 fiscal year, the NIA’s share would rise just 2.9%.
