Director's Corner

One Year of Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics, and Anticipating New Challenges

Conceptual illustration of healthcare providers and researchers wearing masks superimposed over a crowd of diverse people Posted on 04/01/2021

Looking back and looking ahead. NICHD Director Dr. Diana W. Bianchi joins other leaders across NIH in reflecting on the work of the Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADx) program and discussing plans for the future.

Advancing Research to Understand, Treat, and Prevent Long COVID

African American woman in healthcare provider’s office wearing a mask and speaking to a provider. Posted on 03/22/2021

For many COVID-19 patients, full recovery remains elusive even long after they should feel “better.” NIH recently announced research opportunities to understand COVID-19 long haulers, who have what researchers now refer to as Post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC). NICHD joins these opportunities while remaining focused on PASC patients within our audiences of interest—pregnant and lactating people, children, and those with disabilities.

Taking action against structural racism

Graphic showing link to NIH’s ending structural racism page. Posted on 03/01/2021

Described by the acronym UNITE, the National Institutes of Health’s new initiative seeks to eliminate the pernicious threat of structural racism from the agency, the institutions it supports, and wherever NIH research takes place. In tandem with UNITE, NICHD’s STRIVE initiative seeks to reinforce workforce equity and inclusion, foster diversity in the institute’s external workforce, and identify new research opportunities to reduce such drivers of health disparity as structural racism and discrimination.

Including pregnant and lactating people in SARS-CoV-2 vaccine research

Pregnant woman standing and thinking. Posted on 02/10/2021

As the COVID-19 pandemic persists, SARS-CoV-2 vaccines offer the potential to halt the spread of the virus. Yet, we know very little about the effectiveness and safety of the vaccines during pregnancy.

Reflecting on our Science Advances of 2020

Diana W. Bianchi, M.D. Posted on 01/15/2021

2020 was a year filled with many challenges. NICHD remained focused on our core mission, advancing key research in women’s health, reproductive science, rare childhood diseases and many more. Watch the video below and review our research highlights of 2020.