The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) conducts and supports research on brain and nervous system disorders, and has a budget of just over US$1.5 billion. Created by the U.S. Congress in 1950, NINDS is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). NINDS has occupied a central position in the world of neuroscience for more than 50 years.

The mission of NINDS is to seek fundamental knowledge about the brain and nervous system and to use that knowledge to reduce the burden of neurological disease. To accomplish this goal the NINDS supports and conducts basic, translational, and clinical research on the normal and diseased nervous system.

Most NINDS-funded research is conducted by extramural scientists in public and private institutions, such as universities, medical schools, and hospitals. NINDS intramural scientists, working in the Institute’s laboratories, branches, and clinics, also conduct research in most of the major areas of neuroscience and on many of the most important and challenging neurological disorders.

NINDS also is committed to laying the foundation for neuroscience in the years ahead. To achieve this goal, the Institute funds research training and development to help build the next generation of neuroscientists. In addition, NINDS serves as a prime source of neurological information for scientists, clinicians, and the public.