Mission Statement

The National Center for Research Resources (NCRR) provides clinical and translational researchers with the training and tools they need to understand, detect, treat, and prevent a wide range of diseases. This support enables discoveries that begin at a molecular and cellular level, move to animal-based studies, and then are translated to patient-oriented clinical research, resulting in cures and treatments for both common and rare diseases. NCRR connects researchers with one another, as well as with patients and communities across the Nation, to harness the power of shared resources and research.

Transcending geographic boundaries and research disciplines, NCRR supports unique and essential research and resources that help to transform basic discoveries into improved human health. Together, the programs accelerate and enhance research along the entire continuum of biomedical science to:

• stimulate basic research to develop versatile new technologies and methods that help researchers to study virtually every human disease.
• provide access to state-of-the art technologies and instruments that enable both basic biomedical research and clinical investigations of a multitude of health issues, from cancer to infectious diseases.
• develop and provide access to critical animal models, which offer essential clues to a broad range of human disorders such as Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, and AIDS.
• train veterinarians in translational research in order to respond to deadly human diseases, such SARS, influenza, and hepatitis.
• enhance development programs for underserved states and institutions, focusing on health disparities that negatively impact racial and ethnic minority populations.
• provide funding to expand, remodel, and renovate or alter existing research facilities or construct new research facilities.
• fund career development programs that attract talented medical students, physicians, and dentists to the challenge of clinical research careers.
• establish clinical research environments, including specialized research staff, informatics support, and laboratories, that enable studies of the full range of human disorders.
• increase the public's understanding of medical research and delivers information about healthy living and career opportunities in science to children and the general public.