National Institute of Nursing Research

History

Federal support for nursing research has roots in 1946, when the Division of Nursing was created under the Office of the Surgeon General. Nine years later, in 1955, the first program to fund nursing research outside the government was launched within the Division of Nursing Resources, while the National Institutes of Health formed a special review panel for nursing research applications. Public health nursing services were reorganized in 1960 into a new Division of Nursing, which later became part of the Health Resources and Services Administration, the agency now responsible for clinical training.

The main aim of this federal backing was to build a solid base for nursing research, prompting many universities to start predoctoral and postdoctoral fellowships to train nurse researchers. The push for a dedicated institute came from two key reports: a 1983 Institute of Medicine study that urged integrating nursing research into mainstream science, and a 1984 NIH task force that found such research aligned with the agency’s mission. These findings led Congress to create the National Center for Nursing Research at NIH in April 1986.

That center became a full institute—the National Institute of Nursing Research—in June 1993, following the NIH Revitalization Act and a formal notice in the Federal Register. Dr. Patricia A. Grady led NINR from 1995 to 2018. Dr. Shannon Zenk took over in September 2020. In April 2025, Zenk was placed on administrative leave during a wave of layoffs at the Department of Health and Human Services.