The Office of the Director (OD) determines Institute programs, plans, and policies and provides management, program analysis, and scientific program reporting services to the Institute, as well as scientific leadership, policy guidance, and overall operational and administrative coordination.
The OD serves as the chief liaison with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) director, other components of of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), other federal agencies, Congress, professional societies, voluntary health organizations, and other public health groups. It also coordinates the activities of NIAMS extramural and intramural divisions.
Director
Lindsey A. Criswell, M.D., M.P.H., D.Sc., became the director of the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) in February, 2021. As NIAMS director, Dr. Criswell oversees the Institute’s annual budget of nearly $625 million, which supports research into the causes, treatment, and prevention of arthritis and musculoskeletal and skin diseases. The Institute seeks to advance health through biomedical and behavioral research as well as through research training and dissemination of information on research progress in these diseases.