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Important Events in NINR History
November 20, 1985 — Public Law 99-158, the Health Research Extension Act of 1985, becomes law. Among other provisions, the law authorizes the National Center for Nursing Research (NCNR) to support research and training related to patient care at NIH.
April 18, 1986 — The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary announces the establishment of NCNR at NIH.
April 1986–June 1987 — Dr. Doris Merritt, Special Assistant to the NIH Director, is appointed Acting Director of NCNR. NCNR’s initial budget is $16 million.
June 1987–June 1994 — Dr. Ada Sue Hinshaw serves as the first Director of NCNR.
June 10, 1993 — P.L. 103-43, the NIH Revitalization Act of 1993, becomes law. Among other provisions, it elevates NCNR to an NIH Institute. As such, NCNR is re-designated the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR).
July 1994–April 1995 — Dr. Suzanne Hurd serves as Acting Director of NINR.
April 3, 1995 — Dr. Patricia A. Grady is appointed Director of NINR.
Summer 2000 — NINR holds the first Summer Genetics Institute.
April 2002 — NINR launches a free online training, "Developing Nurse Scientists" for students interested in the nursing research field.
2004 — NINR launches a new pilot training project, the Graduate Partnerships Program in Biobehavioral Research.
December 2004 — NINR co-sponsors the NIH State-of-the-Science conference, Improving End-of-Life Care, bringing together almost 1,000 health care practitioners from around the world.
2005–2006 — NINR celebrates its 20th anniversary at NIH.
2009 — Using the unprecedented additional funding made available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), NINR supports an additional $36 million in research in fiscal year 2009–2010. Projects supported under ARRA include a new research cooperative for palliative care science and multiple training opportunities to build the scientific workforce. Approximately 73 additional research grants are supported, along with multiple research and training supplements.
2010 — NINR holds its first Methodologies Boot Camp, which focuses on pain research.
2010 — U.S. Senate resolution, S. Res. 642, congratulates NINR on a quarter century of achievement in science and public service. The resolution is introduced by Senator Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) and co-sponsored by Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine).
2010–2011 — NINR celebrates its 25th anniversary at NIH with a series of scientific events.
2011 — NINR launches a new NINR Director's Lecture series, designed to bring the nation’s top nurse scientists to the NIH campus to share their work and interests with a transdisciplinary audience. Dr. Bernadette Melnyk presents the inaugural lecture on “COPE: Improving Outcomes for Premature Infants and Parents.”
August 11–12, 2011 — NINR convenes a national summit on “The Science of Compassion: Future Directions in End-of-Life and Palliative Care,” attended by nearly 1,000 scientists, health care professionals, and public advocates.
October 13, 2011 — Bringing Science to Life: NINR Strategic Plan is released at NINR's 25th Anniversary Concluding Symposium.
January 2014 — NINR launches the Palliative Care: Conversations Matter® campaign, which aims to increase the use of palliative care for children living with a serious illness. The campaign is initiated to raise awareness of and improve communication about pediatric palliative care.
2015–2016 — NINR marks its 30th anniversary at NIH with a series of scientific events including the “Advancing Science, Improving Lives” scientific symposium.
September 2016 — NINR releases its new Strategic Plan, "Advancing Science, Improving Lives: A Vision for Nursing Science." The blueprint for the Plan grew from the Institute’s 2011 Strategic Plan, past scientific accomplishments, and current research priorities.
August 2017 — NINR and its partners host “The Science of Caregiving: Bringing Voices Together” Summit. The Summit provides perspectives across the spectrum of caregiving, including the importance of caregiving across the lifespan as well as current and future directions for research to improve the health of patients and caregivers.
August 31, 2018 — After 23 years of service, Dr. Patricia A. Grady retires as director of NINR.
September 2018–September 2019 — Dr. Ann Cashion serves as Acting Director of NINR. On September 30, 2019, Dr. Cashion retires from federal service.
October 2019–December 2019 — Dr. Lawrence Tabak serves as Acting Director of NINR.
January 2020–September 2020 — Dr. Tara Schwetz serves as Acting Director of NINR.
September 14, 2020 — Dr. Shannon Zenk becomes Director of NINR.
May 2022 – The Institute releases the NINR 2022-2026 Strategic Plan. This plan outlines the Institute's vision for supporting science that advances our mission: to lead nursing research to solve pressing health challenges and inform practice and policy-optimizing health and advancing health equity into the future.
November 2022 – NINR hosts a workshop “Firearm Injury Prevention: State of the Science and the Potential of Nurse-Led Research” to explore how nurse scientists and nursing research can contribute to firearm injury prevention. The workshop includes an examination of current research in various disciplines, with the goal of developing a research trajectory that advances nursing knowledge, practice, and policy related to firearm injury prevention.
2022-2023 – Dr. Zenk participates in the Implementing a Maternal health and PRegnancy Outcomes Vision for Everyone (IMPROVE) Initiative, the NIH-wide Social Determinants of Health Research Coordinating Committee (SDOH RCC), and the NIH Climate Change and Health Initiative.
NINR Legislative Chronology
November 10, 1985 — Public Law 99-158, the Health and Research Extension Act of 1985, becomes law. Among other provisions, the law authorizes the National Center for Nursing Research (NCNR) to support research and research training related to patient care at NIH.
1986 — A series of continuing resolutions (P.L. 99-500, P.L. 99-599) establishes NCNR as a separate NIH appropriation.
June 10, 1993 — P.L. 103-43, the NIH Revitalization Act of 1993, becomes law. Among other provisions, it elevates NCNR to a NIH Institute. As such, NCNR is re-designated the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR).
2010 — U.S. Senate resolution, S. Res. 642, congratulates NINR on a quarter century of achievement in science and public service. The resolution is introduced by Senator Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) and cosponsored by Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine).