Department of Bioethics, Clinical Center, National Institutes of Health

The NIH Clinical Center is the world's largest research hospital and has been the site of NIH clinical research for over 50 years. A bioethicist first served the needs of the NIH research community in 1977. However, when John Gallin became director of the Clinical Center in 1995, bioethics became a major initiative. This single ethics position became a full-fledged program, with the goal of creating a premier center for bioethics that would complement and inform the NIH's cutting-edge program of biomedical research. In this stimulating environment of scientific discovery and burgeoning new technologies, the Department of Bioethics has flourished, wrestling with major policy issues, offering educational and clinical services, and developing numerous research projects to help advance and inform public policy debate.