Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced a joint research initiative aimed at addressing diet-related chronic diseases in the United States. This program aligns with U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.'s commitment to improving public health.
The Nutrition Regulatory Science Program will focus on developing a comprehensive nutrition research agenda. The goal is to provide essential information that can guide effective food and nutrition policy actions to improve Americans' diets and overall health.
"The FDA is focusing resources on the greatest contributors to the staggering health care crisis: chronic diseases," said FDA Commissioner Martin A. Makary, M.D., M.P.H. He emphasized that this collaboration mirrors the successful FDA and NIH Tobacco Regulatory Science Program by combining scientific expertise from both agencies.
The FDA will contribute its regulatory science expertise, while NIH will handle solicitation, review, and management of scientific research infrastructure. Experts from various fields such as chronic disease, nutrition, toxicology, risk analysis, behavioral science, and chemistry will collaborate to advance nutrition and food science standards.
"Nutrition has always been a priority at NIH," stated NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya, M.D., Ph.D. "By teaming up with the FDA, we’re taking a major step toward answering big questions about how food affects health—and turning that science into smarter, more effective policy."
Both agencies are committed to ensuring that all research under this program remains fair, independent, and free from conflicts of interest.
The National Institutes of Health is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and consists of 27 Institutes and Centers dedicated to medical research across various domains.
