ARPA-H to Be Within NIH but Independently Managed by HHS

After lobbying efforts from lawmakers and science advisors, the new, DARPA-like biomedical research agency will be a part of the National Institutes of Health, but its director will report directly to the secretary of Health and Human Services.

Written byNatalia Mesa, PhD

| 3 min read

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Following a lengthy deliberation process, US health secretary Xavier Becerra determined on Wednesday (March 30) that a new high-risk, high-reward biomedical research agency known as ARPA-H will be part of the National Institutes of Health, STAT reports.

In early March, Congress passed the 2022 US spending bill, which included $1 billion of funds for the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H), an agency intended to accelerate the pace of biomedical research. The bill gave the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), of which the NIH is a part, the power to decide whether the new agency would be independent or part of the existing institution. This led to a lobbying campaign by several policymakers and researchers to separate the agency from the NIH, which they say is bureaucratic and slow-moving, STAT reported earlier this week.

Others advocated for ARPA-H to remain within the NIH, to help accelerate the ...

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Meet the Author

Natalia Mesa, PhD
As she was completing her graduate thesis on the neuroscience of vision, Natalia found that she loved to talk to other people about how science impacts them. This passion led Natalia to take up writing and science communication, and she has contributed to outlets including Scientific American and the Broad Institute. Natalia completed her PhD in neuroscience at the University of Washington and graduated from Cornell University with a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences. She was previously an intern at The Scientist, and currently freelances from her home in Seattle.
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