NIH Animal Center

 medical laboratory, department of animal science

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Animal Center (NIHAC) in Dickerson, Maryland, is a rural site of over 500 acres, located approximately 4.5 miles west of Poolesville, in Dickerson, Maryland. It was developed on former farmland site, retaining the farm’s pastureland, streams and wooded areas. The campus houses animals used by various Institutes of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in their research programs.
The campus is home to both behavioral research and animal holding programs. The Division of Veterinary Resources (DVR) supports NIH research through the procurement, housing, quarantine and care of animals used by the NIH Institutes in the Washington DC area.
DVR-managed facilities are located primarily in the north section of the NIHAC campus.
The Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) leads the behavioral research program and operates the associated animal housing facilities on the south section of the campus. Several other NIH Institutes use their animal care services. Key among them are the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). Currently, animal species on the campus range from large animals, to monkeys, to mice, but strategic planning by NIH’s Facility Working Group and its appointed Animal Requirements Sub-Committee (ARSC) anticipates that this campus will house primarily non-human primates in the future with a limited number of large animals and mice.
NIH is an agency of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which is the federal government’s lead department in medical and behavioral science research.

orf.od.nih.gov