Our Mission
Empowering Biomedical Discovery
Our vision is to empower the global biomedical community with unparalleled trusted resources to describe the molecular foundations of life with data, knowledge, and clinical evidence to support biomedical research and public health. These resources seamlessly combine sustainable, reliable, and up-to-date information with powerful tools for extracting and synthesizing knowledge and insights. We aim to accelerate scientific breakthroughs and enhance patient care as an integrated, crucial part of the biodata ecosystem.
Creating NCBI
The late Senator Claude Pepper recognized the importance of computerized information processing methods for the conduct of biomedical research and sponsored legislation that established the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) on November 4, 1988, as a division of the National Library of Medicine (NLM) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). NLM was chosen for its experience in creating and maintaining biomedical databases, and because as part of NIH, it could establish an intramural research program in computational molecular biology. The collective research components of NIH make up the largest biomedical research facility in the world.
Purpose
As a national resource for molecular biology information, NCBI's mission is to develop new information technologies to aid in the understanding of fundamental molecular and genetic processes that control health and disease. More specifically, NCBI has been charged with creating automated systems for collecting, storing, retrieving, disseminating, and analyzing knowledge about molecular biology, biochemistry, and genetics; facilitating the use of such databases and software by the research and medical community; coordinating efforts to gather biotechnology information both nationally and internationally; and performing research into advanced methods of computer-based information processing for analyzing the structure and function of biologically important molecules.
To carry out its diverse responsibilities, NCBI:
- Designs, develops, distributes, supports, and coordinates access to a variety of databases and software for the biomedical, medical, and scientific communities
- Develops and promotes standards for databases, data deposition and exchange, and biological nomenclature
- Investigates advanced methods of computer-based information processing capable of representing and analyzing biologically important molecules and compounds
- Maintains collaborations with several NIH institutes, academia, industry, and other governmental agencies
- Fosters scientific communication by sponsoring meetings, workshops, and lecture series
- Engages with members of the international scientific community