National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases

Supports NIDDK, a National Institutes of Health institute funding studies on diabetes, kidney, and digestive health.

The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) is a U.S. federal institute within NIH and HHS. Established in 1963, it funds research and research training on diabetes, obesity, digestive diseases, nutritional disorders, and kidney, urologic, and hematologic diseases. The institute's extramural work accounts for roughly $1.99 billion a year from a FY2024 appropriation of $2.311 billion, making it one of NIH's largest chronic-disease portfolios.

NIDDK funds through investigator-initiated grants, cooperative agreements, career development and training awards, SBIR/STTR support, and the Special Diabetes Program for type 1 diabetes, which carries a statutory $160 million a year. The current program set includes the SBIR/STTR small business route, investigator-initiated R01s, a digital health technology call for type 2 diabetes management, a priority HIV/AIDS research program, and the R56 bridge award. The small-business route reaches a $2 million ceiling, and the disease-specific calls sit alongside work on diabetes, obesity, nutrition, kidney, liver, digestive, and urologic disease.

The institute is led by three extramural divisions, covering diabetes and metabolic disease, digestive disease and nutrition, and kidney, urologic, and hematologic disease, plus the Office of Obesity Research. NIDDK is strongest for investigators who can connect high-burden chronic disease questions to clear clinical or translational value and for teams that can show an evidence base strong enough for investigator-led review. Its stated emphasis on new investigators, diverse clinical studies, training, and plain-language dissemination gives it a practical, applied profile even when the science is fundamental.