National Institutes of Health campus

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) campus is located in Bethesda, Maryland. Most of the institutes house their Divisions of Intramural Research on this campus spread out among various buildings.

Location
The campus is located between Old Georgetown Road on the west, Wisconsin Avenue on the east, West Cedar Lane on the North, and downtown Bethesda on the south. The National Naval Medical Center is located directly across Wisconsin Ave. from the campus, and the Washington, D.C. border is only several miles south. The Medical Center Metro stop is located just beyond the campus fence along Wisconsin Ave.

History
The Bethesda campus has been occupied since 1938 when the original National Institute of Health began to expand outside of Washington, D.C. The Clinical Center, Building 10, opened in 1953 with 540 beds, thus allowing for clinical research. Launched in the wake of Nazi medical experiments done during World War II, research protocols here fell under ethical review by a review board.

Buildings
There are over fifty buildings on the Bethesda campus, designated numbers based on the order of their construction.

Security
As a federal government facility housing sensitive research, the Bethesda campus has security measures for the safety of employees, patients, and visitors. A Department of Health and Human Services identification card is needed for immediate access. Visitors must have a government issued photo ID for a pass, and their vehicles and/or persons undergo inspections.