Directions and challenges in health sciences research.

I want to tell you first of all how pleased I am to be in North Carolina again. Although it is now more than six months since I moved to Bethesda, this area is still home to me. I am delighted to be here as Director of the National Institutes of Health to participate in the dedication of this magnificent facility-the first true home of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences since it was established 16 years ago this month-and to launch today's science program in which the achievements of NIEHS scientists will be presented. This is a singular occasion for me-a coming together with members of both of my NIH and university families to talk about the great humanitarian adventure of which we are a part. This is an exquisitely exciting time in biomedical research and I am happy to be a part of the process of promoting its well-being and of ensuring that its findings contribute to the health of people here and around the world. The new campus of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences is an especially appropriate place in which to discuss directions and challenges in health sciences research. Brought together here at "The Park" is a diverse collection of outstanding talent, dedicated to the task of unravelling the mysteries of environmental impacts upon biological systems, so that we may all live more congenially in the air and soil and sea around us. The difficulty of the task is exceeded only by its importance. Ours is a job that will never be completed-but that is part of its fascination. I view this Institute and its focus on the environmental health sciences as a symbol of the rounding out of the biomedical research armamentarium of the NIH. This concept was summa-