NIH
ICYMI: NIH Modifies Funding Strategy, Moves Away from Paylines
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) issued a notice on November 21 outlining a framework for āImplementing a Unified NIH Funding Strategy to Guide Consistent and Clearer Award Decisions.ā The notice follows on an August statement from the NIH Director. The framework describes a need to ābalance many competing and dynamic factors when determining the most meritorious research ideas to support,ā such as peer review, availability of funds, and health priorities, among others. Starting with the January 2026 Councils, all NIH institutes and centers (ICs) will be expected to follow the same funding policies, including the following core tenets: In addition, the notice…
NIH Senior Officials Terminated After Administrative Leave
Five senior officials at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have been officially terminated after having been placed on administrative leave earlier this year. These include: Jeanne Marrazzo, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases; Diana Bianchi, director of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development; Eliseo PĆ©rez-Stable, director of the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities; Shannon Zenk, director of the National Institute of Nursing Research; and Tara Schwetz, NIH Deputy Director for Program Coordination, Planning, and Strategic Initiatives. The affected institutes have been led by acting directors since March.
Latest from the White House (September 16)
Federal Agencies Issue Gold Standard Science Implementation Plans As previously reported, President Trump issued an executive order (EO) in May on Restoring Gold Standard Science, which aims to address what the Administration sees as a āreproducibility crisisā caused by āfalsification of dataā and āhighly misleading research.ā As part of the order, federal science agencies were given until August 22 to develop implementation plans for ensuring compliance with guidance provided by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) in June. In response, federal science agencies have publicly posted their implementation plans. While each addressed the Gold Standard EO differently, they all…
Congress Returns from August Recess; House to Consider LHHS Bill
Congress has returned from their August recess prepared to tackle appropriations as the end of the fiscal year (FY) rapidly approaches. As previously reported by COSSA, both the House and the Senate have released their Commerce, Justice, and Science (CJS) Appropriations bills but only the Senate has released their Labor, Health and Human Services, Education (LHHS) bill before leaving for the break (see COSSAās analyses here). While itās unlikely theyāll manage to finalize any of their bills before the end of the fiscal year on September 30, the House LHHS Appropriations subcommittee plans to mark up their version of the LHHS bill later…
NIH Grant Terminations Upheld, For Now
On August 21, the Supreme Court ruled that the Trump Administration can once again terminate grants funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). A district court overturned the original terminations in June as part of a lawsuit brought by higher education and public health associations and 16 states; however, the Supreme Court found that the district court does not have jurisdiction over the terminations. Instead, the ruling states that plaintiffs must file suit in Federal Claims court in order to receive a final decision. A similar ruling was issued in August related to grants terminated by the National Science Foundation (NSF). While the ruling leaves federal funding…
Senate Releases Spending Bills, Republican Senators Push Back Against NIH Funding Delays
Before departing for August Recess, the Senate advanced several bills through the Appropriations Committee, including the Commerce, Justice, and Science (CJS) bill, and Labor, Health and Human Services, Education (LHHS) bill (previous COSSA coverage). Both the Senate CJS and LHHS bills included relatively flat funding levels, rejecting the draconian cuts proposed by the Trump Administration earlier this year (see COSSAās analysis). Notably, on July 31, the Senate Appropriations Committee held a mark-up for the LHHS bill in which several amendments were offered, including Senator Dick Durbinās (D-IL) call for the Trump Administration to restore all grants that had been terminated. The…
Latest from the White House (August 5)
Temporary Pause in NIH Funding Released After Chaotic Few Hours On July 29, the Washington Post reported on a temporary pause on the release of National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding, which was later lifted (see related article above). In a budget document authored by the White House Office of Management and Budget to NIH, the agency was given its āfull-year apportionmentā of funding for fiscal year (FY) 2025āwhich ends September 30. However, the document included a footnote that appeared to limit how the money could be spent, including on research grants. Democratic lawmakers were quick to respond, with statements issued by Sen….
Federal Employees Continue to Speak Up
Last month, employees from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and NASA were the latest to publicly express concern about the Trump Administrationās actions at their respective agencies. In a July 21 letter to House Science Committee Ranking Member Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), NSF employees under the American Federation of Government Employees Local 3403 outlined eight ācategories of harmā being inflicted by the Trump Administration, including staff and grant terminations, massive budget cuts, and the unannounced move from the NSF headquarters in Alexandria, VA. The letter asks the Science Committee to: (1) shield NSF employees from āpolitically motivatedā firings; (2) end the illegal impoundment of appropriated…
ICYMI: NIH Implements Public Access Policy
On July 1, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) adopted their new Public Access Policy in response to the August 2022 memorandum issued by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). The memorandum requires federal agencies to make peer-reviewed publications, resulting from federal funding, freely available to the public immediately following publication (see previous COSSA coverage). Manuscripts published after July 1 will be required to follow the new guidelines. NIH has developed a website to help researchers with the transition process.
Latest from the White House (July 8)
Additional Guidance on āGold Standard Scienceā As previously reported, President Trump issued an executive order (EO) in May on Restoring Gold Standard Science. On June 23, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) issued a memorandum to federal agencies providing additional guidance on how to comply with the order. Federal agencies are directed to report to OSTP on steps taken to comply with the EO by August 22. A primary criticism of the EO and accompanying guidance has less to do with the order itselfāwhich focuses on reproducibility, transparency, unbiased peer review, and other common research tenetsāand more to do with its calling for…
NIH Suspends Gain of Function Research
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has released a notice to inform the biomedical research community of a termination of funding for gain-of-function research outside of the U.S. and a suspension of funding for any other projects or programs relating to gain-of-function research. Gain-of-function research has been a point of contention for many Congressional Republicans since the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the research (see previous COSSA coverage). The notice, which was prompted by a guidance to NIH by the White House Office of Science and Technology (OSTP), is in-line with the Administrationās Executive Order (EO) on Improving the Safety and Security of Biological Research,…
EPA Employees Stand Up to Leadership
Following up on the Bethesda Declaration signed by employees from the National Institutes of Health in June, more than 600 employees of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have signed a Declaration of Dissent addressed to EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin. In it, employees raise five primary concerns about actions taken by EPA leadership or the Trump Administration, including: (1) undermining public trust, (2) ignoring scientific consensus to benefit polluters, (3) reversing EPAās progress in Americaās most vulnerable communities, (4) dismantling the Office of Research and Development, and (5) promoting a culture of fear, forcing staff to choose between their livelihood and well-being. Additional details are…
Bhattacharya Defends NIH Budget Request to Senate Appropriators
As the Congressional appropriations process continues, Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), was invited to defend the Presidentās FY 2026 before the Senate Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (LHHS) Appropriations subcommittee (see COSSAās analysis). Under the Presidentās budget, the NIH would see steep budget cuts and a major restructuring that would reduce the institutes and centers (ICs) from 27 to 8. Throughout the hearing, Bhattacharya fielded questions on the impacts of these proposals on the research community and dismissed concerns, claiming that the proposal is the starting point of a budget…
All Eyes on Indirect Costs
On June 17, Republican leaders of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee sent a letter to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) requesting that the non-partisan āCongressional watchdogā conduct a comprehensive review of the indirect costs associated with federal research funding. The request comes amid increased attention by lawmakers on indirect costs following the Trump Administrationās effort to set a flat 15 percent rate for facilities and administrative (F&A) costs for grants awarded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Science Foundation (NSF), Department of Energy (DOE), NASA, and Department of Defense (see previous coverage). These efforts are currently stalled as a…
Latest from the White House (June 24)
āForward Fundingā by NIH the New Norm? As COSSA has been reporting, the Trump Administration released details of its fiscal year (FY) 2026 budget proposal last month (see related article), which not only includes major funding reductions for federal science agencies, but also major shifts in policy. One such shift is how research grants would be funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). According to the NIH budget request, the agency plans to ācontinue the FY 2025 policy of reserving half of NIH funding allocated toward competing research project grant (RPG) awards for awards that fully fund their outyear commitments…
NIH Employees Outline Concerns in āBethesda Declarationā
On June 9, more than 340 scientists and staff at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) issued a statement criticizing their agencyās leadership for politicizing research. The āBethesda Declaration,ā which as of today includes 484 signatories, urges NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya and other leaders to reverse course on budget reductions, workforce terminations, elimination of research related to DEI, undermining of the peer review process, and instituting a blanket 15 percent indirect cost rate, among others. It is exceptionally rare for federally employees to publicly protest and criticize their own agency. In response, an open letter in support of the Bethesda Declaration has…
Welch, Baldwin Host Two-Day Forum to Spotlight How Americans are Harmed by Trumpās HHS Actions
Senators Peter Welch (D-VT) and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) held a two-day forum to spotlight how Americans are being harmed by the Trump Administrationās mass firings at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). This comes after the Senators hosted a similar townhall on Trump and Muskās Cuts to Cancer and Alzheimerās Disease Cures (see previous COSSA coverage). During the two-day forum, Sens. Welch and Baldwin invited former federal agencies officials, including Dr. Anne Schuchat, former Principal Deputy Director at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Ms. Trina Dutta, former Chief of Staff at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health…
Latest from the White House (May 27)
COSSA continues to follow the flurry of executive actions taken by the Trump Administration and the impact those actions are having on the social and behavioral science community. Below are some of the latest developments coming out of the White House. Past updates are available here. DOD Announces 15% Indirect Cost Cap Earlier this month, the Department of Defense (DOD) announced that it will immediately begin imposing a flat 15 percent indirect cost rate on research sponsored by the department. According to the memo, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth noted that the cap will not be limited to new grants, but that existing awards…
Senate Appropriators Hold Hearing on Biomedical Research: Keeping Americaās Edge in Innovation
On April 30, Senate Appropriators held a bipartisan hearing on Biomedical Research: Keeping Americaās Edge in Innovation where they invited several witnesses from the scientific community, including Dr. Sudip Parikh, Chief Executive Officer of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), Dr. Hermann Haller, President of the Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory, Dr. Cartier Esham, Executive Director of the Alliance for a Stronger Food and Drug Administration, Dr. Barry Paul Sleckman, Director of the University of Alabama at Birmingham OāNeal Comprehensive Cancer Center, and Emily Stenson, a patient advocate. During the hearing, several members of the committee across the aisle…
NIH Director Bhattacharya Gives First Public Remarks at NIH Council of Councils
On April 21, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director Jay Bhattacharya presented his vision for NIH during a meeting of the NIH Council of Councils. The Council consists of approximately 30 members, selected from the various NIH Institute and Center (IC) Advisory Councils, representatives nominated by the Office of the Director program offices, and broad lay representation. It advises the NIH Director on matters related to the policies and activities of the Division of Program Coordination, Planning, and Strategic Initiatives (DPCPSI). As previously reported by COSSA, Bhattacharya was confirmed as NIH Director in late March. During his first public remarks since being confirmed,…