2023: A Year in Review 

2023, what a year! We started it off with implementing the NIH Data Management and Sharing policy, a policy that reflected many thoughtful discussions with researchers, professional societies, and NIH staff over the last several years. The year was capped off with Dr. Monica Bertagnolli beginning her tenure as the next NIH Director. We look forward to supporting her vision for NIH.

Between those milestones, we announced that a simplified review framework for research project grants will take effect next January. We continued our focus on the future workforce, including those that support early-stage investigators, launching another loan repayment cycle, and honing in on issues affecting postdoctoral scholars. Proper oversight and stewardship of clinical trials, international collaborations, animal welfare, and acknowledging NIH funding remained top of mind. And as part of our efforts to remain as transparent as possible, we shared NIH grants data related to research integrity violations, diversity of the workforce, trends in basic and applied research funding, and more.

This year, I once again virtually sat down with Dr. David Kosub, from our communications group, to take a look back and to share some thoughts on what is to come for 2024. Please join us for this brief conversation and share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Transcript

I will continue informing you about our policies and initiatives affecting extramural research through this blog. When looking back at last year (Table 1), it was no surprise that peer review, harassment, postdocs, and compliance with grant policies garnered the most interest (as measured by blog page visits). The NIH All About Grants podcast on the “Hidden Curriculum” (part 1 of the What Early Career Researchers Should Know miniseries) proved to be a popular conversation topic for listeners. And, our @NIHGrants post on the postdoctoral Request for Information had over 45,000 impressions. Those last two items further suggest how important continuing our dialogue on early career researchers will be for the year ahead.

We at the NIH Office of Extramural Research wish you all the best for the New Year!

Table 1. Top 10 NIH Open Mike blogs: January 1 – December 31, 2023

Blog title	Views
Announcing a Simplified Review Framework for NIH Research Project Grant Applications	21,781
Using AI in Peer Review is a Breach of Confidentiality	15,488
Case Study in Research Integrity: Banned from Supervising, Can’t Go in Lab, but No Impact on NIH-Funded Research?	14,806
Analyses of Demographic-Specific Funding Rates for Type 1 Research Project Grant and R01-Equivalent Applications	14,614
Further Clarifying NIH’s Foreign Subaward Agreement Policy	14,151
Share Your Thoughts on How to Re-envision NIH Supported Postdoctoral Training	10,306
FY 2024 Loan Repayment Program Cycle is Here: New Features and Expanded Program	7,788
FY 2022 By the Numbers: Extramural Grant Investments in Research	7,534
Number of Postdoctoral Researchers Supported by NIH Grant Awards FY 2017-FY 2022	6,960
Case Study in Research Integrity: This Application Feels Familiar	6,705