Case Study in Research Integrity – Banned From Supervising, Can’t Go in Lab, but No Impact on NIH Funded Research?

July 17, 2023

We have seen rising numbers of allegations related to harassment, discrimination, and hostile work environments since 2018 (when we first started tracking them). In many cases, we successfully work with recipient institutions to put appropriate measures in place to address unsafe working environments. However, too often we hear from institutions that a PI has violated the institution’s policies and is no longer permitted to supervise students or staff, but there will be “no impact on NIH-funded work.” We have a problem with this response.

Strengthening Integrity and Fairness in Peer Review Through New Required Trainings

July 11, 2023

Effective for the May 2024 council round (peer review meetings in early 2024), all reviewers will be required to complete trainings related to review integrity and bias awareness prior to serving on NIH peer review groups. These trainings build on our long-standing commitment to maintaining integrity and fairness throughout the review process.

Final Career Stage Analyses of Applications Submitted During the Pandemic (Part 7)

July 10, 2023

The HHS-declared public health emergency for COVID-19 ended on May 11, 2023 (NOT-OD-23-095). With this milestone, we are also closing out our series of blogs on the distributions of gender and race of designated principal investigators (PIs) of R01 and RPG applications submitted before and after the onset of the pandemic. This final post builds on previous … Continue reading “Final Career Stage Analyses of Applications Submitted During the Pandemic (Part 7)”

Using AI in Peer Review Is a Breach of Confidentiality 

June 23, 2023

Reviewers are trusted and required to maintain confidentiality throughout the application review process. Thus, using AI to assist in peer review would involve a breach of confidentiality. In a recently released guide notice, we explain that NIH scientific peer reviewers are prohibited from using natural language processors, large language models, or other generative AI technologies for analyzing and formulating peer review critiques for grant applications and R&D contract proposals.

More Early Stage Investigators Supported in FY 2022

June 5, 2023

Over the past two years, we supported 1,412 early stage investigators (ESIs) in fiscal year (FY) 2020 and 1,513 in FY 2021, which were both all-time highs. These ESIs were first-time Principal Investigators (PIs) designated on type 1 (new) R01-equivalent awards. Today, we are pleased to announce that even more ESIs were supported in FY 2022 as part of our continued Next Generation Researchers Initiative (NGRI) efforts.

Safeguarding Integrity and Collaborations: Not “Either-Or” but “Both-And”

May 25, 2023

Today Science published our letter “Safeguarding integrity and collaborations,” which summarizes our perspectives on NIH efforts to address long-standing foreign interference threats, many stemming from foreign malign talent recruitment programs. We are grateful to Science for publishing our letter and for endorsing our efforts to “talk more openly.”

Update on Simplifying Review Criteria: Analysis of Comments from the Request for Information

May 12, 2023

As discussed in the blog, “Update on Simplifying Review Criteria: A Request for Information (RFI),” NIH issued an RFI—from December 8, 2022, through March 10, 2023—seeking feedback on its proposed plan to revise and simplify the framework for the first level of the peer review of research project grant (RPG) applications.