September 20, 2023
Earlier this month, we released a Request for Information seeking public input on the humane care and use of laboratory cephalopods at Assured institutions. The proposed guidance acknowledges the evidence suggesting these animals would benefit from oversight, but also that there are not yet specific care and use standards to allow them to be regulated under the Public Health Service Policy for the Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals.
September 15, 2023
We released our final Guide Notice clarifying NIH’s long-standing policy on foreign subaward and consortium written agreements. Here, we talk about the origins of this notice, consideration of and changes made in response to public comment, the final oversight and compliance requirements, and how these efforts will ensure NIH remains a proper steward of taxpayer support.
August 30, 2023
Applications for Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 NIH Loan Repayment Program (LRP) awards will open on September 1, 2023. LRPs can repay up to $100,000 of qualified educational debt for those who are eligible and agree to perform NIH mission-relevant research. The deadline to submit an application is November 16, 2023.
August 17, 2023
As part of proper stewardship of taxpayer funds, we at NIH are obligated, both legally and ethically, to ensure the welfare and reduce risks for those involved in our supported research activities. This obligation includes research animals. Their humane care and use is something we take very seriously. Today we are taking some time to touch upon our policies to protect animal welfare, discuss how we process reports of noncompliance, and provide resources to help recipients and researchers ensure their work involving animals is conducted appropriately.
August 14, 2023
As NIH has been emphasizing for more than a decade, the rigor and transparency of a study are key for gleaning the robustness of its results. This includes the design, implementation, analysis, and interpretation of experiments.
July 25, 2023
Sheila Garrity, JD, MPH, MBA, began as director of the HHS Office of Research Integrity (ORI) in March. As our offices work closely together to address research misconduct in NIH-funded biomedical research, we recently took some time to sit down and chat to get to know her better and welcome her to this new role.
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.
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.
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.
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