NIH Extramural Nexus (News)

NIH announced the award of contracts for the Standardized Organoid Modeling (SOM) Center, a national resource that will be dedicated to using cutting-edge technologies to develop standardized organoid-based new approach methodologies that deliver robust, reproducible, and patient-centered research findings.

Jon R. Lorsch, Ph.D., has been named NIH Deputy Director for Extramural Research (DDER). He has served in this role in an acting capacity since April 2025, advancing NIH’s efforts to support gold standard science. 

NIH announced a new application and award structure last week for applications that request funding for international component organizations. Effective for due dates on or after January 25, 2026, competing applications must be in response to a funding opportunity using a new grant type when requesting NIH funding for one or more foreign components.

Now is the time for signing officials to verify the accuracy of their grant assignments to departments or components within institutions of higher education in eRA Commons. Any corrections must be made by 8:00 PM EDT on Monday, October 6, 2025, to be reflected in NIH annual reports.

NIH has received OMB approval under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) to collect information through the NIH Certificate of Confidentiality (CoC) system. NIH is now accepting requests in the CoC System for Research Not Funded by NIH and Institutional Official verifications. 

NIH has re-enabled the No-Cost Extension functionality within eRA Commons.

We are excited to announce a new centralized and simplified web resource that informs the research community about particular areas of science of interest to NIH. Visiting this resource early and often when conceptualizing your research ideas will help ensure you are aware of some of NIH’s latest scientific interests.

We are pleased to announce that the application period to apply for FY 2026 NIH Extramural Loan Repayment Program (LRP) awards will open on September 1, 2025 and close on November 20, 2025.

When you prepare inclusion plans for your next applications or data for progress reports, review the updated NIH Policy and Guidelines on the Inclusion of Women and Minorities as Subjects in Clinical Research, effective August 16, 2025 for both new and ongoing clinical research projects.

NIH has released a request for information (RFI) regarding policy options to maximize research funds by limiting allowable publication costs (APCs).