NIH Extramural Nexus (News)

These Survey Results help inform NIH’s ongoing efforts to reduce time and effort spent by Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) administrators and principal investigators (PIs) while maintaining the integrity and credibility of research findings and protection of research animals.

NIH announced that Basic Experimental Studies with Humans (BESH) will no longer be considered clinical trials by the NIH. 

We are reporting on the number of early stage investigators (ESIs) supported on R01-equivalent awards in fiscal years (FYs) 2024 and 2025. ESIs are those who are within 10 years of their terminal degree or completion of clinical training and who have not yet been awarded a substantial NIH grant (R01-equivalent or more). 

NIH has launched a new resource focused on strengthening replication and reproducibility across NIH-funded research. The Strengthening Replication and Reproducibility of NIH-funded Research webpage serves as a centralized hub highlighting NIH’s ongoing efforts to promote rigorous, transparent, and reliable science. 

NIH is requesting public input on its proposal to establish harmonized and transparent policy requirements for protecting human participant research data. 

Today, NIH has implemented steps towards a unified strategy that will help guide clearer and consistent funding decisions across all Institutes, Centers, and Offices (ICOs). Building on the August NIH Director’s statement, this framework (effective January 2026 Council round) will help ensure we continue to support the most scientifically meritorious research ideas possible, address health priorities, and support a robust biomedical workforce.

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.