NIH Extramural Nexus (News)

In 2025, we announced an updated NIH Policy on Foreign Subawards (NOT-OD-25-104) and introduced the Collaborative International Research application and award structure using the PF5 activity code (NOT-OD-25-155) which was implemented earlier this year.  

Nearly two decades ago, we began allowing more than one researcher to be designated as program director/principal investigator on a single grant award. The multiple PD/PI (MPI) model can provide important benefits, including giving each investigator credit as an NIH-designated PD/PI, but it is not required to conduct collaborative or team science. Here, we revisit when multiple PD/PIs may make sense, as well as some of the responsibilities and potential drawbacks investigators should consider.

In June, we sought your feedback on a proposed approach to cap the number of Research Project Grants (RPG) a researcher can be principal investigator on simultaneously (NOT-OD-26-086). The proposal explored whether limits on simultaneous RPG support could contribute to a more balanced research portfolio. Here, we share some high-level outcomes from your thoughtful and helpful comments, which will inform our next steps.

We recognize it is stressful for researchers when waiting on NIH’s funding decision for submitted applications. After going through initial peer review, NIH Institute, Center, or Office (ICO) Advisory Councils review applications and make recommendations for the Institute or Center director’s consideration.

As part of NIH's ongoing efforts to provide transparency into funding trends, updated NIH data show the median age at which investigators receive their first R01-equivalent award remains around 42 years of age through fiscal year (FY) 2025. 

On July 28, 2026, the Administration released the U.S. Government Policy for Stopping High-Risk Life Sciences Research, pursuant to Executive Order 14292 on "Improving the Safety and Security of Biological Research.” This new government-wide policy defines areas of life sciences research that pose the greatest risk to our nation's security, implements federal funding prohibitions, and establishes a framework for addressing risk and ensuring compliance. 

NIH supports an array of data and biospecimen repositories to help ensure valuable scientific resources are available to researchers. Many repositories link biospecimens to rich clinical, phenotypic, imaging, genomic, or longitudinal datasets, allowing researchers to validate findings across data types and apply modern analytical approaches. Here, we discuss the policies and principles governing data management and repositories. Then, we spotlight selected examples of NIH-supported repositories.

The primary method to find contract solicitations is the federal-wide System for Award Management website (SAM.gov), which lists federal contracting opportunities higher than $20,000.

NIH recently updated its annual categorical information with actual spending data for fiscal year (FY) 2025. Available on the Research, Condition, and Disease Categorization (RCDC) page, you will find the annual support level for various research, condition, and disease categories. 

What does scientific impact look like today? For decades, measures such as publication counts, citation rates, and grant funding have been primarily used to assess the success of researchers. Yet biomedical research has become increasingly collaborative, interdisciplinary, and data-intensive. Progress often depends on teams of investigators, shared datasets and software, rigorous validation of findings, and sustained mentorship and training efforts.