The latest funding announcements, policy updates, and guidance from the NIH Extramural Nexus — curated for international development professionals.
Source: NIH Extramural Nexus
In short, Highlighted Topics are a way to understand NIH priorities and start a conversation. it is important to note though that NIH Institutes, Centers, and Offices (ICOs) continue to fund a wide range of high-quality research beyond areas identified as a Highlighted Topic.
The CPOS Common Form must be used for all NIH grant applications, Just in Time (JIT), Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR), and Prior Approval submissions to NIH with due dates on or after January 25, 2026.
The NIH Grants and Funding site is modernizing its digital web presence, serving as the central location for navigating information on NIH’s grants policies, programs, and funding activities.
A new resource provides a clear view of NIH monthly funding trends across fiscal years.
We invite input by April 17, 2026 on a Proposed Clinical Trial-Specific Application Form for investigator-initiated clinical trials.
NIH invites the extramural research community to attend a two-part virtual event focused on security expectations and best practices for protecting NIH controlled-access data.
Yes. GCP training consistent with ICH E6 (R3) meets the requirement stated in the NIH Grants Policy Statement (GPS).
We seek your input on two resources aimed at supporting participants in NIH-funded implantable device clinical trials. Comments on this Request for Information are voluntary and should be submitted electronically until May 25, 2026.
NIH is seeking public input on a framework for the NIH-Wide Strategic Plan for fiscal years 2027–2031 through a newly issued request for information (RFI) . This RFI provides an opportunity for the extramural research community to help inform NIH’s highest-level priorities and goals for the next five years.
NIH is streamlining the landscape for Notices of Funding Opportunities (NOFOs, or funding opportunities) and the application process. We are placing greater emphasis on investigator-initiated science rather than asking researchers to align their work with highly specific funding opportunities.
If you are preparing a Collaborative International Research Project (PF5) application, understanding what belongs in each required and optional component can help ensure your submission is complete, responsive, and clearly structured for review.
The Biographical Sketch Common Form must be used for all NIH grant application, Just-in-Time, Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR), and Prior Approval submissions to NIH with due dates on or after January 25, 2026.
Have you explored our Fellowship opportunities? We wanted to remind you that NIH fellowships are open to early career scientists, including at the predoctoral and postdoctoral level.
To promote transparency, each year we provide information about the NIH’s investments of taxpayer funds in extramural biomedical research and related activities. Today, we are sharing funding data for fiscal years (FYs) 2023 to 2025.
NIH would like to remind the extramural research community that NIH requires recipients to submit a certification to NIH that all nonexempt research involving human subjects has been reviewed and approved by an appropriate Institutional Review Board (IRB).
Explore our new NIH Institute, Center, and Office (ICO) Profiles, a central resource to simplify how applicants and researchers learn about NIH grant and funding information, instead of needing to visit multiple different ICO websites.
NIH has extended the leniency period for using the new Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending (Other) Support (CPOS) Common Forms through May 2026.
We remain committed to ensuring safe, respectful, and harassment-free research environments wherever NIH-supported research is conducted. NIH grant recipients, through their institution’s leadership, faculty, and Authorized Organizational Representatives (AORs), are essential for sustaining this commitment.
Get an overview of reference letters and letters of support: when to use them, who writes them, and what key information you should include for reviewers and NIH staff.
NIH seeks community feedback through two webinars on the next agency-wide strategic plan. This plan will guide our work over the next five years to fulfill our mission for the American people. Input from the research community, stakeholders, and the public is essential to ensure transparency in what we do and advance the principles of gold standard science that we all apply to our daily work.
Our Matchmaker tool in RePORTER can help you determine which institute or center may be interested in your idea, which NIH program official you may want to contact, and which study section you might suggest for application review.
Have you explored the NIH Highlighted Topics recently? If not, now is a great time to take a look and learn more about this centralized list of selected research priority areas within the NIH Institutes, Centers, and Offices (ICOs).
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.
Last November, NIH announced it is implementing steps towards a unified strategy that will help guide clearer and consistent funding decisions across all Institutes and Centers (ICs). The August NIH Director’s statement laid the foundation, and today we are sharing our thoughts on this NIH Unified Funding Strategy (UFS) from a holistic NIH viewpoint first, and then how this approach aligns with our individual Institute or Center (IC) established funding practices.
Planning to apply for an Extramural Loan Repayment Programs (LRP) Award? NIH has relaunched the LRP Award Calculator, a quick and easy tool that provides an estimate of your potential LRP award amount. Simply enter your total qualifying educational loan debt and your annual income to see what you may be eligible to receive.
Follow these tips to keep tabs on the latest NIH policies, processes, and resources to help as you develop your application or manage your award.
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.
Simplifying administrative processes to reduce burden for the scientific community and the NIH is one of several ongoing NIH priorities for 2026. Towards this goal, HIV/AIDS-related applications submitted after May 7, 2026 will follow the general standard application receipt dates. Aligning the receipt dates will simplify the grant submission process for applicants, NIH receipt and referral processes, and Notices of Funding Opportunities.
NIH updated the How to Apply – Application Guide in December 2025 to reflect recent policy and procedure updates. Find details on all of the major changes and revisions since the last major release at Significant Changes.
NIH (including help desks) will be closed on Monday, February 16, 2026 for the federal holiday (Washington's Birthday). If a grant application due date falls on a federal holiday, the application deadline is automatically extended to the next business day.
NIH implemented its Simplified Review Framework (SRF) for the peer review of the majority of competing research project grant (RPG) applications in summer 2025. How is it going?
You have two options to find Notices of Funding Opportunities: search on Grants.gov or use NIH’s new Explore NIH Opportunities tool. The NIH tool includes additional options for NIH-specific filters, sorting, and advanced search.
NIH, including help desks, will be closed for the federal holidays on December 24, 25, and 26, 2025 (Wednesday through Friday for Christmas) and January 1, 2026 (Thursday for New Year's Day). If a grant application due date falls on a federal holiday, the application deadline is automatically extended to the next business day.
Blog co-authored by Dr. Lyric Jorgenson, Associate Director for Science Policy, and Dr. Jon Lorsch, NIH Deputy Director for Extramural Research.Throughout the year we advanced a policy agenda that was based on two interlocking principles. The first principle involved pro-actively anticipating policy needs that would drive biomedical research. The second was to ensure that we cut unnecessary red tape to the maximum extent possible.
NIH will contact the applicant in certain, limited situations if required attachments of an application were not submitted on time.
NIH is requesting public input on its proposal to establish harmonized and transparent policy requirements for protecting human participant research data.
The complete Focus on Fellowships video series has been updated to include parts 3 and 4. As a reminder, NIH fellowships are open to early career scientists, including those at the predoctoral and postdoctoral level.
Applicants, take advantage of this overview to learn how NIH Highlighted Topics differ from Notices of Funding Opportunities (NOFOs). There are significant distinctions that you should understand when planning a project for your next application.
NIH (including help desks) will be closed on Thursday, December 25, 2025 for the federal holiday (Christmas Day). If a grant application due date falls on a federal holiday, the application deadline is automatically extended to the next business day.
Please note that the Extramural LRP Application Submission Deadline has been extended to December 4, 2025. The new deadline also applies to reference letters and institutional certifications.
NIH plans to review all applications submitted for the January 2026 Councils (e.g., applications that were submitted to due dates in summer 2025) and maintain the quality of review.
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 (including help desks) will be closed on Monday, October 13, 2025 for the federal holiday (Columbus Day). If a grant application due date falls on a federal holiday, the application deadline is automatically extended to the next business day.
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.
Familiarize yourself with the new Explore NIH Grant Opportunities tool. Use its NIH-specific filters, sort, and advanced search options to help you quickly identify funding opportunities posted on Grants.gov.
Last month, we launched the new NIH Highlighted Topics resource. Several new topics have been posted since then, plus additional resources and modifications.
You're invited to join NIH Loan Repayment Program (LRP) staff on Thursday, October 9 at 2 PM ET for a live Technical Assistance Webinar. This session will provide LRP applicants with an in-depth look at the application process and more.
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.
Information on NIH’s scientific data sharing policies and data repositories can now be found on the NIH Grants & Funding site – nearer the other information you need to start an application or manage an award.
NIH has released a request for information (RFI) regarding policy options to maximize research funds by limiting allowable publication costs (APCs).
NIH has recently announced a new policy that will continue to support originality, creativity, and fairness in the research application process.
NIH is indefinitely extending the period of delayed enforcement for registration and results reporting for basic experimental studies involving humans (BESH) responsive to designated BESH NOFOs, including those with application due dates on or after September 25, 2025.
To address concerns for participant safety risks for ongoing projects, NIH has established a short-term supplement model to support clinical research and clinical trials conducted under an active foreign subaward.
In July 2025, NIH announced it will no longer develop new funding opportunities focused exclusively on animal models of human disease. Rather, going forward, new funding opportunities will be designed more broadly with language that also encourages various approaches be considered.
Updated funding opportunities for NIH fellowships are below and also available on the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts and Grants.gov. NIH fellowships are open to early career scientists, including at the predoctoral and postdoctoral level, and are designed to provide mentored research training to enable skills’ development and experiences needed to transition into careers in the biomedical research workforce.
On April 29, NIH announced it is prioritizing human-focused research and reducing animal use in research. To further this initiative, all new Notices of Funding Opportunity that relate to animal model systems (NOFOs) must now also support human-focused approaches such as clinical trials, real world data, or new approach methods (NAMs).
We are transitioning our Extramural Nexus email distribution to the NIH Listserv system, where we will continue to provide updates on grants policies, processes, and resources for the research community. Please take a moment to manage your subscription preferences.
The NIH Loan Repayment Programs (LRPs) are programs established by Congress and designed to recruit and retain highly qualified health professionals into biomedical or biobehavioral research careers. Extramural LRP applications will be accepted from September 1 until November 20, 2025.
As a reminder, NIH is implementing its new 2024 Public Access Policy on July 1, 2025. In preparation for that update, we have launched a series of new and revised Public Access Policy pages on the NIH Grants & Funding site.
NIH published the 2025-2030 Strategic Plan for Data Science, outlining five key goals that will shape the research data landscape. This strategic plan will encourage greater integration of data science to improve access to and use of biomedical and behavioral data.
NIH has simplified peer review for most research project grants for application due dates of January 25, 2025 or later to address the complexity of the peer review process and the potential for reputational bias to affect peer review outcomes. The initial applications are under review during summer study section meetings within the NIH Center for Scientific Review (CSR).
We often recommend the NIH RePORT (Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tools) site to applicants & recipients because it publicly provides reports, data, and analyses of NIH research activities, including information on NIH expenditures and the results of NIH-supported research. Learn more about RePORT and other federal funding databases in this post.
The NIH Research Training and Career Development website content has a new home on the NIH Grants and Funding website, now closer to the funding and application process information you need to get started!
NIH recently updated its annual categorical information with actual spending data for fiscal year (FY) 2024. NIH has also moved from manual coding to automated coding for the Research, Condition, and Disease Categorization (RCDC) Women’s Health Research category, which further improves its accuracy and consistency in reporting and better distinguishes research focused on improving the health of women across the lifespan.
In the event an investigator’s first substantial independent research award is terminated within the first three years of the project period, and this was not due to scientific misconduct or other disqualifying events, the investigator can request the reinstatement of Early Stage Investigator (ESI) status in eRA commons.
NIH has issued a temporary policy exception to NIH GPS Section 12.3.7 to allow individuals whose mentored career development awards prematurely ended on or after January 1, 2025 to reapply for future awards. This exception is effective immediately and will remain in effect until July 31, 2026.
When you use the NIH RePORT tool Awards by Location and Organization, resulting data may be listed as either “current” or “frozen” depending on the time of year. This is because NIH updates current data for the ongoing fiscal year until September 30. Current data may change as new projects are funded or as funding levels and other information is updated for existing projects.
Today, NIH released a Research Opportunity Announcement for the Autism Data Science Initiative (ADSI). We are spotlighting this other transaction here as it is a high priority for leadership within NIH and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It also encompasses several efforts of general interest for NIH supported research including supporting data resources, participant privacy, and research replicability/validation.
The simplified review framework went into effect earlier in 2025, and NIH has been busy preparing staff, peer reviewers, and study section chairs for its arrival at summer 2025 review meetings. To avoid confusion and reduce reviewer burden at review meetings, NIH has expired identified NOFOs that were not expired or reissued as indicated in the implementation plan shared in early 2024.
If you ever come across misconduct, whether it be harassment, fraud, grant scams, research misconduct, peer review violations, or foreign interference, please report it.
NIH issued a Guide notice (NOT-OD-25-081) clarifying how to protect human genomic data obtained from NIH controlled-access repositories when using and developing generative artificial intelligence models consistent with the Genomic Data Sharing Policy.
NIH has granted the automatic extension of Early Stage Investigator (ESI) eligibility. This extension addresses delays impacting grant application submissions, peer review, or award processing timelines between January 1, 2025, and May 31, 2025.
NIH continues to follow all laws (e.g., 42 USC 289a-2) and existing NIH policies that help NIH ensure clinical research includes the appropriate participant demographics to make certain the scientific question under study is addressed in a robust and generalizable manner.
NIH has recently revised the process by which NRSA childcare funds are distributed to institutional research training awards.
Effective with the next NIH award cycle, all NIH-funded research involving foreign subawards must be structured as subprojects directly linked to the prime award. Foreign subawards are prohibited from being nested under the parent grant.
NIH has announced that the 2024 NIH Public Access Policy will now go into effect on July 1, 2025.
NIH would like to remind the extramural research community about long-standing application requirements for projects involving activities outside of the United States or partnerships with international collaborators.
Your source for NIH grants news has moved to the NIH Grants and Funding website, creating a one-stop shop for your journey through the grants process! The Extramural Nexus news content is now next to the policy and process resources you need.
News sourced from the NIH Extramural Nexus. DevProcure is not affiliated with NIH. Content copyright NIH.