Navigating NIH Post-Executive Order

This post was written on January 24, 2025.

What happened?

Since taking office, President Trump has issued a number of Executive Orders, including this one which has lead to the cancelation of NIH study sections and a communications freeze that includes the release of new NOAs. News articles (there are many) can be found in Science, STAT, Inside Higher Ed, NPR, and Nature. update: Arizona State's Research Operations Blog is posting regular updates.

There is an incredible amount of confusion, but the issue seems to be section iv of the Executive Order, screenshot below. A common interpretation is that things will be paused until the NIH is able to update the language in its communications to comply with the below, and Universities are able to comply with the certification requirement.

What to do?

With many NIH proposals due in the coming days and weeks, no ability of the NIH to clarify process, and minimal communication from Universities, scientists intending to submit proposals are left wondering how to proceed. This topic is being discussed on Reddit in a number of threads, most directly in this one.

Potential paths forward include: 1) proceed as normal, 2) proceed as normal but include a statement to the effect of "This proposal was developed using instructions provided in RFA (#). If there are changes, we would appreciate the opportunity to modify the proposal prior to review.", or 3) hold off on submitting for another cycle under the assumption that new guidelines will be released.

The best choice for every applicant will come from consideration of many individual factors including the applicant's university's approach, the content of the proposal to be submitted, career stage, ability to receive funding from other sources, and a host of other factors. Be kind to your colleagues and trainees as everyone moves through this.