“NIH Funding Process Restored, But New Grants Still on Hold Amid Trump Administration Block”

The Trump administration’s freeze on communications across health agencies has had a significant impact on the National Institutes of Health (NIH) process for funding biomedical research. The administration’s ban on posting new notices to the Federal Register has resulted in the cancellation of dozens of NIH study sections, where expert scientists review and consider research projects for funding.

However, there is a glimmer of hope as the NIH has announced that Federal Register notices for study sections run by the Center for Scientific Review will start being permitted again. This is a crucial step in restoring the flow of funding to universities and medical schools. The Center for Scientific Review reviews most major academic research grants, fellowships, and small business grants.

Despite this positive development, it seems that notices of meetings of advisory councils, which provide additional review and make final funding recommendations, will not be allowed to resume immediately. This means that new grants may still face delays in approval and the flow of millions of dollars in funding may not be fully restored just yet.

The impact of these delays on biomedical research and the scientific community as a whole is significant. Researchers rely on NIH funding to support their work and any disruptions in the funding process can have far-reaching consequences. It is crucial that the NIH and the Trump administration work together to ensure that the funding process is fully restored and that research projects can move forward without further delays.