"Crucial grant-review panels for more than half of the institutes that make up the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) are on track to lose all their voting members within the year. Federal law requires these panels to review applications for all but the smallest grants before funding can be awarded, meaning that the ability of those institutes to issue new grants could soon be frozen."
"All of the NIH's 21 institutes and three of its six centres have their own panel, called an advisory council. Membership on the councils has been dwindling as members serve out their terms without replacements being appointed. At 12 of the institutes and one of the centres, the last voting member's term is set to expire by the end of this year, according to rosters on federal websites (see 'Shrinking pool of advisers'). It typically takes several years for a new member to be onboarded."
"Dozens of scientists who were poised to fill these vacancies were dismissed last year by the administration of US President Donald Trump, Nature reported in July. If the advisory councils go dormant, "this could lead to some very big problems for the agency", says Michael Lauer, who for about ten years ran the NIH's 'extramural' arm, which funds researchers at institutions across the United States. "No grants can get funded without approval from council.""
"For example, in early 2025, the administration barred the agency from publishing the notices required to hold grant-review sessions, contributing to a federal watchdog's finding that the NIH was illegally withholding money allocated by the US Congress. A spokesperson for the NIH's parent agency, the Department of Health and Human Services, responds that she does not "anticipate any lapse in our ability to make awards", adding that "we are actively appointing new council members"."
More than half of the institutes within the US National Institutes of Health are poised to lose all voting members of their advisory councils within the year. Federal law requires those councils to review applications for all but the smallest grants before funding decisions, so vacant councils could halt new awards. Council membership has dwindled as terms expire without replacements; some prospective appointees were dismissed last year. The administration previously delayed NIH funding processes and barred notices needed for review sessions, prompting a watchdog finding of illegal withholding. The Department of Health and Human Services says appointments are underway and no lapse is anticipated.
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