NIH grant awards plunge 66%

The Association of American Universities said on March 20 that the National Institutes of Health had issued 66% fewer competitive grant awards in fiscal 2026 by the end of February than the average for the same period in fiscal 2021 through 2024. The group said the dollar value of those awards was down 54% over the same comparison period. NPR reported on May 21 that researchers and former NIH staff tied the slowdown to delayed release of funds, proposed budget cuts and staff losses at the agency. The NIH slowdown has become a live issue on Capitol Hill. Senator Susan Collins, the Republican chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said on May 21 that President Donald Trump’s request to cut the NIH budget by roughly $5 billion next year was “inexplicable.” At the same hearing, Collins warned the proposal would “undermine the foundation” of U.S. biomedical research, according to Politico. (aau.edu) ### Where does the 66% figure come from? The 66% figure comes from an AAU analysis of publicly available NIH data through the end of February in fiscal 2026. AAU said the comparison was against the average pace of competitive awards over the same stretch in fiscal years 2021 through 2024, not against a single prior year. The federal fiscal year began on October 1, the group noted. (politico.com) The dollar decline was also steep. AAU said the monetary value of competitive awards had fallen 54% by late February compared with the fiscal 2021-2024 average. ### Why has NIH grantmaking slowed? AAU said the slowdown had been attributed to multiple factors, including a hold by the White House Office of Management and Budget on releasing funds appropriated by Congress to NIH. (aau.edu) AAU cited remarks by Representative Rosa DeLauro at a March 17 House Appropriations subcommittee hearing that OMB had “finally approved NIH’s apportionments” on March 16, nearly halfway through the fiscal year. Staffing losses have added to the delays. AAU said the agency had lost more than 4,000 employees, or nearly 20% of its workforce, over the prior year, and said the 43-day government shutdown in October and November also contributed. ### What are researchers saying the delays look like on the ground? NPR reported on May 21 that Harvard computational biologist Sean Eddy described his terminated funding as a “10-year hit to a lab.” Eddy told NPR that workstations in his lab now sat vacant after he had let almost all of his staff go over the past year. (aau.edu) The Chronicle of Higher Education reported on May 22 that NIH spending on new medical research was moving significantly more slowly than in previous years, leaving scientists waiting even after receiving top review scores. That report said some researchers still had not been funded a year after scoring highly. (nprillinois.org) ### Has NIH said the money will still go out? NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya told House appropriators on March 17 that the agency had its funding for the year and that his “job is to make sure every single dollar goes out,” according to AAU. AAU said NIH had also started fiscal 2025 slowly before accelerating grantmaking later in the year and ultimately awarding $36.58 billion in research grants. (chronicle.com) Congress rejected a 40% NIH cut proposed for 2026, Politico reported, and some Republicans have indicated they may also oppose the administration’s 2027 proposal. The next public marker is the fiscal 2027 appropriations process, which already included a May 21 Senate hearing with Bhattacharya before the Appropriations Committee. (politico.com) (aau.edu)