September 2025 Notes from the Director

The NIEHS Advisory Council met on September 10, 2025. Presentations were made by the Dr. Rick Woycheck (NIEHS Director) and Dr. David Balshaw (DERT Director) as usual. Dr. Jayanta Bhattacharya, the new NIH Director also made a presentation. Among the key points they covered was the NIH prioritization of human-focused research and reducing animal use in research. Note that this is a prioritization. Studies proposing exclusively animal based research may be approved, but will need to be justified. The NIH is encouraging use of organoids and other non-animal approaches. Very important is that notices of funding opportunities (NOFOs) will no longer be posted in the NIH Guide. All NOFOs will be posted on Grants.gov. The site can be searched with the new tool (https://grants.nih.gov/funding/explore-nih-opportunities). New rules also apply to foreign subawards and collaborations. The applications will be more complex so if you intend to have foreign collaborations, it will be important to carefully read the notice(s). The use of AI in grant applications is forbidden. It was noted that grants will be screened for AI input and rejected if the screening indicates AI was used to compose the research plan. The rules for preparing Other Support documents are changing and investigators are advised to review the new requirements. On the plus side, NIEHS continues its commitment to community-engaged research. Community engaged research is collaborative between an academic researcher and the community and is clearly defined on the NIEHS website. Gold Standard Science Implementation highlights were discussed by Dr. Bhattacharya. The Gold Standard Science criteria were presented and can be found in Section 2 of the Presidential Executive Order. New funding criteria are proposed. The Institutes and Centers are still considering scientific scores provided by the Study Sections. However, alongside other critical criteria including career stage and innovation will play a greater role. Dr. Bhattacharya mentioned that the comments in the summary statements regarding innovation will play a more prominent role in funding decisions. Also, early career investigators will be given priority. The ‘Fund Forward’ process mandated by the Administration has started. The Institutes and Centers were directed to use half the funds remaining in FY2025 to make awards under this process. Fund forward means that the entire multi-year award is made in the beginning committing the total dollar amount from the current budget. This mechanism does not alleviate the annual RPPR burden. NIEHS is funding only four of the five years on a five year award, but eliminating the administrative cuts that were implemented previously. We have already seen at least one of these awards. This process will require diligent grant management to ensure that funds are spent in a timely manner. There will be a mechanism for carryover into a one year no cost extension. Pdfs of the speakers’ slides can be accessed at the NAEHSC website. Recordings of the presentations will be posted when approved.

Raise Some L will be October 21-22 this year. Once again, we ask you to contribute to the Trainee Travel Fund. This fund provides partial support to CIEHS members’ trainees to present their research at national/international meetings. CIEHS will match donations up to a total of $5,000. Watch for the notice and please make a donation of whatever size that fits your budget.

The annual NIEHS Center Directors meeting will be held October 28-30. It will be hosted by our friends at University of Kentucky. CIEHS will have a large contingent attending and presenting. Dr. Becky Antle will be making an oral presentation, and six members will present posters. There is a pre-meeting workshop on writing systematic reviews being offered to all interested parties (see above). You can register just for the workshop with no need to register for the meeting.

Also note that the annual OVSOT meeting will be held here at University of Louisville on November 14. Check the website for details. Presentation of Research!Louisville posters by trainees is acceptable.