Political shift empowers political appointees to approve or veto scientific research funding at NIH

The National Institutes of Health (NIH), the world's largest biomedical research funder, is experiencing a significant shift in its grant allocation process, with concerns mounting among scientists.

The appointment of Matthew Memoli, an infectious disease scientist and sharp critic of COVID-19 vaccine mandates, as Deputy of NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya, has raised eyebrows. In a surprising move, the Department of Health and Human Services awarded Memoli and colleagues a $500 million grant to develop an influenza vaccine using older technology in May, causing surprise among vaccine experts.

The Trump administration's skepticism of peer review has added to the doubts among NIH scientists. The administration's executive order, which gives political officers the power to cancel grants that are not consistent with agency priorities, has fueled fears of irrational villainizing of certain matters, including Memoli's vaccine award.

The NIH's peer review process, which has been the cornerstone of funding decisions, is set to become less dependent on reviewers' rankings of grant proposals. About half of the NIH's 27 centres and institutes provide leeway to raise or drop grants on the priority list due to factors like institute-wide research goals.

This shift has led to concerns about the politicization of NIH research. Jenna Norton, a program officer in the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, has expressed her apprehensions, stating that the Bhattacharya document opens the door to such politicization.

The mood at the NIH is morbid, with some employees protesting through documents like the "Bethesda Declaration." NIH program officers have reported self-censorship due to fear of delays and grant termination if certain words are used, such as "health equity." Program officers are now required to review grant applications for language that might trigger scrutiny by higher-ups, such as "diversity" or "climate change."

Reviewers are starting to feel they aren't being convened for anything real, leading to concerns that the government is gumming up the decision-making process and trying to wrest control of grant decisions from career scientists. New political appointees under Bhattacharya, including chief of staff Seana Cranston and former Department of Government Efficiency manager James McElroy, have added to these concerns.

The Trump administration's announcement that decisions about the allocation of grants from the NIH would be aligned with the administration’s priorities, has resulted in major cuts to funding for projects related to diversity, equality, inclusion, and certain social research areas. Grants to scientists at universities and other research centers make up about 80% of the NIH's $48 billion budget.

Despite these changes, NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya reinforced the message in an Aug. 15 internal memorandum, stating that political priorities may override the scoring system provided by outside experts. The position of chief operations officer was created and filled by Eric Schnabel, a political appointee who previously had been in charge of business development for a company that sold fitness programs.

The peer review process, which ranks each proposal based on innovation, importance, and feasibility, has always had its critics. However, the break down of the process due to highly scored grants not being funded for sometimes obscure reasons has added to the concerns among scientists.

As the changes continue to unfold, the NIH scientists are finding it more difficult to serve on review panels because their own grants are frozen or they are protesting what's happening at NIH. The administration's executive order states that the grant review process "undermines the interests of American taxpayers," but NIH scientists argue that they ensure taxpayer money goes to the most high-impact research.

Political shift empowers political appointees to approve or veto scientific research funding at NIH