NIH Resumes Grant Review Meetings

By: Yvette Seger
Wednesday, March 12, 2025
After a nearly seven-week pause in communications, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) issued the first notice announcing four study section meetings on March 4. This was followed by notices announcing an additional 16 meetings on March 5, 30 on March 6, and four on March 7, for a total of 54 rescheduled meetings. An additional 11 meetings were posted on March 10, a clear indication that NIH’s Center for Scientific Review is working quickly to resume study sections that had been cancelled during this period.

NIH’s two-tier peer review process is subject to the provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act, including public announcement of study section meetings in the Federal Register at least 15 days prior to convening. As a result of the communications pause announced on January 22 by acting leadership of the Department of and Human Services, NIH was unable to issue any external communications – including Federal Register notices for study sections – for several weeks, resulting in many meetings being placed on hold or outright cancelled.