Looking for a way to support publicly
funded health research and election integrity all on one glorious Saturday morning?

This Saturday, October 17th at 10am outside of NiH at Medical Center Metro we will rally for health research and democracy. Listen to speeches by Jenna Norton, PhD, MPH; Natalie Aviles, PhD; Joanna Szczepanik, PhD; Shiv Prasad, PhD; a representative of Senator Van Hollen, and more. All NIH staff speak in their personal capacities. Music by Northstar Union, merch available, families welcome. Bathroom shuttle by community member to downtown Bethesda.

We will finish the event by walking downtown walking downtown to Bethesda and taking the metro to DC to drop off our ballots en masse.

🎥Livestream from @27UNIHTED Instagram

Share widely and RSVP here: https://www.mobilize.us/nokings/event/1030942/

Anyone else encountering Ethernet issues today?

Several people in our lab (building 49) haven't been able to access any Internet services since ~noon today. The issue seems to be limited to Windows computers with Ethernet connections.

I'm curious if this is a network-wide issue?

One researcher tells Scientific American that the change would reduce transparency and risk politicizing the grant review process

I manage an F31 and the PI/student graduated a year ahead of the end of their award. We've provided our GMS and PO with their termination notice and GMS confirmed receipt. They said the closeout function would be available soon but it's been months of checking in. We've gotten a few responses that they're still waiting for it but now they've stopped responding. We haven't drawn down any funds since the date of our term notice nor have we filed our FFR. But we'd really like to proceed with closeout procedures and just be done with it. Any advice?

Hi all,

I have my R21 (<6% score) went to September council. Chatted with PO before the council and got positive feedback. This app is for 2027FY cycle, and now we are into 2027FY.

What would be the reasonable timing to reach out to PO again? I do not expect a firm answer about funding for now but just trying to see if it is still alive. Currently my era common states "Council Review Complete" and I understand this is a just a common status after the council review.

While Congress and the courts have protected much of the agency's funding, an insider warns that the administration's ongoing efforts to control medical research will cause "irreversible" damage.

Department of Health and Human Services

National Institutes of Health

AGENCY:

National Institutes of Health, HHS.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

The Division of Program Coordination, Planning, and Strategic Initiatives (DPCPSI) in the Office of the Director (OD), National Institutes of Health (NIH) is seeking public comment regarding its proposal to establish the Office of the NIH Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer (OCAIO) within DPCPSI and move the Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS) under the Office of Nutrition Research (ONR) within DPCPSI in OD, NIH.

DATES:

Any interested person may file written comments by sending an email to [DPCPSIreorgcomments@nih.gov](mailto:DPCPSIreorgcomments@nih.gov) by 11:59 p.m. ET on October 28, 2026. The statement should include the individual's name, and when applicable, professional affiliation.

ADDRESSES:

The following email address has been established for comments on the reorganization: [DPCPSIreorgcomments@nih.gov](mailto:DPCPSIreorgcomments@nih.gov).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Betina Orezzoli at [DPCPSIreorgcomments@nih.gov](mailto:DPCPSIreorgcomments@nih.gov) or 301-402-9852.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The program offices in DPCPSI share a common mission of identifying emerging scientific opportunities, rising public health challenges, or scientific knowledge gaps that deserve special emphasis. The proposed reorganization would establish clear organizational leadership for an emerging NIH-wide priority by creating the OCAIO and improve organizational alignment of closely related scientific areas by moving ODS to be a sub-office of ONR.

This notice is pursuant to the NIH Reform Act of 2006 (42 U.S.C.281 (d)(4)), DPCPSI will launch public website information at https://dpcpsi.nih.gov/​proposed-reorg-ods-ocaio to further encourage public discussion of the proposal to reorganize. The public is encouraged to email [DPCPSIreorgcomments@nih.gov](mailto:DPCPSIreorgcomments@nih.gov) for comments and questions.

Dated: October 1, 2026.

Matthew J. Memoli,

Principal Deputy Director, National Institutes of Health.

[FR Doc. 2026-20891 Filed 10-13-26; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4167-05-P

I attempted to comment on the NOT-OD-26-088 (regarding reporting outcomes for NIH Peer Review), since this will greatly affect me and other early career researchers who are learning to submit strong NIH grant proposals. However, when trying to submit my comment via https://rfi.grants.nih.gov/?s=6a2b1c22c3fcfda46e0badd2

I received an error stating the survey has expired, despite submitting about an hour before the period was supposed to close at 11:59pm Eastern on Oct. 13.

I emailed [peerreview@nih.gov](mailto:peerreview@nih.gov) explaining this issue and with my information and the comment I submitted, but why did this close early? That is not acceptable to close the comment period before the stated time. Is there anything else I can do to ensure my comment will be counted? Has this kind of issue happened before? See attached screenshot

Hello,

I plan on attending this workshop to sharpen my laboratory technique skills. I attend school online for biology and want some hands-on experience. The workshop is over $1000, and I wanted to know if anyone has attended it and can give insight if it's worth the price.

BIOL 003 Methods in Molecular Biology | FAES Academic Programs

Have you been able to negotiate salary and other benefits with Axle and Guidehouse?

More space. More peace and quiet. Nature right outside your door — with convenient access to Gaithersburg, Rockville, Shady Grove and Bethesda.

Enjoy all of this in a garden-style condo in Gaithersburg, surrounded by mature trees and beautifully maintained grounds.

This is an especially attractive home for NIH researchers, postdocs, fellows, graduate students and trainees who want a peaceful place to work, study and recharge — with considerably more space than you might find for the same price closer to Bethesda. An NIH PhD Grad student has lived here happily for the past 5 years, and is now moving on to bigger, better places!

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• From Shady Grove Metro (Red Line), just 4 stops to Medical Center Station for the main NIH campus

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The community feels wonderfully tucked away despite its convenient location. It is a small, quiet, established garden-style community surrounded by mature trees and green space — a little oasis in Gaithersburg. Your neighbors would consist mostly of retirees or professionals.

The area already offers abundant shopping and retail nearby, and a major new shopping and retail development is planned within walking distance, bringing even more dining, shopping and everyday conveniences close to home.

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NIH staff have been gathering in their personal capacity outside the agency at 10am, every Saturday since May 2025.

But this weekend, October 17th we will have a special event. At Medical Center Metro we will rally for health research and democracy. Listen to speeches by Jenna Norton , sociologist Natalie Aviles , Anna Culbertson and more, all in their personal capacities.

Music by Northstar Union (🎸👨🏼‍🎤🥁), merch available, families welcome. Info on parking and bathroom in comments.

We will finish the event by walking downtown to Bethesda and taking the metro to DC, dropping off our early voting ballots en masse.🚶🏽‍♀️🚶🏻‍♂️🚶🏽🚶🏼‍♂️🚶🏻🚶🏿‍♀️🚶🏼‍♀️🤝.

Share widely and RSVP here: https://www.mobilize.us/nokings/event/1030942/

I graduated uni in June and have started to get interviews for the postbac. The website says to aim for 6 months before your preferred start date. How often does this hold up? Ideally I'd like to start as soon as possible and was wondering if there are often cases where the start date is much earlier.

New details have emerged about an initiative that starts in December to fast-track the vaccines, similar to the successful push for the Covid-19 vaccine.

Anyone else experiencing system errors? This is for a K23 application but just seems to be a system error. This is after the person submitting (and me) got confirmation it was submitted: "Attention NIH Applicants: NIH will not penalize applicants who experience confirmed system issues that are beyond their control. A system error has occurred with your application and eRA technical staff have been alerted and may attempt to reprocess the application within the hour. Your application may go through upon reprocessing. If not, or if this system issue impacts your ability to submit on time, follow our standard Guidelines for Applicants Experiencing System Issues by contacting the eRA Help desk (preferably using the web ticket option) to document your good faith attempt to submit and determine next steps.
System Error Occurred:"

I submitted a web ticket like they suggested, and will try to call early tomorrow, but anyone know what this could mean, experiencing this now, or have experienced it previously? This was a few hours ago and I don't see a status change.

Update - submitted ticket yesterday, then called upon opening today (deadline was federal holiday with help desk closed), than within an hour got a message saying it was successfully reprocessed. just have to make sure with my own institution/AOR that it looks good, because they are usually the one that does final checks and hits 'submit.' hopefully everything is fine

NIH RePORTER is one of the best things NIH has built. You can search funded projects, see abstracts, identify program officers, and track award histories. It is genuinely useful and it is free.

But here is the gap I keep running into: RePORTER tells you what has been funded. It does not tell you what is about to be posted. And the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts publishes NOFAs, RFAs, and PASs, but you have to go check it. There is no version of RePORTER that pushes matching opportunities to you based on your research area, your prior funding history, or your publication record.
If you are at an R1 with a sponsored programs office that has Pivot or GrantForward or Cayuse, someone is probably doing some of this for you. If you are at a smaller institution, an HBCU, a liberal arts college, or you are a postdoc or early-career PI without that infrastructure, you are on your own.

I have been in research administration for 12+ years and I have watched this gap eat people's time for the entire stretch. I built a tool to address this (link in my profile) so I am not a neutral observer here. But I am posting because I want to understand what people are actually doing right now, not what I think they should be doing.

NIH has MyNCBI for literature alerts. Why is there no MyNCBI equivalent for funding opportunities? What is your current process if you do not have institutional access to a database? Spreadsheets? Calendar reminders? Checking the Guide manually every week? What works, and where does it break down?

Sylvia Chou, former NIH program director, says “nobody’s OK” after massive disruptions to funding policies and infrastructure.