NIH modernization in action

By Jayanta Bhattacharya

This is a lightly edited excerpt of testimony recently provided to the U.S. Senate’s Health Education Labor and Pensions Committee hearing on titled, “Modernizing the National Institutes of Health: Faster discoveries, more cures.” 

To understand the importance of modernization at NIH, it is essential to recognize the breadth and complexity of the ecosystem it supports. NIH is the largest public funder of biomedical research in the world, supporting more than 300,000 researchers in more than 2,500 research institutions across the country. It comprises 27 institutes and centers with complementary scientific missions charged with identifying the most promising science to improve the health of the nation.

The complexity of the organization is a feature, not a bug. Human biology and disease (are) far more complex and correspondingly require a multi-faceted and strategic approach to understanding (them). NIH recognizes, however, that adaptable structures are necessary to ensure coordination, reduce unnecessary duplication and enable NIH to respond efficiently to cross-cutting challenges and opportunities. NIH is amenable to change because science itself evolves. Structures that were effective for advancing biomedical research in previous decades may not always be well-suited to today’s research environment.

Modernization at NIH is not theoretical or aspirational, but concrete and measured in steps we are already taking. Efforts are already underway and are intended to ensure that NIH can continue to manage its expansive portfolio responsibly, support cutting-edge science, and maintain the confidence of Congress and the public. NIH is moving deliberately to strengthen coordination, clarify leadership roles and enhance accountability across the agency. These reforms are designed to ensure that NIH’s structures are responsive to the needs of the biomedical landscape in the U.S. and aligned with its mission.

Initial efforts have been focused on identifying areas in which reorganization could gain new operational efficiencies. For example, in March 2025, NIH announced the centralization of peer review for grants, cooperative agreements, and research and development contracts within the NIH Center for Scientific Review, consolidating review activities previously conducted across NIH Institutes and Centers to improve efficiency and consistency. While only recently implemented, the approach is expected to save more than $65 million annually by eliminating duplicative efforts across the agency. Similarly, NIH is actively working on centralizing redundant functions such as communications, acquisitions, and committee management. NIH is also implementing a unified funding strategy to promote clearer, more consistent award decisions across its extramural funding portfolio. This initiative is intended to enhance transparency, reduce variability in funding practices and ensure that research investments are aligned with NIH-wide priorities. By providing clearer guidance and a more consistent framework for funding decisions, the unified strategy supports both scientific excellence and responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars.

Importantly, our modernization efforts are geared towards making the scientific enterprise more effective in delivering on the promise of human health. Toward that end, we are working to identify roadblocks to achieving this goal and developing solutions to overcome them. For instance, scientists have long recognized the need for better research models of disease, human-based models, and other new approach methodologies (NAMs) that can serve as novel, patient-derived sources complementing basic models. However, widespread adoption of these newer approaches requires robust standards, validation methods, and repositories for data and resource sharing. 

To catalyze this effort, NIH is establishing new infrastructure within NIH that will support the integration of emerging technologies to enhance human relevance and translatability, while complementing and, where appropriate, reducing reliance on traditional animal models. This is just one new scientific effort NIH is launching to ensure the scientific community has access to the resources it needs to continue our leadership in innovation.

Modernization is fundamentally about strengthening NIH’s capacity to manage a large and complex research enterprise, steward taxpayer dollars responsibly, and keep pace with a rapidly evolving scientific landscape. The reforms underway and the priorities ahead reflect NIH’s ongoing commitment to transparency, scientific rigor, and continuous improvement.

Read the entire testimony here.

Listen to the testimony here.

Jayanta Bhattacharya is the NIH Director.

_{*The opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of HealthPlatform.News.}