Overview
- A court-filed agreement on Dec. 29 requires NIH to reassess applications that were frozen, denied, or withdrawn under directives targeting diversity, gender, and COVID-19 research through standard scientific review.
- NIH must decide non-competing renewals by the filing date, issue decisions by Jan. 12 for new awards already through study sections and advisory councils, and rule on remaining categories by mid-April or late July.
- The agreement does not guarantee any awards and does not alter an earlier injunction blocking NIH’s policy to halt diversity-related funding, with HHS appealing prior rulings.
- U.S. District Judge William G. Young previously found many cancellations likely unlawful under the Administrative Procedure Act, and the Supreme Court later directed some monetary claims to the federal claims court.
- Plaintiffs include state attorneys general, unions, researchers, and the American Public Health Association, and outside analyses estimate the halted or threatened awards ranged from hundreds to more than 2,000 projects worth roughly $1.8 billion to $3.2 billion.